Amaterasu

Name

The goddess is referred to as Amaterasu Ōmikami (天照大御神 / 天照大神; historical orthography: あまてらすおほみかみ, Amaterasu Ohomikami; Old Japanese: Amaterasu Opomi1kami2) in the Kojiki, while the Nihon Shoki gives the following variant names:

Ōhirume-no-Muchi (大日孁貴; Man'yōgana: 於保比屢咩能武智; hist. orthography: おほひるめのむち, Ohohirume-no-Muchi; Old Japanese: Opopi1rume1-no2-Muti)

Amaterasu Ō(mi)kami (天照大神; hist. orthography: あまてらすおほ(み)かみ, Amaterasu Oho(mi)kami)

Amaterasu Ōhirume no Mikoto (天照大日孁尊)

Hi-no-Kami (日神; OJ: Pi1-no-Kami2)

Amaterasu is thought to derive from the verb amateru ('to illuminate / shine in the sky'; from ama 'sky, heaven' and teru 'to shine') combined with the honorific auxiliary verb -su, while Ōmikami means 'great august deity' (ō 'great' + honorific prefix mi- + kami). Notably, Amaterasu in Amaterasu Ōmikami is not technically a name the same way Susanoo in Susa no O no Mikoto or Ōkuninushi in Ōkuninushi no Kami is. Amaterasu is an attributive verb form that modifies the noun after it, ōmikami. This epithet is therefore, much more semantically transparent than most names recorded in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, in that it means exactly what it means, without allusion, inference or etymological opacity, literally 'The Great August Goddess Who Shines in Heaven'. This usage is analogous to the use of relative clauses in English, only different in that Japanese clauses are placed in front of the noun they modify. This is further exemplified by (1) an alternative epithet, Amateru Kami (天照神, 'The Goddess Who Shines in Heaven'), which is a plain, non-honorific version of Amaterasu Ōmikami, (2) alternative forms of the verb amaterasu used elsewhere, for example its continuative form amaterashi (天照之) in the Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku, and (3) similar uses of attributive verb forms in certain epithets, such as Emperor Jimmu's Hatsu Kunishirasu Sumeramikoto (始馭天下之天皇, 'His Majesty Who First Rules the Land'). There are, still, certain verb forms that are treated as proper names, such as the terminal negative fukiaezu in 'Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto' (鸕鷀草葺不合尊, 'His Augustness, Incompletely-Thatched-with-Cormorant-Feathers').

Her other name, Ōhirume, is usually understood as meaning 'great woman of the sun / daytime' (cf. hiru 'day(time), noon', from hi 'sun, day' + me 'woman, lady'), though alternative etymologies such as 'great spirit woman' (taking hi to mean 'spirit') or 'wife of the sun' (suggested by Orikuchi Shinobu, who put forward the theory that Amaterasu was originally conceived of as the consort or priestess of a male solar deity) had been proposed. A possible connection with the name Hiruko (the child rejected by the gods Izanagi and Izanami and one of Amaterasu's siblings) has also been suggested. To this name is appended the honorific muchi, which is also seen in a few other theonyms such as 'Ō(a)namuchi' or 'Michinushi-no-Muchi' (an epithet of the three Munakata goddesses).

Mythology

In classical mythology

Both the Kojiki (c. 712 CE) and the Nihon Shoki (720 CE) agree in their description of Amaterasu as the daughter of the god Izanagi and the elder sister of Tsukuyomi, the deity of the moon, and Susanoo, the god of storms and seas. The circumstances surrounding the birth of these three deities, known as the "Three Precious Children" (三貴子, mihashira no uzu no miko or sankishi), however, vary between sources:

In the Kojiki, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo were born when Izanagi went to "[the plain of] Awagihara by the river-mouth of Tachibana in Himuka in [the island of] Tsukushi" and bathed (misogi) in the river to purify himself after visiting Yomi, the underworld, in a failed attempt to rescue his deceased wife, Izanami. Amaterasu was born when Izanagi washed his left eye, Tsukuyomi was born when he washed his right eye, and Susanoo was born when he washed his nose. Izanagi then appoints Amaterasu to rule Takamagahara (the "Plain of High Heaven"), Tsukuyomi the night, and Susanoo the seas.

The main narrative of the Nihon Shoki has Izanagi and Izanami procreating after creating the Japanese archipelago; to them were born (in the following order) Ōhirume-no-Muchi (Amaterasu), Tsukuyomi, the 'leech-child' Hiruko, and Susanoo:

After this Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto consulted together, saying:—"We have now produced the Great-eight-island country, with the mountains, rivers, herbs, and trees. Why should we not produce someone who shall be lord of the universe?" They then together produced the Sun-Goddess, who was called Oho-hiru-me no muchi. [...] The resplendent lustre of this child shone throughout all the six quarters. Therefore the two Deities rejoiced, saying:—"We have had many children, but none of them have been equal to this wondrous infant. She ought not to be kept long in this land, but we ought of our own accord to send her at once to Heaven, and entrust to her the affairs of Heaven."

At this time Heaven and Earth were still not far separated, and therefore they sent her up to Heaven by the ladder of Heaven.

A variant legend recorded in the Shoki has Izanagi begetting Ōhirume (Amaterasu) by holding a bronze mirror in his left hand, Tsukuyomi by holding another mirror in his right hand, and Susanoo by turning his head and looking sideways.

Family

Consorts

She is a virgin goddess and never engages in sexual relationships. However, according to Nozomu Kawamura, she was a consort to a sun god and some telling stories place Tsukuyomi as her husband.

Siblings

Amaterasu has many siblings, most notably Susanoo and Tsukiyomi. Basil Hall Chamberlain used the words "elder brother" to translate her dialog referring to Susanoo in the Kojiki, even though he noted that she was his elder sister. The word (which was also used by Izanami to address her elder brother and husband Izanagi) was nase (phonetically spelt 那勢 in the Kojiki; modern dictionaries use the semantic spelling 汝兄, whose kanji literally mean 'my elder brother'), an ancient term used only by females to refer to their brothers, who had higher status than them. (As opposed to males using nanimo (汝妹; 'my younger sister') (那邇妹 in the Kojiki) to refer to their sisters, who had lower status than them.) The Nihon Shoki used the Chinese word 弟 ('younger brother') instead.

Some tellings say she had a sister named Wakahirume who was a weaving maiden and helped Amaterasu weave clothes for the other kami in heaven. Wakahirume was later accidentally killed by Susanoo.

Other traditions say she had an older brother named Hiruko.

Descendants

Amaterasu has five sons, Ame-no-oshihomimi, Ame no Hohi, Amatsuhikone, Ikutsuhikone, and Kumanokusubi, who were given birth to by Susanoo by chewing her hair jewels. According to one account in the Nihon Shoki, it was because these children were male that Susanoo won during the ritual to prove his intent, even though they were not his children, but hers. This explanation of the outcome of the ritual contradicts that in the Kojiki, according to which it was because she gave birth to female children using his sword, and those children were his. The Kojiki claims he won because he had daughters to whom she gave birth, while the Nihon Shoki claims he won because he himself gave birth to her sons. Several figures and noble clans claim descent from Amaterasu most notably the Japanese imperial family through Emperor Jimmu who descended from her grandson Ninigi.

Her son Ame no Hohi is considered the ancestral kami of clans in Izumo which includes the Haji clan, Sugawara clan, and the Senge clan. The legendary sumo wrestler Nomi no Sukune is believed to be a 14th-generation descendant of Amenohohi.

Worship

Shrines

The Ise Grand Shrine (伊勢神宮 Ise Jingū) located in Ise, Mie Prefecture, Japan, houses the inner shrine, Naiku, dedicated to Amaterasu. Her sacred mirror, Yata no Kagami, is said to be kept at this shrine as one of the Imperial regalia objects. A ceremony known as Jingū Shikinen Sengū (神宮式年遷宮) is held every twenty years at this shrine to honor the many deities enshrined, which is formed by 125 shrines altogether. New shrine buildings are built at a location adjacent to the site first. After the transfer of the object of worship, new clothing and treasure and offering food to the goddess the old buildings are taken apart. The building materials taken apart are given to many other shrines and buildings to renovate. This practice is a part of the Shinto faith and has been practiced since the year 690 CE, but is not only for Amaterasu but also for many other deities enshrined in Ise Grand Shrine. Additionally, from the late 7th century to the 14th century, an unmarried princess of the Imperial Family, called "Saiō" (斎王) or itsuki no miko (斎皇女), served as the sacred priestess of Amaterasu at the Ise Shrine upon every new dynasty.

The Amanoiwato Shrine (天岩戸神社) in Takachiho, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan is also dedicated to Amaterasu and sits above the gorge containing Ama-no-Iwato.

The worship of Amaterasu to the exclusion of other kami has been described as "the cult of the sun." This phrase may also refer to the early pre-archipelagoan worship of the sun.

According to the Engishiki (延喜式) and Sandai Jitsuroku (三代実録) of the Heian period, the sun goddess had many shrines named "Amateru" or "Amateru-mitama", which were mostly located in the Kinki area. However, there have also been records of a shrine on Tsushima Island, coined as either "Teruhi Gongen" or the "Shining Sun Deity" during medieval times. It was later found that such a shrine was meant for a male sun deity named Ameno-himitama.

Amaterasu was also once worshiped at Hinokuma shrines. The Hinokuma shrines were used to worship the goddess by the Ama people in the Kii Provinces. Because the Ama people were believed to have been fishermen, researchers have conjectured that the goddess was also worshiped for a possible connection to the sea.

In Kurozumikyō, a Shinto-derived new religion that was founded in 1814 by Munetada Kurozumi (黒住宗忠), Amaterasu is the supreme deity that is worshipped.

Differences in worship

Amaterasu, while primarily being the goddess of the sun, is also sometimes worshiped as having connections with other aspects and forms of nature. Amaterasu can also be considered a goddess of the wind and typhoons alongside her brother, and even possibly death. There are many connections between local legends in the Ise region with other goddesses of nature, such as a nameless goddess of the underworld and sea. It is possible that Amaterasu's name became associated with these legends in the Shinto religion as it grew throughout Japan.

One source interprets from the Heavenly Rock Cave myth that Amaterasu was seen as being responsible for the normal cycle of day and night.

A historical myth holds that she painted the islands of Japan into being, alongside her siblings Susanoo and Tsukuyomi.

In contrast, Amaterasu, while enshrined at other locations, also can be seen as the goddess that represents Japan and its ethnicity. The many differences in Shinto religion and mythology can be due to how different local gods and beliefs clashed. In the Meiji Era, the belief in Amaterasu fought against the Izumo belief in Ōkuninushi for spiritual control over the land of Japan. During this time, the religious nature of Okininushi may have been changed to be included in Shinto mythology. Osagawara Shouzo built shrines in other countries to mainly spread Japan's culture and Shinto religion. It, however, was usually seen as the worshiping of Japan itself, rather than Amaterasu. Most of these colonial and oversea shrines were destroyed after WWII.

Other worshiped forms

Outside of being worshiped as a sun goddess, some have argued that Amaterasu was once related to snakes. There was a legend circulating among the Ise Priests that essentially described an encounter of Amaterasu sleeping with the Saiō every night in the form of a snake or lizard, evidenced by fallen scales in the priestess' bed. This was recorded by a medieval monk in his diary, which stated that "in ancient times Amaterasu was regarded as a snake deity or as a sun deity." In the Ise kanjō, the god's snake form is considered an embodiment of the "three poisons", namely greed, anger, and ignorance. Amaterasu is also linked to a snake cult, which is also tied to the theory that the initial gender of the goddess was male.

In general, some of these Amaterasu–dragon associations have been in reference to Japanese plays. One example has been within the Chikubushima tradition in which the dragon goddess Benzaiten was the emanation of Amaterasu. Following that, in the Japanese epic, Taiheki, one of the characters, Nitta Yoshisada (新田義貞‎), made comparisons with Amaterasu and a dragon Ryūjin with the quote: "I have heard that the Sun Goddess of Ise … conceals her true being in the august image of Vairocana, and that she has appeared in this world in the guise of a dragon god of the blue ocean."

Another tradition of the Heavenly Cave story depicts Amaterasu as a "dragon-fox" (shinko or tatsugitsune) during her descent to the famed cave because it is a type of animal/kami that emits light from its entire body.

The connection between the fox, Dakiniten, and Amaterasu can also be seen in the Keiran Shūyōshū, which features the following retelling of the myth of Amaterasu's hiding:

Question: What was the appearance of Amaterasu when she was hiding in the Rock-Cave of Heaven?

Answer: Since Amaterasu is the sun deity, she had the appearance of the sun-disc. Another tradition says: When Amaterasu retired into the Rock-Cave of Heaven after her descent from Heaven (sic), she took on the appearance of a dragon-fox (shinko). Uniquely among all animals, the dragon-fox is a kami that emits light from its body; this is the reason why she took on this appearance.

In Japanese Buddhism

In Japanese Buddhism, Amaterasu was incorporated into a broad pantheon in which local kami were understood through the doctrinal frameworks of honji suijaku theories of correspondence. Rather than being treated as an independent creator deity, Amaterasu was interpreted as the “trace manifestation” (suijaku) of a Buddha, whose “original ground” (honji) was identified variously depending on sectarian orientation and local cultic developments. The trace-original ground framework allowed Buddhist scholastics to subordinate and encompass the sun goddess, along with various other kami, within a universal Buddhist cosmos. Textual materials from the Nara and Heian periods show that she came to function as a paradigmatic example of the capacity of Buddhas to appear as local deities for the sake of guiding beings.

Within esoteric Buddhist traditions like Tendai and Shingon, Amaterasu was frequently correlated with Dainichi Nyorai (Mahavariocana, "All Illuminator"), the cosmic Buddha who embodies the wisdom and luminosity. Shingon scholastics like Dōhan directly identified the two figures. This identification of the two deities is also found in the writings of Saigyō Hōshi who himself worshiped at the Grand Shrine of Ise, and in Kitabatake Chikafusa's Jinnō Shōtōki. These doctrinal associations were supported by ritual elaborations at Shinto shrines, which were often attached to Buddhist temples, where Buddhist clergy participated in ceremonies that merged esoteric liturgy with traditional shrine rites. Amaterasu worship was also central to the syncretic Ryōbu Shintō sects, which drew extensively on Shingon Buddhist thought and practice.

Worship of Amaterasu within Buddhist contexts was further intensified by her close connection to the imperial house. Buddhist theorists, by linking her to Dainichi or other buddhas, reinforced the legitimacy of the imperial order within a universal Buddhist cosmology. Court-sponsored rituals blended Buddhist and kami-centered elements, and pilgrimage to Ise developed as a practice compatible with Buddhist soteriological aims. Medieval narratives, such as those found in shrine-origin texts (engi), frequently emphasize that Amaterasu protects the state precisely because she is an expedient manifestation of a higher Buddhist power. In these accounts, the prosperity of the realm and the stability of the imperial lineage were understood as outcomes of the harmonious integration of Buddhist principle and kami manifestation.

Local cults also adapted Amaterasu to specific devotional functions and freely mixed Shinto and Buddhist ideas. This kind of religious syncretism is called Shinbutsu-shūgō and was a common feature of pre-modern Japanese religious culture. The spread of syncretic institutions like jingūji (shrine-temples) provided an institutional basis for sustained Buddhist interaction with the deity, including the recitation of sutras to honor the kami, the construction of Buddhist icons representing their honji forms, and the performance of goma (fire rituals) intended to secure the divine protection. These practices reflect the broader medieval understanding that kami could receive Buddhist offerings and respond with worldly benefits, while ultimately serving the liberating activity of buddhas.

Relation to women's positions in early Japanese society

Because Amaterasu has the highest position among the Shinto deities, there has been debate on her influence and relation to women's positions in early Japanese society. Some scholars have argued that the goddess' presence and high stature within the kami system could suggest that early rulers in Japan were female. Others have argued the goddess' presence implies strong influences female priests had in Japanese politics and religion.

In Japanese new religions

Amaterasu is the main deity, or one of the main deities, worshipped in various Japanese new religions, including Kurozumikyō, Shintō Tenkōkyo, Tenshō Kōtai Jingūkyō, and Kōmyō Kamu Tama Jingū.