Amaterasu and the Cave – arts, ink. (2024)

Amaterasu and the Cave – arts, ink. (1)The story of Amaterasu and the Cave can be traced all the way to the oldest known records of Japan’s history, in the Kojiki (680 AD), which is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions.

Amaterasu and her brother, Susano, were both divine beings in Japanese mythology. When Susano accidentally kills a weaver with a practical joke, as he was a miscievious god, Amaterasu hides because of her guilt. Using magic, she sealed herself into a cave with a Heavenly Rock. Now, Amaterasu was the goddess of the sun, and without the sun goddess the world fell into darkness. The rest of the gods called a meeting, and tried to find ways to draw her out of the cave. Their solution: a party, and gifts. They crafted a beautiful mirror and a string of beads for her. Next, they uprooted an evergreen tree and decorated it with the beads and hung the mirror in its center. Ameno-uzume, goddess of the arts, danced on a stage. When Amaterasu got curious, she opened the cave door, and another god pulled her out of the cave by her wrist, and shut the Heavenly Rock behind her with a magical boundary so she could not hide again. The sun returned with her now out into the world once more.

My illustration focuses on the evergreen tree decorated with the beads, with a reflection of the Goddess Amaterasu inside the mirror hanging from the center of the tree.

Here is the link to the story I referenced while creating the art piece and written material of this post:https://naokoyogitakiguchi.medium.com/when-the-sun-goddess-hid-in-the-cave-of-heaven-a-medicine-story-from-japanese-creation-myths-30b166125c32

Amaterasu and the Cave – arts, ink. (2)

Sierra Iverson

My name is Sierra Snow Iverson, and I'm a junior pursing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design. I have a focus in animation and film due to my intense interest in storytelling. However, I have a background in Illustration and 2D Design. The content of my postings will center around fables and myths from around the world through a combination of illustrations and written material.

Amaterasu and the Cave – arts, ink. (2024)

FAQs

How do the gods trick Amaterasu into leaving the cave? ›

To lure her back out, myriads of kami deities enacted an elaborate ruse: they staged a festival with song and dance outside the cave's entrance. Amaterasu, perplexed by the revelry outside, cracked open the stone door of the cave to peek out, and the deities used the opportunity to pry open the door and fling it away.

What is the moral lesson of Amaterasu and the cave? ›

Amaterasu's story has a moral lesson for human beings and that is to shine bright through your life.

Did Amaterasu marry her brother? ›

Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun, and her brother Tsukuyomi, the god of the moon, were married. Because... you know, that's just what ancient gods did. Together, they lived in the heavens. One day, Uke Mochi (保食神, "The Goddess Who Protects Food"), the goddess of food and cooking, invited Amaterasu over for a feast.

What is one result of the Japanese goddess Amaterasu hiding in a cave from her angry and violent brother Susanowo? ›

In response, a furious Amaterasu shut herself inside the Ame-no-Iwayato (天岩屋戸, "Heavenly Rock-Cave Door", also known as Ama-no-Iwato), plunging heaven and earth into total darkness.

Who lured Amaterasu out of the cave? ›

Amenouzume. Amenouzume, in Japanese mythology, the celestial goddess who performed a spontaneous dance enticing the sun goddess Amaterasu out of the cave in which she had secluded herself and had thus deprived the world of light.

Who can stop Amaterasu? ›

if it's simply stopping the amaterasu then in most cases almost everyone can stop it. boruto as momoshiki was able to do so via shadow clone spam, nagato was able to push off the amaterasu flames he got from itachi, jigen and in parts boruto (again) and kawaki can do so via absorption.

What happens when Amaterasu hides in a cave after her brother the storm God goes nuts in heaven? ›

The power of Amaterasu, the Shinto sun goddess, is to bring light to all the world. If she is angry, as when she retreated to a cave after an argument with her brother Susanoo the storm god, then the world is left in darkness.

What does Amaterasu mean in Japanese? ›

Amaterasu (Japanese: 天照), Amaterasu-ōmikami (Japanese: 天照大神 or 天照大御神) or Ōhirume-no-muchi-no-kami (Japanese: 大日孁貴神), is a goddess in Japanese mythology. She is the Sun Goddess, and the most sacred of all Shinto deities. Her name, Amaterasu, means "(that which) illuminates Heaven." Her shrine is at Ise.

Why did Izanagi leave Izanami? ›

The grief-stricken Izanagi followed her there, but she had eaten the food of that place and could not leave. She became angry when he lit a fire and saw her rotting and covered with maggots. A horrified Izanagi fled, with a host of women and then Izanami herself in pursuit.

Who is the strongest Japanese god? ›

This is why Kojiki says that her descendants came down to the world to rule Japan as emperors. Legitimizing the early Japanese state of Yamato might be called the main theme of the Kojiki legends. It is also the reason why Amaterasu is revered as the highest deity in Japanese mythology.

Is Amaterasu a queen? ›

Amaterasu is worshipped as the queen of the kami and is also revered as the mother of the Imperial Family and a Goddess of State. Amaterasu granted the Imperial Family the divine right to rule Japan and was also known as the Goddess of Divine Justice.

Who killed Amaterasu? ›

After she spat fish into the sea and game into the forests, she proceeded to pull crops from her rectum. Disgusted by her actions, Tsukuyomi killed her on the spot. Amaterasu rejected her husband's disgust and banished him for his evil actions. Thus, day and night became separated for all eternity.

Is Susanoo a bad god? ›

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 (both good and bad), being portrayed in various stories either as a wild, impetuous god associated with the sea and storms, as a heroic figure who ...

Who is the youngest Japanese god? ›

In the Nihon Shoki, however, Susanoo is the child of both Izanagi and Izanami. Susanoo is also the youngest, born after his siblings Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. Numerous other variations of Susanoo's birth also exist in other Japanese texts.

How does Ame no Uzume trick Amaterasu? ›

Uzume dancing to lure out Amaterasu. The clever Uzume overturned a tub near the cave entrance and began to dance on it, tearing off her clothing in front of the other deities. They considered this so comical that they laughed heartily at the sight. This dance is said to have founded the Japanese ritual dance, Kagura.

Where is the cave Amaterasu hid in? ›

A shrine and cave full of myth, and dances to the gods

Situated in the Takachiho area in Miyazaki Prefecture of Kyushu , Amano Iwato-jinja Shrine is dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu, and primarily known for the thousands of small stone piles on the path along the river from the shrine.

Does Amaterasu travel? ›

Despite being initially described as spawning at the user's point of focus, Amaterasu has at times been depicted as traveling through space towards its targets, making it possible for other high speed techniques to counter it.

What is Amaterasu weak to? ›

Amaterasu is a Wood attribute Kemono that takes the most damage from Wind attribute attacks to its head. The Poison and Ablaze ailments are greatly effective against this Kemono, while it completely resists the Entangled ailment. Likewise, Wood, Water, and Earth attribute attacks don't work very well against Amaterasu.

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