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Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu Ōmikami or Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami (大日孁貴神), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. One of the major deities (kami) of Shinto, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, as the ruler of the heavenly realm Takamagahara and the mythical ancestress of the Imperial House of Japan via her grandson Ninigi. Along with her siblings, the moon deity Tsukuyomi and the impetuous storm god Susanoo, she is considered to be one of the "Three Precious Children", the three most important offspring of the creator god Izanagi.
Susanoo, often referred to by the honorific title Susanoo-no-Mikoto, is a kami in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line, he is a multifaceted deity with contradictory characteristics, being portrayed in various stories either as a wild, impetuous god associated with the sea and storms, as a heroic figure who killed a monstrous serpent, or as a local deity linked with the harvest and agriculture. Syncretic beliefs that arose after the introduction of Buddhism to Japan also saw Susanoo becoming conflated with deities of pestilence and disease.
The Kojiki, also sometimes read as Furukotofumi or Furukotobumi, is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the kami (神), and the Japanese imperial line. It is claimed in its preface to have been composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of Empress Genmei in the early 8th century (711–712), and thus is usually considered to be the oldest extant literary work in Japan.
Izanagi (イザナギ/伊邪那岐/伊弉諾) or Izanaki (イザナキ), formally referred to with a divine honorific as Izanagi-no-Mikoto, is the creator deity (kami) of both creation and life in Japanese mythology. He and his sister-wife Izanami are the last of the seven generations of primordial deities that manifested after the formation of heaven and earth. Izanagi and Izanami are held to be the creators of the Japanese archipelago and the progenitors of many deities, which include the sun goddess Amaterasu, the moon deity Tsukuyomi, and the storm god Susanoo. He is a god that can be said to be the beginning of the current Japanese imperial family.
Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of years of contact with Chinese and Indian myths are also key influences in Japanese religious belief.
Izanami (イザナミ), formally referred to with the honorific Izanami-no-Mikoto, is the creator deity of both creation and death in Japanese mythology, as well as the Shinto mother goddess. She and her brother-husband Izanagi are the last of the seven generations of primordial deities that manifested after the formation of heaven and earth. Izanami and Izanagi are held to be the creators of the Japanese archipelago and the progenitors of many deities, which include the sun goddess Amaterasu, the moon deity Tsukuyomi and the storm god Susanoo. In mythology, she is the direct ancestor of the Japanese imperial family.
Ōyama-tsumi or Ohoyama-tsumi, also Ōyama-tsumi-mi'oya-no-mikoto (大山祇御祖命), is a god of mountains, sea, and war in Japanese mythology. He is an elder brother of Amaterasu and Susanoo. His other names are Watashi-no-Ōkami (和多志大神) and Sakatoke (酒解神).
Shinatsuhiko is a Japanese mythological god of wind (Fūjin). Another name for this deity is Shinatobe, who originally may have been a separate goddess of wind.
Ōkuninushi, also known as Ō(a)namuchi or Ō(a)namochi among other variants, is a kami in Japanese mythology. He is one of the central deities in the cycle of myths recorded in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki alongside the sun goddess Amaterasu and her brother, the wild god Susanoo, who is reckoned to be either Ōkuninushi's distant ancestor or father. In these texts, Ōkuninushi (Ōnamuchi) is portrayed as the head of the kunitsukami, the gods of the earth, and the original ruler of the terrestrial world, named Ashihara no Nakatsukuni. When the heavenly deities (amatsukami) headed by Amaterasu demanded that he relinquish his rule over the land, Ōkuninushi agreed to their terms and withdrew into the unseen world, which was given to him to rule over in exchange. Amaterasu's grandson Ninigi then came down from heaven to govern Ashihara no Nakatsukuni and eventually became the ancestor of the Japanese imperial line.
Yomotsu-shikome, in Japanese mythology, was a hag sent by the dead Izanami to pursue her husband Izanagi, for shaming her by breaking promise not to see her in her decayed form in the Underworld (Yomi-no-kuni). Also recorded by the name Yomotsu-hisame (泉津日狭女), the name may have been a term referring collectively to eight hags, not just one.
Okami in the Kojiki, or in the Nihon Shoki: Kuraokami (闇龗) or Okami (龗), is a legendary Japanese dragon and Shinto deity of rain and snow. In Japanese mythology, the sibling progenitors Izanagi and Izanami gave birth to the islands and gods of Japan. After Izanami died from burns during the childbirth of the fire deity Kagu-tsuchi, Izanagi was enraged and killed his son. Kagutsuchi's blood or body, according to differing versions of the legend, created several other deities, including Kuraokami.
Ame-no-Minakanushi is a deity (kami) in Japanese mythology, portrayed in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki as the very first or one of the first deities who manifested when heaven and earth came into existence.
Kushinadahime (櫛名田比売、くしなだひめ), also known as Kushiinadahime (奇稲田姫、くしいなだひめ) or Inadahime (稲田姫、いなだひめ) among other names, is a goddess (kami) in Japanese mythology and the Shinto faith. According to these traditions, she is one of the wives of the god Susanoo, who rescued her from the monster Yamata no Orochi. As Susanoo's wife, she is a central deity of the Gion cult and worshipped at Yasaka Shrine.
In Shinto chronology, the Age of the Gods is the period preceding the accession of Jimmu, the first Emperor of Japan. The kamiyo myths are chronicled in the "upper roll" (Kamitsumaki) of the Kojiki and in the first and second chapters of the Nihon Shoki. The reigns of Emperor Jimmu and the subsequent Emperors are considered the Human Age.
In Japanese mythology, the Kamiyo-nanayo are the seven generations of kami that emerged after the formation of heaven and earth.
In Japanese mythology, the story of the birth of the gods occurs after the creation of Japan (Kuniumi). It concerns the birth of the divine (kami) descendants of Izanagi and Izanami.
The kuni-yuzuri (国譲り) "Transfer of the land" was a mythological event in Japanese prehistory, related in sources such as the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki. It relates the story of how the rulership of Japan passed from the earthly kami (kunitsukami) to the kami of Heaven (amatsukami) and their eventual descendants, the Imperial House of Japan.
Ōmononushi is a kami in Japanese mythology associated with Mount Miwa in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture. He is closely linked in the imperial myth cycle recorded in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki with the earthly kami Ōkuninushi (Ōnamuchi); indeed, the latter text treats 'Ōmononushi' as another name for or an aspect - more precisely, the spirit or mitama - of Ōnamuchi.
Kamimusubi (神産巣日), also known as Kamimusuhi among other variants, is a kami and god of creation in Japanese mythology. They are a hitorigami, and the third of the first three kami to come into existence (Kotoamatsukami), alongside Ame-no-Minakanushi and Takamimusubi, forming a trio at the beginning of all creation. The name is composed of kami, denoting deity, and musubi, meaning "effecting force of creation".
This is a family tree of Japanese deities. It covers early emperors until Emperor Ojin, the first definitively known historical emperor, see family tree of Japanese monarchs for a continuation of the royal line into historical times
References
- ↑ Fr?d?ric, Louis; Louis-Frédéric (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. p. 376. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
- ↑ "JapanDict Japanese dictionary - Definition of 雷". www.japandict.com.
- ↑ "Encyclopedia of Shinto - Home : Kami in Classic Texts : Yakusanoikazuchi". eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp.
- ↑ Williams, George (2009). Shinto. Infobase Publishing. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-4381-0646-5.
- ↑ Herbert, Jean (2010-10-18). Shinto: At the Fountainhead of Japan. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-90376-2.
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