Shinto Gods

Shinto Gods

Amaterasu 天照

A sun goddess and perhaps the most important Shinto deity (神  kami). Her name, Amaterasu, means literally "(that which) illuminates Heaven". She was born from the left eye of Izanagi as he purified himself in a river and went on to become the ruler of the Higher Celestial Plain (Takamagahara).

Amaterasu is described in the Kojiki (the oldest surviving book in japan) as the sun goddess who was born from Izanagi's left eye. She was also accompanied by her siblings Susanoo, the storm deity, and Tsukuyomi, the moon deity, who were born from Izanagi's nose and right eye respectively. In the Kojiki, Amaterasu is described as the goddess from which all light emanates and is often referred to as the sun goddess because of her warmth and compassion for the people who worshipped her. Some other myths state that Amaterasu was born from water.

Susanoo スサノオ Susanoo, the powerful storm of Summer, is the brother of Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun, and of Tsukuyomi, the god of the moon. All three were spawned from Izanagi, when he washed his face clean of the pollutants of Yomi, the underworld. Amaterasu was born when Izanagi washed out his left eye, Tsukuyomi was born from the washing of the right eye, and Susanoo from the washing of the nose. The oldest of Susanoo’s myths tell of a long-standing rivalry between Susanoo and his sister. When he was to leave Heaven by orders of Izanagi, he went to bid his sister goodbye. Amaterasu was suspicious, but when Susanoo proposed a challenge to prove his sincerity, she accepted. Each of them took an object of the other's and from it birthed gods and goddesses. Amaterasu birthed three women from Susanoo's sword while he birthed five men from her necklace. Claiming the gods were hers because they were born of her necklace, and the goddesses were his, he decided that he has won the challenge, as his item produced women. The two were content for a time, but Susanoo, the Storm God, became restless and went on a rampage destroying his sister's rice fields, hurled a flayed pony at her loom, and killed one of her attendants in a fit of rage. Amaterasu, who was in fury and grief, hid inside the Ama-no-Iwato ("heavenly rock cave"), thus effectively hiding the sun for a long period of time. Susanoo also killed the eight-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi.

Tsukuyomi ツクヨミ

A shrine to Tsukuyomi in Kyoto

God of the MoonTsukuyom angered his sister Amaterasu when he killed Uke Mochi, the goddess of food. Amaterasu once sent Tsukuyomi to represent her at a feast presented by Uke Mochi. The goddess made the food by turning to the ocean and spitting out a fish, then facing the forest and game came out of her backside, and finally turned to a rice paddy and coughed up a bowl of rice. Tsukuyomi was utterly disgusted by the fact that, although it looked exquisite, the meal was made in a disgusting manner, and so he killed her.

Soon, Amaterasu learned what happened and she was so angry that she refused to ever look at Tsukuyomi again, forever moving to another part of the sky. This is the reason that day and night are never together.

Inari 稲荷The Japanese kami of fertility, rice, agriculture, foxes, industry, and

worldly success. Inari has been depicted both as male and as female. The most

popular representations of Inari, according to scholar Karen Ann Smyers, are a young female food goddess, an old man carrying rice,

and an androgynous bodhisattva. Not one view is correct; the preferred gender of depiction varies according to regional traditions and individual beliefs. Because of this close association with kitsune, Inari is sometimes portrayed as a fox; however, although this belief is widespread, both Shinto and Buddhist priests discourage it. Inari also appears in the form of a snake or dragon, and one folktale has Inari appear to a wicked man in the shape of a monstrous spider as a way

of teaching him a lesson.

Izanagi イザナギHe and his spouse Izanami bore many islands, deities and forefathers of Japan. When Izanami died in childbirth, Izanagi tried (but failed) to retrieve her from Yomi (the underworld). In the cleansing rite after his return, he begot Amaterasu (the sun goddess) from his left eye, Tsukuyomi (the moon god) from his right eye and Susanoo (tempest or storm god) from his nose.

The story of Izanagi and Izanami has close parallels to the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, but it also has a major difference. When Izanagi looks prematurely at his wife, he beholds her monstrous and hellish state and she is shamed and enraged. She pursues him in order to kill him. She fails to do so, but promises to kill a thousand of his people every day. Izanagi retorts that a thousand and five hundred will be born every day.

Fūjin 風神The Japanese god of the wind and one of the eldest Shinto gods. He was present at the creation of the world and when he first let the winds out of his bag, they cleared the morning mists and filled the Gate between heaven and earth so the sun shone.

He is portrayed as a terrifying dark demon, resembling a red headed black leopard humanoid wearing a leopard skin, carrying a large bag of winds on his shoulders.

A legend of Chinese Buddhism states that Fūjin and Raijin, the god of thunder, were both originally evil demons who opposed Buddha. They were captured in battle with Buddha's army of heaven, and have worked as gods since then

Raijin 雷神A god of thunder and lightning in Japanese mythology. His name is derived from the Japanese words rai (雷 , meaning thunder) and shin (神 , god). He is typically depicted as a demon beating drums to create thunder, usually with the symbol tomoe drawn in the drums.Raijin is sometimes credited with eating the bellybuttons or abdomen of children, and in the event of thunder, parents traditionally tell their children to hide their navels so that they are not taken away. Raijin's companion is the demon Raiju.