The Mythology Book

224

hole through its ceiling and dropped

a sacred colt that he had skinned

into their midst, causing chaos. The

shock made one of the spirits inside

slam her weaving shuttle into herself,

causing a fatal injury. Amaterasu

was so appalled and frightened she

hid in a cave deep in the center

of the Earth called Ama-no-Iwato

(“Heaven’s Boulder Cavern”) and

refused to leave. This plunged the

world into darkness.

The spirits gathered together

outside the cavern to persuade

Amaterasu to come out of hiding.

Omoikane, the god of wisdom and

adviser to the spirits of heaven,

devised a cunning plan. He gathered

hard stone from the upper reaches of

the Milky Way and iron from the

mountains of heaven. Using these

materials, he then instructed other

spirits to fashion small curved

pendants (known as the Yasakani-

no-Magatama) and an eight-sided

mirror (called the Yata-no-Kagami).

Uprooting a tree, Omoikane

planted it outside the entrance

to the cavern. He strung the upper

branches with the pendants and the

lower branches with prayer strips

made of white mulberry paper and

blue hemp. In the middle of the tree,

he hung the eight-sided mirror.

The dawn goddess Ame-no-Uzume

then overturned a bucket near the

SUSANOO AND AMATERASU

Amaterasu hides in a cave, but

the spirits trick her into leaving. Here,

in Utagawa Kunisada’s 19th-century

woodblock print, she emerges from

the darkness radiating divine light.

entrance of the cavern and began

to dance on it. As she danced, she

bared her breasts and pulled her

girdle down past her waist. The

other spirits laughed uproariously.

Hearing the commotion,

Amaterasu curiously peered out of

the cavern. As she emerged, she

caught sight of her reflection in the

mirror. As she was momentarily

transfixed, Ame-no-Tajikarao, a

strong god hiding close by, pulled

her out into the open. A sacred rope

was flung over the cavern’s entrance

to stop her going back into the cave.

The other spirits told Amaterasu

she could no longer withhold her

radiance. She agreed never to hide

herself again and once more the

world was bathed in her light.

Death and rebirth

With Amaterasu out of hiding, the

gods had to decide what to do with

Susanoo, who, in acting erratically,

selfishly, and destructively, had

committed a serious breach of

traditional Japanese moral values.

First, in punishment for his actions,

So the high plains of heaven

were cast into utter

darkness ... endless night

came to cover the world.

Kojiki

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The Imperial Regalia of Japan, also known as the three

sacred treasures, were passed from Amaterasu’s grandson

to the Emperor and were used as part of the enthronement

ceremony. They represent wisdom, benevolence, and valor.

Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi

(Grass-Cutting

Sword)

Given to Amaterasu

by Susanoo.

Yasakani-no-

Magatama (Pendant)

Decorated the tree

around which Ame-

no-Uzume danced.

Yata-no-Kagami

(Eight-Sided Mirror)

Used by the gods to

lure Ame-no-Uzume-no-

Mikoto from her cave.

he had his fingernails, toenails, and

facial hair torn off. He was then to

be exiled from heaven to Earth.

When the spirits also imposed

a fine of 1,000 tables laden with

food, Susanoo asked the female

food spirit, O-ge-tsu-hime, for help

in finding food. She agreed, but

pulled the food from her nose,

mouth, and backside. Susanoo

found this so offensive that he slew

her, but O-ge-tsu-hime’s corpse

flourished again, mirroring the

harvest cycle of death and rebirth.

Silkworms emerged from her head.

Rice came from her eyes, millet

from her ears, red beans from her

nose, barley from her reproductive

organs, and soybeans from her rear.

These grains and beans were

transformed into seeds, and

Susanoo sowed and harvested

them to pay his fine.

After being banished from

heaven, Susanoo went to Mount

Torikami, on the Spirit River. As he

walked through the countryside, he

saw a chopstick floating down the

river and, following the direction

from which it had come, he found

an elderly couple with a beautiful

daughter. All three were weeping.

ASIA

The old man, Ashi-nazu-chi, said

that the couple had once had eight

daughters, but each year one had

been devoured by a dragon called

Yamata-no-Orochi. Now only their

youngest daughter, Kushi-nada-

hime, was left.

Killing the dragon

Susanoo was told that the dragon

had eight heads and eight tails,

and was so huge that it spanned

eight valleys and eight peaks.

He agreed to kill the dragon in

return for Kushi-nada-hime’s hand

in marriage. Susanoo ordered the

Kami and the Japanese emperors

After her dispute with Susanoo

was resolved, Amaterasu turned

to bringing order to the Earth.

Her two sons were unable

to accomplish this task, but

eventually her grandson Ninigi

was sent down. Amaterasu gave

him three powerful treasures:

the pendants, the mirror, and the

sword that Susanoo had given her.

Ninigi brought order to Japan.

He married Kono-hana-sakuya-

hime, the granddaughter of the

original creators, Izanagi and

Izanami. Ninigi’s great-grandson

was Jimmu, the legendary first

emperor of Japan, who was said

to have reigned in 660–585 bce.

Jimmu’s chief wife was a

descendent of Susanoo and

Kushi-nada-hime. As such, the

emperors were regarded as

being the direct descendants

of many of the most important

kami (spirits worshipped in the

Shinto religion). The emperor’s

traditional title is Tenno

(“heavenly sovereign”). In 1945,

however, as part of Japan’s

surrender after World War II,

Emperor Hirohito renounced

his divine status.

Emperor Hirohito (1901–1989)

is dressed for his coronation in 1928.

At this time, Hirohito was revered as

a direct descendant of the gods.

elderly couple to make a batch of

extra-strong sake, and to make a

fence with eight doors—at each

one, they were to place a cask of

the sake. When the dragon

arrived, it drank from each of the

casks. The sake was so strong

that the beast quickly fell asleep.

Susanoo then hacked it into

pieces. Inside the corpse, he

found a mighty blade which he

later gave to Amaterasu to atone

for his bad behavior. With the

dragon slain, Susanoo and Kushi-

nada-hime married and had six

generations of offspring. ■

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