Submitted To: Dr.

Dinamani
Submitted By: Sakshi Singh, B.A. 1st year
CJS, SLL&CS
Reg No. : 200810016128
Course No. : JP114T

Amaterasu Oomikami: The most

important Mythological figure in Japan

INTRODUCTION
Amaterasu who is also known as Amaterasu Oomikami (天照大御神) or Oohirume-no-
Muchi-no-Kami is the sun goddess and embodiment of the rising Sun and Japan itself.
According to Japanese mythology, She is the queen of Kami. It is believed that the Japanese
Imperial family have descended from her and thus she is the ruler of Japan. She is the most
important deity of Shinto religion. She is the daughter of God Izanagi and elder sister of
Otsukisama the Moon God (also known as Tsukiyomi) and Susano the storm God. She is also
mentioned in the two oldest written documents of Japan which is Kojiki (Record of Ancient
matters) and Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan). Along with her siblings, the moon God
Otsukisama and the storm God susano, she is considered to be one of the Three Precious
Children i.e. the three most important offspring of the creator God Izanagi.

BIRTH
In Kojiki and Nihon Shoki both, it is mentioned that she is the daughter of God Izanagi and
elder sister of the moon God Otsukisama and the God of storm Susano. Although their birth
stories vary from sources to sources:-
 ● According to KOJIKI, when Izanami and Izanagi established their new home.
Izanami and Izanagi fell in love with each other and afterwards Izanami gave birth to
many gods and goddesses but when she was giving birth to the God of fire, she was
burnt badly and she scalded to death. Izanagi loved Izanami a lot and thus he could
not bear to stay apart from his beloved Izanami. Therefore, he decided to visit YOMI
which is also known as the underworld or the land of dead. When he reached YOMI,
he saw Izanami who was very beautiful once now covered with pieces of rotting flesh
on her body. After seeing Izanami like this, he ran away and closed the entrance of
the Yomi with a big boulder. After escaping underworld or Yomi, Izanagi had to
perform a cleansing ritual in order to get rid of the impurities from the Yomi. After
running from Yomi Izanagi went to Awakigahara by the river mouth of Tachibana in
Himuka and washed himself in order to perform the cleansing ritual. During this
cleansing ritual when he washed his left eye, the sun goddess Amaterasu came out of
it when he washed his right his eye right eye, the moon god Otsukisama came out of it
and finally came out the Storm god Susano from his nose.
● According to NIHON SHOKI, Izanami and Izanagi pro created after creating the
Japanese archipelago and that's how Other gods and goddesses were born including
the Sun goddess Amaterasu.

AMATERASU AND TSUKUYOMI

Amaterasu married her brother Otsukisama and they used to rule together as day and night.
There is a popular mythological story mentioned in the Nihon Shoki by legends that one day
Amaterasu ordered Otsukisama the moon God to go to the Terrestrial world (Ashihara-no-
Nakatsukuni also known as the central land of reed plains) and visit the goddess Ukemochi.

Ukemochi vomited and she presented the food stuff that came out of her mouth to
Otsukisama. Otsukisama felt insulted and killed Ukemochi violently and went back to
Takamagahara. After learning about Tsukuyomi`s action, Amaterasu got angry and she split
herself away from Otsukisama thus separating night from day.

AMATERASU AND SUSANO

The storm guard Susano was the youngest of the three divine siblings. Izanagi assigned duties
to his all the three children but Amaterasu was given the most important role as she was
Izanagi`s first born children and also the most deserving one. When duties were assigned to
the three siblings. Amaterasu was given the role of bringing light and day to the world while
on the other hand, the moon God Tsukuyomi being her counterpart was given the role of
bringing night time to the world. The storm God Susano was given the role of being
responsible for storms and typhoons. Susano felt discriminated. He was unhappy with his
duty and he felt belittled in comparison to the roles given to his brother and sister. Fuming
with anger because of the injustice done to him, susano caused a lot of destruction and
rampaged around Amaterasu`s kingdom. On seeing her brother Susano`s actions, she became
upset and hid herself in a cave. Because of which the darkness prevailed all over the universe
as she was the sun goddess. When she came out of the Cave, Susano was punished for his
misdeeds and he was banished from heaven. He was sent to earth.

AMATERASU AND THE CAVE

When Amaterasu hid herself it the cave, the other deities tried numerous attempts to bring her
out of the cave but failed. After almost a year they came up with a new plan. They tried to
lure Amaterasu out of the cave. All the deities were dancing and singing outside the cave to
seek Amaterasu`s attention. The sun goddess surprised by this sudden commotion opened the
mouth of the cave a little bit just to know what was happening outside. When she opened the
mouth of the cave, she was struck in awe by seeing her own reflection in the mirror which
was placed outside the Cave. She was looking so beautiful and pleased by her own
appearance, she thought that she should not hid herself in a cave as she is so beautiful. She
finally came out of the Cave and that's how the light was returned to the world once again.

Amaterasu upon seeing Susano ruling over the earth and still being upset with him and not
forgiven him for his mistakes, she was unhappy to see his lineage ruling over the earth. After
her son Ama-no-oshiho-mimi refused to go and govern the earth. She sent her grandson
Ninigi along with five other deities and several gifts to rule over the earth. She gave him
imperial regalia. Ninigi brought a Bronze mirror (symbol of purity), Sword (symbol of
courage) and Bead necklace (symbol of benevolence) which helped him to establish the
kingdom of Justice and harmony. His great grandson Jimmu become the first Emperor of
Japan. Emperor Jimmu ruled with Imperial regalia as a sign of his divine right.

SHRINE

The ISE GRAND SHRINE ( commonly known as Ise Jingu) is not only historically the most
important shrine but also the official shrine of the Imperial family. It is almost 2000 years old
but still it remains as the most important and culturally significant shrine in Japan. The Ise
grand shine is located in Ise, Mie Prefecture, Japan. It has an inner Shrine, Naiku, dedicated
to Amaterasu. Also, Amaterasu`s sacred mirror, Yata no Kagami ( which is one of the three
Imperial Treasures of Japan, the other two are jewelled necklace and the Sword) is said to be
kept at the shrine as an imperial regalia object. The shrine building at Naikuu and Gekuu
including the Uji Bridge are rebuilt every. 20 years. It is a part of the Shinto beliefs of death
and renewal of nature. This is a way of passing building techniques from one generation to
the next.

CONCLUSION

The Sun Goddess Amaterasu is the most important mythological figure in Japan. She is the
highest deity in Japanese mythology. She is the supreme God Of heaven. Her father Izanagi
made her the ruler of Heaven not just because she was his Eldest child. He made her the ruler
of Heaven because she was the brightest of his children. She Proved herself to be the most fit
for the task. She possessed a commitment to law and order that neither of her brothers could
ever match. Some people has debated that since Amaterasu has the highest position among
the Shinto deities, it implies that early rulers in Japan were females. It shows women`s high
position and power in Japanese society. Women plays an important role in Japan in politics.
The story of her when she hid herself in the cave and darkness prevailed all over the universe
shows the extent of her power and that how important she is. Amaterasu continues to become
the most powerful deity not only because she is the divine ruler of heaven but also because
she has her influence over Japanese politics. First Emperor of Japan Jimmu was her great
grandson.
REFERENCES

● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaterasu
● https://mythopedia.com/japanese-
mythology/gods/amaterasu/
● https://www.worldhistory.org/Amaterasu/
● https://www.britannica.com/topic/Amaterasu
● https://mythologysource.com/amaterasu-japanese-
goddess/
● https://youtu.be/1dolIG1tB60
● MIKISO HANE
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