Amaterasu
Considered to be the prime ancestor of the Japanese emperor, the Sun Goddess Amaterasu-ō-Mikami, queen of the kami (see
kami
) or the forces of Nature, is honored especially at her temple at Ise, Japan. As the Rising Sun, she gives spiritual power to her people. Amaterasu had a brother named Susanowo (see
Susanowo
). When Susanowo, the storm god, visited his sister in Heaven, he produced five gods by biting her necklaces and blowing a cloud over them. Amaterasu had created three goddesses by breaking her brother's sword, chewing on the pieces, and blowing a cloud over them. When later, in a drunken fury, Susanowo disrupted and destroyed much of Heaven and Earth and ...