Anna Lee, Jason Lewis, Nahya Pelito, Sora Shojae |
The royal family
Amaterasu also had a major impact in the founding of the royal family. According to Shinto belief, Amaterasu’s grandson was the first emperor of Japan. Subsequently, all Japanese emperors are thought to be descendants of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess (“Jimmu, Emperor of Japan”). According to the Nihon Shoki, Amaterasu gave her grandson three treasures, a jewel, an eight foot mirror, and the sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi, which now form the Imperial Regalia of Japan. According to the Nihon, Amaterasu said to her grandson, “The abundant reed plain where rice grows for 1500 years is to be ruled by my descendants. It is fitting for you, august grandchild, to go there and rule. Go! And may treasured happiness come down upon you, and may high treasure and happiness endure forever, the same as heaven and earth” (Shinno). |
The way the citizens viewed their emperor is important because it established a special relationship between the two. There was respect between the emperor and Japanese citizens as a result of the emperor being Amaterasu's descendant. “The ancestor of my ancestors is the Sun Goddess. The Sun Goddess is the founder of our race, and the throne is the sacred house of our race….Father and mother are ancestors living in the present; the emperor is the Sun Goddess living in the present. For the same reason one is filial to his parents and loyal to the throne” (Kinsley). |
This quote shows just how dedicated the Japanese people were to the emperor as a result of lineage.