, often called Amaterasu (, A-ma-TE-russ) for short, also known as and , is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. Often considered the chief deity (kami) of the Shinto pantheon, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the () and the (720 CE), as the ruler (or one of the rulers) of the heavenly realm Takamagahara and as the mythical ancestress of the Imperial House of Japan via her grandson Ninigi. Along with two of her siblings (the moon deity Tsukuyomi and the impetuous storm-god Susanoo) she ranks as one of the "Three Precious Children" (, ), the three most important offspring of the creator god Izanagi.

Amaterasu's chief place of worship, the Grand Shrine of Ise in Ise, Mie Prefecture, is one of Shinto's holiest sites and a major pilgrimage center and tourist spot. As with other Shinto kami, she is also enshrined in a number of Shinto shrines throughout Japan.

Name

The goddess is referred to as Amaterasu Ōmikami ( / ; historical orthography: , Amaterasu Ohomikami; Old Japanese: Amaterasu Opomi<sub>1</sub>kami<sub>2</sub>) in the , while the gives the following variant names:

  • Ōhirume-no-Muchi (; Man'yōgana: ; hist. orthography: , Ohohirume-no-Muchi; Old Japanese: Opopi<sub>1</sub>rume<sub>1</sub>-no<sub>2</sub>-Muti)
  • Amaterasu Ō(mi)kami (; hist. orthography: , Amaterasu Oho(mi)kami) while Ōmikami means 'great august<!-- adjective meaning "noble", not the month of August --> deity' (ō + 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. is an attributive verb form that modifies the noun after it, . 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<!-- adjective meaning "noble", not the month of 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, (, ), which is a plain, non-honorific version of , (2) alternative forms of the verb used elsewhere, for example its continuative form () in the Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku, and (3) similar uses of attributive verb forms in certain epithets, such as Emperor Jimmu's (, ). There are, still, certain verb forms that are treated as proper names, such as the terminal negative in 'Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto' (, ).

Her other name, , is usually understood as meaning (cf. hiru , from hi + me ), though alternative etymologies such as (taking to mean ) or (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 , 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).

As the ancestress of the imperial line, the epithet (, ; also read as ) is also applied to Amaterasu in names such as Amaterasu Sume(ra) Ō(mi)kami (, also read as 'Tenshō Kōtaijin') and 'Amaterashimasu-Sume(ra)-Ōmikami' ().

During the medieval and early modern periods, the deity was also referred to as 'Tenshō Daijin' (the on'yomi of ) or 'Amateru Ongami' (an alternate reading of the same).

The name Amaterasu Ōmikami has been translated into English in different ways. While a number of authors such as Donald Philippi rendered it as , Basil Hall Chamberlain argued (citing the authority of Motoori Norinaga) that it is more accurately understood to mean (because the auxiliary is merely honorific, not causative, such interpretation as would miss the mark), and accordingly translated it as . Gustav Heldt's 2014 translation of the Kojiki, meanwhile, renders it as "the great and mighty spirit Heaven Shining."

Mythology

In classical mythology

Birth

thumb|150px|[[Izanagi purifying himself (misogi) by immersing in the Tachibana River (Natori Shunsen)]]

thumb|Installation of the Sun Goddess (Amaterasu)

Both the () and the (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" (, ), however, vary between sources:

  • In the , 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 () 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 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: