Her other name, 'Ōhirume', is usually understood as meaning "great woman of the sun / daytime" (cf. There are, still, certain verb forms that are treated as proper names, such as the terminal negative fukiaezu in ' Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto' (鸕鷀草葺不合尊, "His Augustness, Incompletely-Thatched-with-Comoran-Feathers") This is further exemplified by (1) an alternative epithet, 'Amateru Kami' (天照神, "The Goddess Who Shines in Heaven"), which is a plain, non-honorific version of 'Amaterasu Ōmikami', (2) alternative forms of the verb amaterasu used elsewhere, for example its continuative form amaterashi ( 天 ( あま ) 照 ( てら ) 之 ( し )) in the Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku, and (3) similar uses of attributive verb forms in certain epithets, such as Emperor Jinmu's Hatsu Kunishirasu Sumeramikoto (始馭天下之天皇, "His Majesty Who First Rules the Land"). 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 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 Goddess Who Augustly Shines in Heaven". Amaterasu is an attributive verb form that modifies the noun after it, ōmikami. 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' are. 'Amaterasu' is thought to derive from the verb amateru "to illuminate / shine in the sky" ( ama "sky, heaven" + teru "to shine") combined with the honorific auxiliary verb -su, while 'Ōmikami' means "great august deity" ( ō "great" + honorific prefix mi- + kami). Amaterasu Ōhirume no Mikoto ( 天照大日孁尊).orthography: おほひるめのむち, Ohohirume-no-Muchi Old Japanese: Opopi 1rume 1-no 2-Muti) The goddess is referred to as 'Amaterasu Ōmikami' ( 天照大御神 ( あまてらすおおみかみ ) / 天照大神 historical orthography: あまてらすおほみかみ, Amaterasu Ohomikami Old Japanese: Amaterasu Opomi 1kami 2) in the Kojiki, while the Nihon Shoki gives the following variant names: As with other Shinto kami, she is also enshrined in a number of Shinto shrines throughout Japan. 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" ( 三貴子, mihashira no uzu no miko / sankishi), the three most important offspring of the creator god Izanagi.Īmaterasu'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. 712 CE) and the Nihon Shoki (720 CE), as the ruler (or one of the rulers) of the heavenly realm Takamagahara and the mythical ancestress of the Imperial House of Japan via her grandson Ninigi. One of the major deities ( kami) of Shinto, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the Kojiki ( c. Tsukisakaki Izu no Mitama Amazakaru Mukatsuhime no Mikoto (撞賢木厳之御魂天疎向津媛命)Īmaterasu, also known as Amaterasu Ōmikami ( 天照大御神, 天照大神) or Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami ( 大日孁貴神), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. Amaterasu emerging from the cave, Ama-no-Iwato, to which she once retreated (detail of woodblock print by Kunisada)Īmaterashimasu Sume(ra) Ōmikami (天照坐皇大御神)
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