天照大御神 – Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess and Significance in Japan and Popular Culture
Amaterasu is the goddess of the sun and the highest deity in the pantheon of Shinto gods in Japanese mythology. She is considered the ancestor of the Imperial family of Japan. Amaterasu is an important part of Japanese culture, and even is portrayed in various adaptions in popular culture.
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天照大御神 – What does Amaterasu mean?
In Japanese Amaterasu is 天照 which is also often written in Katakana as アマテラス.
The Kanji character 天, which here is pronounced ama, means heaven, or sky. The next character is from the verb 照らす in Japanese which means to brighten, shine, or illuminate. So, the name, 天照 literally means, shine down from heaven, or brighten the sky.
Usually though, Amateresu is called 天照大神 or 天照大御神 which translates to the great goddess Amaterasu. As a side note, in the game series Okami, the name of the playable wolf character is Amaterasu Okami. This is a word play based on the word 大神 which is pronounced exactly the same for the word for wolf in Japanese, 狼.
The Legend of Amaterasu Origin Story
The goddess Amaterasu shows up in the two main Japanese mythological texts, the 古事記(kojiki) and 日本書紀(nihon-shoki). Here the stories are basically the same but not exactly. However, essentially the story or Amaterasu is as follows:
There were two gods, the male Izanagi and female, Izanami which created the islands of Japan. Izanami died from burns after giving birth to Kagutsuchi, a fire god. Izanagi went to see her in the underworld. After nearly not making it out, Izanagi cleaned his eyes and nose to get rid of the impurities of the underworld.
Amaterasu was born from the left eye, Tsukuyomi the right, and Susanoo Izanagi’s nose. Susanoo is a god of wind and seas, Tsukuyomi of the moon, and Amaterasu the goddess of the sun. We don’t here much more about Tsukuyomi, but Susanoo and Amaterasu later have a conflicting relationship between them.
The three of these gods, or 神 (kami) all make appearances as 術 (jutsu) or abilities in the Naruto series. So if you are a fan, this is where these all come from.
岩戸隠れ – The Cave Incident
We have already mentioned Amaterasu’s younger brother, Susanoo. Well the way the story goes is that Susanoo was crying wanting to go to the underworld to see Izanami. Susanoo then went to 高天原 (Takamagahara: the heavens or literally the field of high heavens) where Amaterasu lived before he went to the underworld. Thinking he was going to try and take over Takamagahara, Amaterasu got all dressed up in warrior clothing defend her realm. After the two of them traded some things they had and made some other gods, or kami out of them, they came to a mutual understanding.
After that Susanoo was causing all sorts of mischief. Despite that, Amaterasu just brushed it off. But, one day, Susanoo went too far angering Amaterasu. In anger, Amaterasu locked herself in the heavenly cave, Ama-no-Iwato, which caused the world to become dark and devoid of sunlight. The other gods eventually found a way to lure Amaterasu out of the cave, and she emerged to restore light to the world. It was done by making the mirror, 八咫鏡 (Yata no kagami) and luring her out of the cave along with the 八尺瓊勾玉 (Yasakani no Magatama) which are some beads known as Magatama, and are curved. Basically, the other gods were laughing, dancing and it made Amaterasu curious, so when she peeked out from behind the stone, and saw her reflection she was pulled out of the cave. After that, Susanoo gave Amaterasu a sword known as the 草薙の剣 (Kusanagi no Tsurugi) to say sorry.
These three items are known as 三種の神器 (sanshu no jingi: The three kinds of Sacred Treasure) or the Three treasures.
天岩戸神社 – Amanoiwato Shrine
This shrine is dedicated to Amaterasu and is suppose to be where she hid herself. It is in Takachiho, Miyazaki Prefecture. I have linked to their webpage in the resources section if you are interested or ever visit in Japan.
Connection with Imperial Family
As mentioned earlier Amaterasu is considered the ancestor of the imperial family of Japan. The Imperial family then can trace their lineage to Amaterasu the emperor is considered like a living god or 現人神 (Arahitogami) in tradition. This connection to Amaterasu is a key part of the emperor’s role in Japan and so symbolically legitimize the imperial rule throughout Japanese history.
If you remember the three sacred treasures or 三種の神器, when a new emperor takes the throne, these through treasures are presented before him as a symbolic reference to the story above, and his connection with Amaterasu. Well, they may actually not be the originals but they were said to have been passed down to the first emperor after being brought to earth, and remain in the imperial family.
伊勢神宮 – Ise Shingu Shrine
There are said to be thousands of shrines through out Japan dedicated to Amaterasu. These are called 神明神社 (Shinmei-Jinja). However, the main shrine to Amaterasu in Japan is the 伊勢神宮 (Ise-Jingu). I have also provided a link to this in the resources section. This spot for the shrine is said to have been chosen by the daughter of the emperor, Suinin after searching 20 years through out Japan. She heard the voice of Amaterasu which said that it was a good place. This shrine is located in the city of Ise in Mie Prefecture.
Himiko and Amaterasu
As any religious figures, trying to figure out their origin is not easy. But, there are theories about where the idea of Amaterasu started.
One theory is that she originated from the mysterious, women written about in the Chinese text, the Three Kingdoms, 卑弥呼 (Himiko). There is debate over the exact identity of Himiko, but due to similarities in between her and Amaterasu there have been theories they may be the same.
Himiko was a shamanistic figure and leader of the Yamato people who is said to lived around 240 AD. She also had a younger brother which helped in her rule, just like Amaterasu had a younger brother, Susanoo.
There are also theories connecting Himiko’s death to solar eclipses to coincide with the stories about Amaterasu hiding in the cave.
Also looking at her name itself, Himiko suggests some connection with the sun. The exact pronunciation could have been different, but on translation of 卑弥呼 is 日巫女. The way that Himiko is usually written is just for sound, but ひみこ may mean 日巫女 which can be broken down as the following:
- 日 – Sun
- 巫女 – Shrine Maiden (usual meaning today), sorceress, medium
So, from these points it is easy to see there maybe a connection. But, it is not definite since Amaterasu may be much much older than 240 AD, and possibly the legend of Amaterasu may have influenced the Yamato people to choose a woman as a leader who could symbolize Amaterasu. That is just a guess, so it is hard to say either way, or to know if this is all just coincidence.
Syncretism and Amaterasu
Speaking of finding connections Himiko and Amaterasu were not the only two figures to be said to be the same. Japanese syncretism between Shintoism and Buddhism took this a step further. After Buddhism was introduced to Japan, Shintoism did not go anywhere. Syncretism, or 神仏習合 (shinbutsu-shugo)as it is called in Japanese, was how these two religions were consolidated. This was done by finding equivalents of Japanese gods or kami from the various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in Buddhism.
Amaterasu first was assigned 観音菩薩 (Kannon-Bosatsu: Avalokiteśvara) and then later 大日如来 (Dainichi-Nyorai: Mahāvairocana). Through out Japanese history depending on the period which religion was seen as primary and secondary differed. So, there was a history of adding elements and taking them away of Buddhism and Shintoism to the other religion until finally during the Meiji Restoration they were separated again.
Amaterasu in Art and Popular Culture
Amaterasu is often depicted as a beautiful woman with long, flowing hair, a graceful posture, and wearing an ornate crown or hair accessory. Sometimes she holds a mirror, or is shown carrying a bow and arrow. Often rays of sunlight are shown emanating from her. The color scheme of the artwork usually features bright and warm colors, to reflect the light and energy of the sun. She also shows up in anime, manga, games and other popular medium.
References to Amaterasu in Popular culture
Amaterasu has shown up in a number of different media. Here are some of them
Naruto
In Naruto this is not a character but instead an ability, or 瞳術 (dojutsu: pupil technique) which shoots out black flames.
Noragami
Here Amaterasu is a character in the Manga. She is however depicted as someone who looks younger than she would generally have been depicted in more traditional art. She also does not appear to have much ornamentation as traditionally.
Okami
In the game, Okami the playable character Amaterasu Okami is a wolf. As stated above, the word Okami is a word play off of 狼 meaning wolf, and 大神 or great god.
Overwatch
Amaterasu has also become popular to the point that she is portrayed outside of Japan. After a recent announcement by Blizzard entertainment, we see that the game Overwatch will be getting a new skin called Amaterasu Kiriko.
Japanese Religion in General
Whether you have a chance to visit her shrines in Japan, or just want to read more about her, Amaterasu is an important and interesting figure. As the sun goddess and ancestor to the Japanese Imperial family, Amaterasu is an integral part of Japanese culture and religion. If you are coming from a western religious perspective, Japanese religion is quite different. Unlike in Christianity, Islam and Judaism which has holy books and doctrine seems to be the core of the religions, Japanese religion is different.
Amaterasu is the highest kami in the pantheon of Japanese gods but is not worshiped in the same sense as the God in the Abrahamic traditions. Japanese religion is based more off of traditions, customs, and places more than the direct worship of a specific god. In Christianity, Christians may read the bible, go to church and pray to Jesus. In Japan people do not pray to Amaterasu, but may instead visit a shrine then show their respect there. They may not even know that the specific shrine is to Amaterasu, as there are several shrines to many gods or kami in Japan.
To make things more confusing, Shinto and Buddhism are the two main religions in Japan and have influenced each other throughout history. Like we talked about above with the 神仏習合 and how Amaterasu was consolidated with other Buddhas.
Shinto is the native religion of Japan, originating from animistic and polytheistic beliefs. It worships spirits or gods known as kami, which can be found in nature and are the core of the religion. Buddhism was introduced to Japan from China and Korea in the 6th century and adopted by the ruling class before spreading to the general population. Today, Japanese people don’t separate the two religions and participate in different traditions related to both. If you are interested I wrote more about Japanese religion in the post below.
宗教 – Major Religions in Japan and Religious Beliefs
If you are interested in learning more about Japanese, Japan or other related topics I have several more posts here at Japanese Universe.
Resources
- Overwatch announcement of Amaterasu Kiriko
- Okami (official website)
- Naruto (official site)
- Noragami (fandom.com)
- Amanoiwato Shrine
- Ise Jingu Shrine
- Source of Amaterasu Cave Photo
- The Origin of Iwato Kagura (image)
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