Japan: The sun goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami appearing from the cave Ama-no-Iwato at the behest of the gods. Woodblock print, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), 1882

Amaterasu (天照), Amaterasu-ōmikami (天照大神／天照大御神) or Ōhirume-no-muchi-no-kami (大日孁貴神) is a part of the Japanese myth cycle and also a major deity of the Shinto religion.

She is the goddess of the sun, but also of the universe. The name Amaterasu derived from Amateru meaning 'shining in heaven'. The meaning of her whole name, Amaterasu-ōmikami, is 'the great august kami (God) who shines in the heaven'.

The Emperor of Japan is said to be a direct descendant of Amaterasu.

Ama-no-Iwato (天岩戸) literally means 'The cave of the sun goddess' or 'heavenly rock cave'. In Japanese mythology, Susanoo, the Japanese god of the seas, was the one who drove Amaterasu into Ame-no-Iwato. This caused the sun to hide for a long period of time.

In order to get Amaterasu out of the cave the other gods threw a party outside. When she heard the noise she got curious and peeked but got blinded by the mirror Yata no Kagami and so she thought they were celebrating the arrival of an even greater and brighter goddess than herself, though in reality it was her own mirror image. Then Ame-no-tajikarao forced the cave to open up the rest and the world was bathed in light once again. As Amaterasu stepped out of the cave a holy seal was applied to it so that she couldn't go back into hiding.

Copyright:

Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Credit:

Pictures From History

Theme:

JAPANESE EMPERORS