Amaterasu
Amaterasu (the sun) was born from the washing of the right eye of the god Izanagi. She was given command of the sky and one of her duties was to weave the robes of the gods.
Amaterasu had a brother named Susanoo. One day he came to her saying that they should each create offspring as symbols of mutual trust. Amaterasu chewed up Susanoo's sword and blew the peices out in a mist. Three goddesses emerged from the mist. Susanoo chewed Amaterasu's gems and blew the fragments out in a mist. From this mist came five gods. Susanoo was so pleased with his success that he went on a rampage, running through the rice fields and causing damage. Amaterasu forgave him but he continued with his terrible behaviour and defiled the temples, soiling them with excrement. Amaterasu still forgave him however.
The goddess and her women were sitting in the weaving shed when they heard a loud sound of footsteps and banging on the roof. Suddenly Susanoo kicked a hole in the roof and dropped through it the raw and bloody carcass of a flayed horse. One of the women collapsed and died from the shock.
Amaterasu fled and hid in a cave. In her absence the world was plunged into darkness and cold. In time millions of devils came to wreak havoc on the world under the cover of darkness, and the gods decided that something had to be done. They tied a mirror and jewels to the tree outside the cave where Amaterasu was sulking. The goddess Ama-No-Uzume came and performed an impolite dance and the gods laughed loudly. The cockrels crowed and the noise of the crowing and the laughter woke Amaterasu's curiosity. She stuck her head out of the cave and was confronted with the beauty of her own reflection and the glittering jewels. When she came further out of the cave to see better she was grabbed and the cave entrance was blocked so that she couldn't return.
The gods celebrated the return of the sun.
Adapted from 'A guide to the Gods' by Richard Carlyon
