In the Shinto religion in Japan, the goddess Amaterasu is celebrated on the winter solstice. She is one of their major deities. Here are 10 facts about her.
- Her full name is Amaterasu-Omikami, which means "great divinity who shines in heaven."
- She is the goddess of the Sun and the universe, and rules over community and kinship.
- Her parents are Izanami and Izanagi, the gods who created the islands of Japan and gave birth to many of the Shinto deities. She was said to have been born from her father's left eye as he bathed in the river Woto to cleanse himself after visiting the underworld.
- One of her siblings is Susanoo, the storm god. He and Amaterasu didn't get on together and she eventually got so fed up with him that she banished him from heaven.
- One of the most famous stories about Amaterasu concerns a quarrel with Susanoo. Amaterasu was weaving quietly with one of her sisters when Susanoo threw a dead Horse at them as a prank. Amaterasu stormed off and hid in a cave, which, since she is the sun goddess, had the effect of casting the world into darkness. The other gods tried all manner of means to get her to come out, to no avail. The goddess Ama-no-Uzeme eventually performed a striptease for the other gods and it was their laughter and applause which made Amaterasu curious enough to peek out of her cave, so that the other gods could grab her and pull her out.
- The emperors of Japan are said to be her direct descendants. The nobility of Japan are said to be descended from three goddesses that Amaterasu created from her Susanoo's sword as part of a challenge. He, in return, created five gods from her necklace. Which she claimed as her own, because it was her necklace.
- Another of her brothers is Tsukiyomi-no-Mikito, the Moon god. In art, Amaterasu is often pictured sitting back to back with him.
- Amaterasu has a son, Ama-no-Oshiho-mimi. She asked him to rule over the kingdom of Earth, but when he stood on the bridge between heaven and Earth and saw what disorder Earth was in, he refused. Various gods were sent to try and sort it out but they all failed for one reason or another. Eventually, Ama-no-Oshiho-mimi nominated his son, Amaterasu's grandson, Ninigi-no-Mikoto, to do the job instead. Amaterasu gave him three gifts to help him – a jewel, a mirror and a sword plucked from a monster's tail. These three items would later become symbols of the emperors of Japan.
- There is a shrine dedicated to her at Ise in the Mie Prefecture. A number of other deities are enshrined there as well. Every twenty years, there is a ceremony in which the shrines are rebuilt and offerings made.
- She is credited with inventing weaving, the cultivation of Rice and the use of Silkworms.
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