In Japanese mythology the sun is a goddess. Her name is Amaterasu, "she who shines in heaven", and she is the most important deity of the Shinto pantheon. Her most famous myth tells of the time when, offended and wounded, she withdrew into a cave and the whole world plunged into darkness. To bring her out the gods used not force but a mirror, a dance and a burst of laughter. It is an ancient and surprisingly modern tale about withdrawal, about injury and about the return to light.
The sources
The myth is told mainly in two works compiled at the beginning of the 8th century at the wish of the imperial court: the Kojiki, "Record of Ancient Matters", completed in 712, and the Nihon Shoki, "Chronicles of Japan", of 720. The two versions differ in some details, but the structure of the story is the same.
The birth of Amaterasu
According to the Kojiki, the god Izanagi, returning from the world of the dead where he had sought his wife Izanami in vain, purifies himself in a river. From the drops of his washing many deities are born. The last three are the most important: from his left eye is born Amaterasu, goddess of the sun; from his right eye Tsukuyomi, god of the moon; from his nose Susanoo, the impetuous god linked to storms and the sea.
Izanagi entrusts Amaterasu with ruling the Plain of High Heaven. The birth itself already holds a meaningful idea: light is born from an act of purification after contact with death.
Susanoo's offences
Susanoo is a turbulent god. After a contest with his sister, he gives himself over to a series of outrages in the heavenly realm: he breaks down the dykes of the rice fields, defiles the hall where Amaterasu celebrates the harvest rite, and finally hurls a flayed horse through the roof of the hall where her maidens weave the divine garments. One of the weavers dies of fright.
The retreat into the cave
Wounded and frightened, Amaterasu enters the Heavenly Rock Cave and closes its entrance with a stone. The sun disappears. Heaven and earth fall into darkness, evil spirits multiply and every kind of misfortune spreads.
It is a powerful image of what happens when a person withdraws into themselves after a deep wound. The withdrawal is understandable, even necessary, but if it lasts too long, everything around loses its light.
The assembly of the gods
The deities gather on the dry bed of a heavenly river to decide what to do. The god of wisdom, Omoikane, devises a plan. The story describes the preparations with almost ritual care:
- roosters, heralds of the dawn, are made to crow;
- a mirror is forged and curved jewels, the magatama, are prepared;
- mirror and jewels are hung on a sacred sakaki tree in front of the cave;
- ritual words are recited;
- a god of great strength hides beside the entrance.
The dance of Ame-no-Uzume
Then the goddess Ame-no-Uzume climbs onto an upturned tub and begins to dance, stamping hard. In the ecstasy of the dance she uncovers herself, and the assembled deities burst into a roar of laughter that shakes the heavens.
Inside the cave Amaterasu, curious, wonders how they can laugh while the world is dark. She opens the stone a little and asks why. They answer that a goddess even more radiant than she has appeared. As Amaterasu leans out, she is shown the mirror: she sees her own shining reflection and, astonished, draws closer still. At that moment the strong god takes her by the hand and pulls her out. A sacred rope, a shimenawa, is stretched behind her so that she cannot go back in. Light returns to the world.
The symbols of the story
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| The cave | withdrawal after injury, inner darkness |
| The mirror | the recognition of one's own light |
| The dance and the laughter | life that goes on and calls one back to presence |
| The sacred rope | the boundary that prevents falling back into withdrawal |
The mirror is the deepest symbol. Amaterasu does not come out because she is forced, but because she sees herself: she recognises her own light, which she had forgotten. The mirror is still one of the most important sacred objects in Shinto and is traditionally associated with the shrine at Ise, dedicated to the goddess.
An inner reading
The myth suggests a gentle way of accompanying someone who has shut themselves away. Force is not enough, and on its own it does not work. What is needed is community, patience, shared joy and above all an image in which the person can recognise their own worth. The laughter of the gods is not disrespect for pain but a call back to life.
And for those living through their own withdrawal, the myth recalls that the light has not been lost: it is only hidden, waiting to be seen again.
In short
- Amaterasu, goddess of the sun, is born from Izanagi's left eye during his purification.
- Wounded by the outrages of her brother Susanoo, she shuts herself in the Heavenly Rock Cave and the world stays dark.
- The gods prepare roosters, jewels and a mirror hung on a sacred tree.
- Ame-no-Uzume's dance provokes laughter that leads Amaterasu to look out.
- The mirror gives her back her own light: the return arises from recognising oneself.
