Reading Notes: Japanese Mythology, Part A

 Amaterasu is a goddess of great importance in the Shinto religion of Japan. Her complete name, Amaterasu-omikami, means "the great august kami (god) who shines in the heaven." 

She is the sister of Susanowo, the god of the sea and of storms, and she is also the sister of Tsukuyomi, the god of the moon.

Ninigi, the grandson of Amaterasu, is also the great-grandfather of Emperor Jimmu, providing the link between the realm of heaven and the emperors of Japan

the next generation, with Ho-deri (Fire-Flame) and Ho-wori (Fire-Fade), the sons of Ninigi; Ho-wori was a hunter and Ho-deri was a fisherman. 

The name Toyotama means "Shining Jewel" or "Peerless Jewel," as the name is rendered here


Romance of Old Japan by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917).


Source:

 Amaterasu, rays of light radiating from her body, as she emerges from her cave in anger, thinking that there is a goddess that rivals her in beauty, and thus light returns into the world.

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