Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo
Extra Stories About Them Just Because
Story
- After climbing a celestial ladder, Tsukuyomi lived in the heavens with his sister Amaterasu. Amaterasu once sent Tsukuyomi to represent her at a feast presented by Uke Mochi. Uke Mochi made the food by turning to look at the ocean and spitting out a fish, then looking at the forest and game came out of her mouth, and finally turned to look at a rice paddy and coughed up a bowl of rice. Tsukuyomi was disgusted by the fact that 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.
- Susanoo possessed Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, a sword his father used to kill his brother Kagu-tsuchi , as his weapon. Susanoo came down from heaven and roamed throughout the earth. He killed the eight-headed dragon-serpent Yamata-no Orochi, as stated in the Kojiki(which has been translated here) "...Then Susanoo drew the ten-span sword which he wore, and chopped the serpent into small pieces. When he came to the tail, the edge of his sword was slightly notched, and he therefore split open the tail and examined it. In the inside there was a sword. This is the sword which is called Kusa-nagi no tsurugi.".
- Amaterasu is the ancestress of the Imperial Family and is regarded as the chief deity. She gave to her descendant Ninigi, the mirror,Yata no Kagami; the jewel,Yasakani no Magatama; and the sword, Kusa-nagi no Tsurugi. This sacred mirror, jewel, and sword collectively became the three Imperial Regalia of Japan.