Editing Amaterasu (section)

===In classical mythology===
====Birth====
[[File:阿波岐原 - Awagihara.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Izanagi]] purifying himself (''[[misogi]]'') by immersing in the Tachibana River ([[Natori Shunsen]])]]
[[File:Installation of the Sun Goddess (Amaterasu) c1870 after Kawanabe Kyosai.jpg|thumb|Installation of the Sun Goddess (Amaterasu)]]
Both the {{Lang|ja-latn|[[Kojiki]]}} ({{Circa|712 CE}}) and the {{Lang|ja-latn|[[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" ({{Lang|ja|三貴子}}, {{Lang|ja-latn|mihashira no uzu no miko or sankishi}}), however, vary between sources:

*In the {{Lang|ja-latn|[[Kojiki]]}}, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo were born when Izanagi went to "[the plain of] Awagihara by the river-mouth of Tachibana in [[Hyūga Province|Himuka]] in [the island of] [[Kyushu|Tsukushi]]"{{efn|'Awagihara' or 'Awakihara' ([[Old Japanese]]: ''Apaki<sub>1</sub>para'') is a toponym meaning "a plain covered with ''[[Lespedeza bicolor|awagi]]'' shrubs". Its actual location is considered uncertain,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1400878000 |pages=462–463}}</ref> although a pond near [[Eda Shrine]] in modern-day Awakigahara-chō, [[Miyazaki, Miyazaki|Miyazaki]], [[Miyazaki prefecture|Miyazaki Prefecture]] (corresponding to the historical [[Hyūga Province|Himuka / Hyūga Province]]) is identified in local lore as the exact spot where Izanagi purified himself.<ref>{{cite web |title=みそぎ祓（はら）いのルーツ・阿波岐原 |url=http://mppf.or.jp/awaki/myth/ |website=Awakigahara Forest Park |access-date=2022-02-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=阿波岐原 |url=http://kojiki.kokugakuin.ac.jp/chimei/awakihara/ |website=國學院大學 古事記学センター |publisher=Kokugakuin University |language=Japanese}}</ref>}} and [[Misogi|bathed]] ({{Lang|ja-latn|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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1400878000 |pages=68–71}}</ref><ref>Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj018.htm Section XI.—Investiture of the Three Deities; The Illustrious August Children.]</ref><ref>Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj019.htm Section XII.—The Crying and Weeping of His Impetuous-Male-Augustness.]</ref>
*The main narrative of the {{Lang|ja-latn|[[Nihon Shoki]]}} has Izanagi and Izanami procreating after [[Kuniumi|creating the Japanese archipelago]]; to them were born (in the following order) Ōhirume-no-Muchi (Amaterasu), Tsukuyomi, the 'leech-child' [[Hiruko]], and Susanoo:

{{blockquote|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. [...] <br />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."<br />
At this time Heaven and Earth were still not far separated, and therefore they sent her up to Heaven by the ladder of Heaven.<ref name="Aston18"/>}}

*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.<ref name="Aston20">{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=20}}</ref>
*A third variant in the ''Shoki'' has Izanagi and Izanami begetting the sun, the moon, Hiruko, and Susanoo, as in the main narrative. Their final child, the fire god [[Kagutsuchi]], caused Izanami's death (as in the ''Kojiki'').<ref name="Aston20"/>
*A fourth variant relates a similar story to that found in the ''Kojiki'', wherein the three gods are born when Izanagi washed himself in the river of Tachibana after going to Yomi.<ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=28}}</ref>

====Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi====
One of the variant legends in the ''Shoki'' relates that Amaterasu ordered her sibling Tsukuyomi to go down to the terrestrial world ([[Ashihara no Nakatsukuni|Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni]], the "Central Land of Reed-Plains") and visit the goddess [[Ukemochi]]. When Ukemochi [[Dema Deity|vomited foodstuffs out of her mouth]] and presented them to Tsukuyomi at a banquet, a disgusted and offended Tsukuyomi slew her and went back to Takamagahara. This act upset Amaterasu, causing her to split away from Tsukuyomi, thus separating night from day.

Amaterasu then sent another god, Ame-no-Kumahito ({{Lang|ja|天熊人}}), who found various food-crops and animals emerging from Ukemochi's corpse.

{{blockquote|On the crown of her head there had been produced the [[ox]] and the [[horse]]; on the top of her forehead there had been produced [[millet]]; over her eyebrows there had been produced the [[silkworm]]; within her eyes there had been produced [[Panicum|panic]]; in her belly there had been produced [[rice]]; in her genitals there had been produced [[wheat]], large beans and small beans.<ref name="Aston32-33">{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=32-33}}</ref>}}

Amaterasu had the grains collected and sown for humanity's use and, putting the silkworms in her mouth, reeled thread from them. From this began [[agriculture]] and [[sericulture]].<ref name="Aston32-33"/><ref name="Roberts 110">{{cite book| last = Roberts| first = Jeremy| title = Japanese Mythology A To Z| location = New York| publisher = [[Chelsea House Publishers]]| year = 2010| edition = 2nd| url = http://www.enryo.ro/carti/Japanese%20mythology%20A%20to%20Z.pdf| isbn = 978-1604134353| access-date = 2012-04-04| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171119221829/http://www.enryo.ro/carti/Japanese%20mythology%20A%20to%20Z.pdf| archive-date = 2017-11-19| url-status = dead}}</ref>

This account is not found in the ''Kojiki'', where a similar story is instead told of Susanoo and the goddess [[Ōgetsuhime]].<ref name="ChamberlainXVII">Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj024.htm Section XVII.—The August Expulsion of His-Impetuous-Male-Augustness.]</ref>

====Amaterasu and Susanoo====
{{see also|Susanoo-no-Mikoto#Susanoo and Amaterasu}}

When Susanoo, the youngest of the three divine siblings, was expelled by his father Izanagi for his troublesome nature and incessant wailing on account of missing his deceased mother Izanami, he first went up to Takamagahara to say farewell to Amaterasu. A suspicious Amaterasu went out to meet him dressed in male clothing and clad in armor, at which Susanoo proposed a trial by pledge (''[[ukehi]]'') to prove his sincerity. In the ritual, the two gods each chewed and spat out an object carried by the other (in some variants, an item they each possessed). Five (or six) gods and three goddesses were born as a result; Amaterasu adopted the males as her sons and gave the females – later known as the [[Munakata Taisha|three Munakata goddesses]] – to Susanoo.<ref>Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj020.htm Section XIII.—The August Oath.]</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |year=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1400878000 |pages=72–78}}</ref><ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspages=35-39}}</ref>

[[File:須佐之男命の乱暴 - Susanoo's Rampage.jpg|thumb|270px|[[Susanoo]] throwing the heavenly horse into Amaterasu's loom]]
Susanoo, declaring that he had won the trial as he had produced deities of the required gender,{{efn|Female in the ''Kojiki'', male in the ''Shoki''.}} then "raged with victory" and proceeded to wreak havoc by destroying his sister's rice fields and defecating in her palace. While Amaterasu tolerated Susanoo's behavior at first, his "misdeeds did not cease, but became even more flagrant" until one day, he bore a hole in the rooftop of Amaterasu's weaving hall and hurled the "heavenly piebald horse" ({{Lang|ja|天斑駒}}, {{Lang|ja-latn|ame no fuchikoma}}), which he had flayed alive, into it. One of Amaterasu's weaving maidens was alarmed and struck her genitals against a [[Shuttle (weaving)|weaving shuttle]], killing her. In response, a furious Amaterasu shut herself inside the [[Ama-no-Iwato|Ame-no-Iwayato]] ({{Lang|ja|天岩屋戸}}, {{Gloss|Heavenly Rock-Cave Door}}, also known as Ama-no-Iwato), plunging heaven and earth into total darkness.<ref>Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj022.htm Section XV.—The August Ravages of His Impetuous-Male-Augustness.]</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |year=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1400878000 |page=79}}</ref>

The main account in the ''Shoki'' has Amaterasu wounding herself with the shuttle when Susanoo threw the flayed horse in her weaving hall,<ref name="Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co"/> while a variant account identifies the goddess who was killed during this incident as Wakahirume-no-Mikoto ({{lang|ja|稚日女尊}}, {{Lit|young woman of the sun / day(time)}}).<ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=46}}</ref>

Whereas the above accounts identify Susanoo's flaying of the horse as the immediate cause for Amaterasu hiding herself, yet another variant in the ''Shoki'' instead portrays it to be Susanoo defecating in her seat:
{{blockquote|In one writing it is said:—"The august Sun Goddess took an enclosed rice-field and made it her Imperial rice-field. Now Sosa no wo no Mikoto, in spring, filled up the channels and broke down the divisions, and in autumn, when the grain was formed, he forthwith stretched round them division ropes. Again when the Sun-Goddess was in her Weaving-Hall, he flayed alive a piebald colt and flung it into the Hall. In all these various matters his conduct was rude in the highest degree. Nevertheless, the Sun-Goddess, out of her friendship for him, was not indignant or resentful, but took everything calmly and with forbearance.<br />
When the time came for the Sun-Goddess to celebrate the feast of first-fruits, Sosa no wo no Mikoto secretly voided excrement under her august seat in the New Palace. The Sun-Goddess, not knowing this, went straight there and took her seat. Accordingly the Sun-Goddess drew herself up, and was sickened. She therefore was enraged, and straightway took up her abode in the Rock-cave of Heaven, and fastened its Rock-door.<ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=47}}</ref>}}

====The Heavenly Rock Cave====
[[File:Origin of Iwato Kagura Dance Amaterasu by Toyokuni III (Kunisada) 1856.png|thumb|390x390px|Amaterasu emerges from the [[Amano-Iwato|Heavenly Rock Cave]], bringing sunlight back to the world (Triptych by [[Kunisada]])]]
[[File:Origin of the Cave Door Dance (Amaterasu) by Shunsai Toshimasa 1889.jpg|thumb|390px|''Origin of Music and Dance at the Rock Door'' by Shunsai Toshimasa, 1887]]
[[File:The Origin of Iwato Kagura Triptych (Amaterasu) by Utagawa Kunisada c1844.png|thumb|390px|The Origin of Iwato Kagura by Utagawa Kunisada, completed circa 1844]]
After Amaterasu hid herself in the cave, the gods, led by [[Omoikane (Shinto)|Omoikane]], the god of wisdom, conceived a plan to lure her out:

{{blockquote|[The gods] gathered together the [[Rooster|long-crying birds]] of Tokoyo and caused them to cry. (...) They uprooted by the very roots the flourishing ''[[Cleyera japonica|ma-sakaki]]'' trees of the mountain Ame-no-Kaguyama; to the upper branches they affixed long strings of myriad ''[[magatama]]'' beads; in the middle branches they hung [[Yata no Kagami|a large-dimensioned mirror]]; in the lower branches they suspended white ''nikite'' cloth and blue ''nikite'' cloth.<br />
These various objects were held in his hands by [[Futodama|Futotama-no-Mikoto]] as solemn offerings, and [[Ame-no-Koyane|Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto]] intoned a solemn [[Norito|liturgy]].<br />
[[Ame-no-Tajikarao|Ame-no-Tajikarao-no-Kami]] stood concealed beside the door, while [[Ame-no-Uzume|Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto]] bound up her sleeves with a cord of heavenly ''hikage'' vine, tied around her head a head-band of the heavenly ''[[Trachelospermum asiaticum|masaki]]'' vine, bound together bundles of ''[[Sasa (plant)|sasa]]'' leaves to hold in her hands, and overturning a bucket before the heavenly rock-cave door, stamped resoundingly upon it. Then she became divinely possessed, exposed her breasts, and pushed her skirt-band down to her genitals.<br />
Then Takamanohara shook as the eight-hundred myriad deities laughed at once.<ref>Translation from {{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1400878000 |pages=82–84}} Names and untranslated words (transcribed in [[Old Japanese]] in the original) have been changed into their modern equivalents.</ref>|author=|title=|source=}}

Inside the cave, Amaterasu is surprised that the gods should show such mirth in her absence. Ame-no-Uzume answered that they were celebrating because another god greater than her had appeared. Curious, Amaterasu slid the boulder blocking the cave's entrance and peeked out, at which Ame-no-Koyane and Futodama brought out the mirror (the [[Yata-no-Kagami]]) and held it before her. As Amaterasu, struck by her own reflection (apparently thinking it to be the other deity Ame-no-Uzume spoke of), approached the mirror, Ame-no-Tajikarao took her hand and pulled her out of the cave, which was then immediately sealed with a [[shimenawa|straw rope]], preventing her from going back inside. Thus was light restored to the world.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1400878000 |pages=82–85}}</ref><ref>Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj023.htm Section XVI.—The Door of the Heavenly Rock-Dwelling.]</ref><ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=42}}</ref>

As punishment for his unruly conduct, Susanoo was then driven out of Takamagahara by the other gods. Going down to earth, he arrived at the [[Izumo Province|land of Izumo]], where he killed the monstrous serpent [[Yamata no Orochi]] to rescue the goddess [[Kushinadahime]], whom he eventually married. From the serpent's carcass Susanoo found the sword Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi ({{Lang|ja|天叢雲剣}}, {{Gloss|Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven}}), also known as [[Kusanagi|Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi]] ({{Lang|ja|草薙剣}} {{Gloss|Grass-Cutting Sword}}), which he presented to Amaterasu as a reconciliatory gift.<ref name="ChamberlainXVII"/><ref>Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj025.htm Section XVIII.—The Eight-Forked Serpent.]</ref><ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspages=45, 52}}</ref>

====The subjugation of Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni====
{{see also|Ōkuninushi|Kuni-yuzuri|Tenson kōrin}}
[[File:三種の神器 1200x1200.png|left|thumb|Artist's impression of the three [[Imperial Regalia of Japan]]]]
After a time, Amaterasu and the [[Kotoamatsukami|primordial deity]] [[Takamimusubi]] (also known as Takagi-no-Kami) declared that Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni, which was then being ruled over by [[Ōkuninushi]] (also known as Ō(a)namuchi), the descendant (''Kojiki'') or the son (''Shoki'') of Susanoo, should be pacified and put under the jurisdiction of their progeny, claiming it to be teeming with "numerous deities which shone with a lustre like that of fireflies, and evil deities which buzzed like flies".<ref name="Nihongi64">{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book II |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=64}}</ref> Amaterasu ordered [[Ame-no-oshihomimi|Ame-no-Oshihomimi]], the firstborn of the five male children born during her contest with Susanoo, to go down to earth and establish his rule over it. However, after inspecting the land below, he deemed it to be in an uproar and refused to go any further.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1400878000 |pages=120–122}}</ref><ref name="ChamberlainSectionXXX">Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj037.htm Section XXX.—The August Deliberation for Pacifying the Land.]</ref> At the advice of Omoikane and the other deities, Amaterasu then dispatched another of her five sons, [[Ame no Hohi]]. Upon arriving, however, Ame no Hohi began to curry favor with Ōkuninushi and did not send back any report for three years.<ref name="ChamberlainSectionXXX" /><ref name="Nihongi64" /> The heavenly deities then sent a third messenger, [[Ame-no-wakahiko|Ame-no-Wakahiko]], who also ended up siding with Ōkuninushi and marrying his daughter Shitateruhime. After eight years, a female [[Japanese green pheasant|pheasant]] was sent to question Ame-no-Wakahiko, who killed it with his bow and arrow. The blood-stained arrow flew straight up to Takamagahara at the feet of Amaterasu and Takamimusubi, who then threw it back to earth with a curse, killing Ame-no-Wakahiko in his sleep.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1400878000 |pages=123–125}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Mori|first1=Mizue|title=Amewakahiko|url=http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=46|website=Encyclopedia of Shinto|publisher=Kokugakuin University|access-date=13 February 2017|archive-date=14 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200214230438/http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=46|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspages=65-66}}</ref>

The preceding messengers having thus failed to complete their task, the heavenly gods finally sent the warrior deities [[Futsunushi]] and [[Takemikazuchi]]{{efn|So the ''Nihon Shoki'', the ''[[Kogo Shūi]]'',<ref>{{cite book |translator1-last=Katō |translator1-first=Genchi |translator2-last=Hoshino |translator2-first=Hikoshirō |title=Kogoshūi: Gleanings from Ancient Stories. Translated with an introduction and notes |date=1925 |publisher=Meiji Japan Society |page=16}}</ref> and the ''[[Sendai Kuji Hongi]]''. In the ''Kojiki'' (where Futsunushi is not mentioned), the envoys sent by the heavenly gods are Takemikazuchi and the bird-boat deity [[Kamiumi#Birth of the gods|Ame-no-Torifune]].<ref>Chamberlain (1882). [https://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj039.htm Section XXXII.—Abdication of the Deity Master-of-the-Great-Land.]</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1400878000 |page=129}}</ref> In the ''Izumo no Kuni no Miyatsuko no Kanʼyogoto'' ("Congratulatory Words of the ''[[Kuni no miyatsuko|Kuni no Miyatsuko]]'' of Izumo" - a ''[[norito]]'' recited by the governor of Izumo Province before the imperial court during his appointment), Futsunushi's companion is Ame-no-Oshihomimi's son Ame no Hinadori.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=De Bary |editor1-first=Wm. Theodore |editor2-last=Keene |editor2-first=Donald |editor3-last=Tanabe |editor3-first=George |editor4-last=Varley |editor4-first=Paul |title=Sources of Japanese Tradition: From Earliest Times to 1600 |date=2001 |publisher=Columbia University Press |page=38 |isbn=9780231121385 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tNJ_s2FEOWcC&pg=PA38}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Takioto |first1=Yoshiyuki |title=Izumo no Kuni no Miyatsuko no Kan'yogoto no Shinwa (出雲国造神賀詞の神話) |journal=Komazawa Shigaku |date=2012 |volume=78 |pages=1–17 |url=http://repo.komazawa-u.ac.jp/opac/repository/all/32737/rsg078-01-takiotoyoshiyuki.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://repo.komazawa-u.ac.jp/opac/repository/all/32737/rsg078-01-takiotoyoshiyuki.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |publisher=[[Komazawa University]] |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Nishioka |first1=Kazuhiko |title=Amenooshihomimi |url=http://k-amc.kokugakuin.ac.jp/DM/dbSearchList.do?class_name=col_eos&search_condition_type=1&db_search_condition_type=4&View=2&startNo=1&focus_type=0&searchFreeword=Amenooshihomimi&searchRangeType=0 |website=Encyclopedia of Shinto |publisher=Kokugakuin University |access-date=2020-03-25 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>}} to remonstrate with Ōkuninushi. At the advice of his son [[Kotoshironushi]], Ōkuninushi agreed to abdicate and left the physical realm to govern the unseen spirit world, which was given to him in exchange. The two gods then went around Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni, killing those who resisted them and rewarding those who rendered submission, before going back to heaven.<ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspages=68-70}}</ref>

[[File:Ninigi.jpg|thumb|280px|[[Ninigi]] and his retinue at Mount Takachiho]]
With the earth now pacified, Amaterasu and Takamimusubi again commanded Ame-no-Oshihomimi to descend and rule it. He, however, again demurred and suggested that his son [[Ninigi]] be sent instead. Amaterasu thus bequeathed to Ninigi, the sword Susanoo gave her, along with the two items used to lure her out of the Ame-no-Iwayato: the mirror Yata-no-Kagami and the jewel [[Yasakani no Magatama]]. With a number of gods serving as his retinue, Ninigi came down from heaven to [[Takachiho, Miyazaki|Mount Takachiho]] in the [[Hyūga Province|land of Himuka]] and built his palace there. Ninigi became the ancestor of the [[Imperial House of Japan|emperors of Japan]], while the mirror, jewel, and sword he brought with him became the [[Imperial Regalia of Japan|three sacred treasures]] of the imperial house. Five of the gods who accompanied him in his descent - Ame-no-Koyane, Futodama, Ame-no-Uzume, [[Ishikori-dome no Mikoto|Ishikoridome]] (the maker of the mirror), and [[Tamanoya]] (the maker of the jewel) - meanwhile became the ancestors of the clans involved in court ceremonial such as the [[Nakatomi clan|Nakatomi]] and the [[Inbe clan|Inbe]].<ref>Chamberlain (1882). [https://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj040.htm Section XXXIII.—The August Descent from Heaven of His Augustness the August Grandchild.]</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1400878000 |pages=137–141}}</ref><ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspages=70, 76-77}}</ref>

====Emperor Jimmu and the Yatagarasu====
{{see also|Emperor Jimmu}}
[[File:Tennō Jimmu.jpg|thumb|450px|left|[[Yatagarasu]] the sun crow guiding Emperor Jimmu and his men towards the plain of [[Yamato Province|Yamato]]]]
Many years later, Ninigi's great-grandson, Kamuyamato-Iwarebiko (later known as [[Emperor Jimmu]]), decided to leave Himuka in search of a new home with his elder brother Itsuse. Migrating eastward, they encountered various gods and local tribes who either submitted to them or resisted them. After Itsuse died of wounds sustained during a battle against a chieftain named Nagasunehiko, Iwarebiko retreated and went to [[Kumano Region|Kumano]], located on the southern part of the [[Kii Peninsula]]. While there, he and his army were enchanted by a god in the shape of a giant bear and fell into a deep sleep. At that moment, a local named Takakuraji had a dream in which Amaterasu and Takamimusubi commanded the god Takemikazuchi to help Iwarebiko. Takemikazuchi then dropped his sword, [[Isonokami Shrine|Futsu-no-Mitama]], into Takakuraji's storehouse, ordering him to give it to Iwarebiko. Upon waking up and discovering the sword inside the storehouse, Takakuraji went to where Iwarebiko was and presented it to him. The magic power of the Futsu-no-Mitama immediately exterminated the evil gods of the region and roused Iwarebiko and his men from their slumber.

Continuing their journey, the army soon found themselves stranded in the mountains. Takamimusubi (so the ''Kojiki'') or Amaterasu (''Shoki'') then told Iwarebiko in a dream that the giant crow [[Yatagarasu]] would be sent to guide them in their way. Soon enough, the bird appeared and led Iwarebiko and his men to safety. At length, Iwarebiko arrived at the [[Yamato Province|land of Yamato]] (modern [[Nara Prefecture]]) and defeated Nagasunehiko, thereby avenging his brother Itsuse. He then established his palace-capital at [[Kashihara, Nara|Kashihara]] and ruled therein.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1400878000 |pages=163–177}}</ref><ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspages=114-128}}</ref>

====Enshrinement in Ise====
{{see also|Ōmononushi|Saiō}}
[[File:Hibara-jinja, torii-2.jpg|thumb|240px|[[Ōmiwa Shrine|Hibara Shrine]] at the foot of [[Mount Miwa]] in [[Sakurai, Nara|Sakurai]], [[Nara Prefecture]]. The shrine is identified as the place where the Yata-no-Kagami and the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi were first enshrined after they were removed from the imperial palace.]]
An anecdote concerning [[Emperor Sujin]] relates that Amaterasu ([[Shintai|via the Yata-no-Kagami and the Kusanagi sword]]) and [[Yamato Okunitama|Yamato-no-Okunitama]], the [[tutelary deity]] of Yamato, were originally worshipped in the great hall of the imperial palace. When a series of plagues broke out during Sujin's reign, he "dreaded [...] the power of these Gods, and did not feel secure in their dwelling together." He thus entrusted the mirror and the sword to his daughter {{Ill|Toyosukiiri-hime|lt=Toyosukiirihime|ja|豊鍬入姫命}}, who brought them to the village of Kasanuhi,<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> and she would become the first [[Saiō]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://d-museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/eos/detail/?id=8608 | title=Encyclopedia of Shinto詳細 }}</ref> and delegated the worship of [[Yamato Okunitama|Yamato-no-Okunitama]] to another daughter, Nunakiirihime. When the pestilence showed no sign of abating, he then performed [[Futomani|divination]], which revealed the plague to have been caused by [[Ōmononushi]], the god of [[Mount Miwa]]. When the god was offered proper worship as per his demands, the epidemic ceased.<ref name=":5">{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspages=151-154}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{cite book |translator1-last=Katō |translator1-first=Genchi |translator2-last=Hoshino |translator2-first=Hikoshirō  |title=Kogoshūi: Gleanings from Ancient Stories. Translated with an introduction and notes |date=1925 |publisher=Meiji Japan Society |pages=29–30}}</ref>

During the reign of Sujin's son and successor, [[Emperor Suinin]], custody of the sacred treasures were transferred from Toyosukiirihime to Suinin's daughter [[Yamatohime-no-mikoto|Yamatohime]], who took them first to "Sasahata in Uda" to the east of Miwa. Heading north to [[Ōmi Province|Ōmi]], she then eastwards to [[Mino Province|Mino]] and proceeded south to [[Ise Province|Ise]], where she received a revelation from Amaterasu:

{{blockquote|Now Ama-terasu no Oho-kami instructed Yamato-hime no Mikoto, saying:—"The province of Ise, of the divine wind, is the land whither repair the waves from the eternal world, the successive waves. It is a secluded and pleasant land. In this land I wish to dwell." In compliance, therefore, with the instruction of the Great Goddess, a shrine was erected to her in the province of Ise. Accordingly an [[Abstinence Palace]] was built at Kaha-kami in Isuzu. This was called the palace of Iso. It was there that Ama-terasu no Oho-kami first descended from Heaven.<ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspages=176}}</ref>}}

This account serves as the origin myth of the [[Ise Grand Shrine|Grand Shrine of Ise]], Amaterasu's chief place of worship.

[[File:Yamato Takeru by Takahashi Yuichi (Geidai Museum).jpg|thumb|[[Yamato Takeru]]]]
Later, when Suinin's grandson Prince Ousu (also known as [[Yamato Takeru]]) went to Ise to visit his aunt Yamatohime before going to conquer and pacify the [[Kantō region|eastern regions]] on the command of his father, [[Emperor Keikō]], he was given the divine sword to protect him in times of peril. It eventually came in handy when Yamato Takeru was lured onto an open grassland by a treacherous chieftain, who then set fire to the grass to entrap him. Desperate, Yamato Takeru used the sword to cut the grass around him (a variant in the ''Shoki'' has the sword miraculously mow the grass of its own accord) and lit a counter-fire to keep the fire away. This incident explains the sword's name ("Grass Cutter").<ref>{{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1400878000 |pages=238–240}}</ref><ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=205}}</ref> On his way home from the east, Yamato Takeru – apparently blinded by [[hubris]] – left the Kusanagi in the care of his second wife, Miyazuhime of [[Owari Province|Owari]], and went to confront the god of [[Mount Ibuki]] on his own. Without the sword's protection, he fell prey to the god's enchantment and became ill and died afterwards.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1400878000 |pages=245–249}}</ref><ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspages=208-210}}</ref> Thus the Kusanagi stayed in Owari, where it was enshrined in the [[Atsuta Shrine|shrine of Atsuta]].<ref>{{cite book |translator1-last=Katō |translator1-first=Genchi |translator2-last=Hoshino |translator2-first=Hikoshirō |title=Kogoshūi: Gleanings from Ancient Stories. Translated with an introduction and notes |date=1925 |publisher=Meiji Japan Society |page=33}}</ref>

====Empress Jingū and Amaterasu's ''aramitama''====
[[File:Hirota-jinja, haiden-2-2.jpg|thumb|left|[[Hirota Shrine]] in [[Nishinomiya, Hyōgo|Nishinomiya]], [[Hyōgo Prefecture]], where Amaterasu's ''aramitama'' is enshrined]]
At one time, when [[Emperor Chūai]] was on a campaign against the [[Kumaso]] tribes of [[Kyushu]], his consort [[Empress Jingū|Jingū]] was possessed by unknown gods who told Chūai of a land rich in treasure located on the other side of the sea that is his for the taking. When Chūai doubted their words and accused them of being deceitful, the gods laid a curse upon him that he should die "without possessing this land." (The ''Kojiki'' and the ''Shoki'' diverge at this point: in the former, Chūai dies almost immediately after being cursed, while in the latter, he dies of a sudden illness a few months after.)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1400878000 |pages=257–258}}</ref><ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspages=221-223}}</ref>

[[File:EmpressJinguInKorea.jpg|thumb|380px|[[Empress Jingū]]]]
After Chūai's death, Jingū performed divination to ascertain which gods had spoken to her husband. The deities identified themselves as Tsukisakaki Izu no Mitama Amazakaru Mukatsuhime no Mikoto ({{Lang|ja|撞賢木厳之御魂天疎向津媛命}}, 'The Awe-inspiring Spirit of the Planted ''[[Cleyera japonica|Sakaki]]'', the Lady of Sky-distant Mukatsu', usually interpreted as the ''[[Mitama|aramitama]]'' or 'violent spirit' of Amaterasu), Kotoshironushi, and the three gods of Sumie ([[Sumiyoshi taisha|Sumiyoshi]]): [[Sumiyoshi sanjin|Uwatsutsunoo, Nakatsutsunoo, and Sokotsutsunoo]].{{efn|The ''Kojiki''<nowiki/>'s account meanwhile identifies the gods as Amaterasu and the three Sumiyoshi deities.<ref name="Philippi259-263">{{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1400878000 |pages=259–263}}</ref>}} Worshiping the gods in accordance with their instructions, Jingū then set out to conquer the promised land beyond the sea: the [[three kingdoms of Korea]].<ref name="Philippi259-263"/><ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspages=224-227}}</ref>

When Jingū returned victorious to Japan, she enshrined the deities in places of their own choosing; Amaterasu, warning Jingū not to take her {{Lang|ja-latn|aramitama}} along to the capital, instructed her to install it in [[Hirota Shrine|Hirota]], the harbor where the empress disembarked.<ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspages=237-238}}</ref>