Character Archive
Explore myths where Amaterasu appears across cultures, conflicts, sacred places, and recurring themes.
15 myths currently featured for Amaterasu.
To negotiate the peaceful transfer of the earthly realm to the descendants of the sun goddess Amaterasu, the thunder deity Takemikazuchi descended to Inasa Beach in Izumo. In a stunning display of divine authority, he drove his massive sword tip-first into the beach sand and sat cross-legged atop its sharp point. This display, followed by a trial of strength against the defiant god...
Amaterasu, the supreme sun goddess of Takamagahara, decided that her descendant should rule over the terrestrial land of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni. To achieve this, she dispatched a succession of divine messengers to the earthly realm to demand that the ruler, Okuninushi, yield his authority. This sequence of envoys culminated in a powerful confrontation at Inasa Beach, where the earthly...
Exiled from heaven, the storm god Susanoo descends to Earth and encounters a grieving elderly couple whose daughters have been devoured by the monstrous Yamata no Orochi, an eight-headed serpent. Susanoo devises a clever plan to intoxicate the beast with eight vats of strong sake before slicing it to pieces. Deep within the serpent's tail, his sword strikes a hard object, revealing the...
Banished from the heavenly realms, the storm god Susanoo descends to the Hii River in Izumo, where he encounters an elderly couple weeping over the impending sacrifice of their eighth daughter, Kushinadahime, to the monstrous eight-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi. Susanoo devises an ingenious trap, requesting the brewing of highly refined eightfold sake to lure the beast into a drunken...
Following his violent outbursts and banishment from the High Celestial Plain, the tempestuous storm god Susanoo descends to Earth at Mount Sentsu in the historical province of Izumo. There, he encounters an elderly couple and their daughter, Kushinadahime, who is about to be sacrificed to the monstrous eight-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi. Through cleverness and divine prowess, Susanoo slays...
When the sun goddess Amaterasu hid inside the Heavenly Rock Cave, plunging the entire universe into absolute darkness, the heavenly deities devised a plan to lure her out. The physically strongest kami, Ame-no-Tajikarao, stood concealed by the cavern's entrance, waiting for the perfect opportunity to act. When Amaterasu peeked out in curiosity, Tajikarao grabbed her hand, hauled her out, and...
When the sun goddess Amaterasu locked herself in the heavenly rock cave Ama-no-Iwato, she cast the entire cosmos into complete darkness and despair. The millions of Shinto deities gathered in the dry riverbed to devise a plan, but no strategy worked until the clever dawn goddess, Ame-no-Uzume, overturned a wooden tub near the cave's entrance and began a wild, comical, and highly suggestive...
When the sun goddess Amaterasu hid herself in the Heavenly Rock Cave out of grief over her brother Susanoo's wild behavior, the world was plunged into complete darkness. Desperate to bring light back to the universe, eight million Shinto deities gathered at the quiet, gravelly riverbed of Ama-no-Yassugawara. Led by the wise god Omoikane, they devised a brilliant, festive plan to pique her...
Driven to deep despair and grief by the destructive, reckless actions of her brother Susanoo, the sun goddess Amaterasu seals herself within the Heavenly Rock Cave, Amano-Iwato. Her withdrawal plunges both the heavens and the earth into complete, terrifying darkness and unleashes countless evil spirits. Through a clever, festive plan devised by the assembly of gods, Amaterasu is lured out of...
In Japanese mythology, the storm god Susanoo-no-Mikoto, drunk on pride after a sacred contest, goes on a destructive rampage in heaven. This culminates in him flaying a heavenly horse and throwing it through the roof of the sacred weaving hall of his sister, the sun goddess Amaterasu. Outraged and deeply grieved by the resulting death of a weaving maiden, Amaterasu retreats into the Heavenly...