Cult of Gods

Amaterasu Ōmikami

Japanese (Shinto) tradition. See the whole pantheon.

Domains
the sun, imperial ancestor, light
Symbols and attributes
Mirror Yata no Kagami; Ise Grand Shrine
Parents (per the sources used)
Izanagi
Ninigi: grandson of
Ninigi
Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 'Sangoku ken', a 19th-century woodblock print.
Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 'Sangoku ken', a 19th-century woodblock print.

Key myth

Born from Izanagi's left eye during purification. When her brother Susanoo's wild conduct terrified her she hid in a cave and the world went dark, until the other kami lured her out with a festival and a mirror.

Where sources differ or caution applies. Kojiki: born from Izanagi alone. The Nihon Shoki gives variants, including Izanagi and Izanami as parents.

Primary sources

  • Kojiki, Book 1
  • Nihon Shoki, Book 1

All sources for the Japanese (Shinto) pantheon

Lineage in the sources used: Izanagi.

Place in the family graph

Choose a deity to see where it comes from. Dashed lines are links the sources describe that are not parent and child.

IzanagiIzanamiAmaterasu ŌmikamiTsukuyomiSusanooKagutsuchiŌwatatsumiTakemikazuchiAme-no-UzumeŌkuninushiNinigiInari Ōkami

More traditions

Odin rides to Hel, W. G. Collingwood, after the Poetic Edda.NorsePapyrus of Ani, British Museum (New Kingdom), a Book of the Dead.EgyptianA chaos monster and a sun god, drawn by L. Gruner for A. H. Layard's Monuments of Nineveh.MesopotamianVishvarupa Vishnu, Kashmir or Himachal, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art collection.Hindu

Elsewhere in the world

Deities in other traditions who share a theme with Amaterasu Ōmikami: the sun and light. This is overlap in one area only.

Egyptian

Atum

creator, the completed one

Egyptian

Ra

sun, kingship, order

Hindu

Agni

fire, the sacrifice, messenger of the gods

Celtic (Irish)

Lugh

skill in all arts, kingship, the sun (in later readings)

Compare across cultures