Amaterasu is the supreme deity of the Japanese religion of Shintoism and the legendary ancestor of Japan's imperial family. The full name of this deity is Amaterasu Omikami. This means in Japanese the Great Spirit Illuminating the Heavens. In the two earliest scriptures of the history of Shintoism, Amaterasu’s origin differs. These two scriptures are the Nihon shoki and the Kojiki. Nihon shoki states that she was the child of Izanagi and Izanami, the …showed first 75 words of 288 total…

…showed last 75 words of 288 total…sacred mirror, a sword, and a jewel. These items became imperial symbols. His great-grandson, Jimmu, in 660 BC became the first emperor of Japan. Amaterasu's supposed role in founding Japan's imperial line served as a major part of the pro-imperial nationalist ideology that fueled Japanese modernization in the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Amaterasu's cult centers on the Shinto shrine at Ise on south central Honshu Island. She is regarded as the guardian deity of the Japanese nation.