Week 7 Story Planning: The Sun's Fear

Story Notes:

•  Amaterasu "the bright", Sun Goddess
• Despite being the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu is responsible for weaving the "dark web of Doom with its symbols of joy and dismay"
• Symbolic? Sun can be good and bad (can help plants grow vs too much sun with no rain can kill plants, sun can warm the land vs too hot can make it difficult to work?)
• Can use this: Sun brings both joy and dismay to all, and so Amaterasu has both allies and enemies alike in all directions, from the Heavens to Earth and down to the very depths of Hell below"Speeding her shuttle of Fate, interwove Izanagi's fair daughter
  Lotus-pure blossoms of Love with the flame of a rapturous star"
• Izanagi's daughter is one of the Amaterasu's hand-maidens? Look up exactly who Izanagi's daughter is
• Susa-no-wo comes "out of the void"
• Does Susa-no-wo not live in Hell? Is described as the "Dragon of Hell" and the "demon of Fire" - does this have significance?
• Is Amaterasu's fear of Susa-no-wo due to him being a demon, or is there something more?
• "immured her secure from the rage of her brother benighted"
• Amaterasu is Susa-no-wo's sibling?
• The people wail at the loss of "their Jewel of Heaven" until a god makes a golden mirror and Uzume takes it to lure Amaterasu out
• Uzume, Goddess of Laughter, dances and frolics to gain Amaterasu's attention
• When Amaterasu comes out, Uzume praises her and shows her the golden mirror (Amaterasu's own reflection) but Amaterasu does not realize it is her own appearance
• Amaterasu: lack of self-confidence? Fear of someone else rivaling her?
• Not sure I can use this
• Comes out of cave to confront her 'rival' and Taji-Karao rolls a boulder to block off her cave
• This will definitely have to be removed, due to my change (Amaterasu has to be able to flee every night)

Source 1 Notes:

•  Amaterasu is the daughter of Izanami and Izanagi
• Previous note about Izanagi's daughter being a handmaiden is wrong, ignore
• Elder sister of Susanoo (Susa-no-wo), constantly argued with him until she exiled him from heaven
• "Amaterasu & The Cave"
• Susanoo surprised Amaterasu with a monstrous flayed horse - reason for why she fled from him?
• Will probably keep more of the "demon/Dragon of Hell" aspect in rewriting, need reason for Amaterasu to constantly flee every night
• More deities than Amenouzume/Ama-no-Uzeme (Uzume) involved in trying to bring Amaterasu out of her cave
• Didn't see reflection as an enemy, but was distracted by her own "stunning reflection"
• Narcissistic tendencies
• Ame-no-tajikara-wo (Taji-Karao) dragged Amaterasu out of the cave instead of just blocking it off behind her (which Tuto-Tamu did instead)
• Might involve Taji-Karao and/or Uzume to convince Amaterasu that star deity/Susanoo will be driven off every morning

Source 2 Notes:

• Amatasumikaboshi was a malignant Shinto god
• Under Chinese buddhism he was associated with another deity associated with the north star
• Ended up combined with Ama-no-mi-naka-nushi
• Use the version that exists separately, stick with the original malignant nature
• Jealousy over stars not being as 'dazzling and resplendent' as the sun?

Image: Twilight Sky Red Cloud Sunset Sun East on Max Pixel

Bibliography: The Miraculous Mirror from Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney. Web Source

Source 1: Amaterasu, Ancient History Encyclopedia

Source 2: Amatsumikaboshi, Wikipedia