Talk:Amaterasu
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Should this page not have a picture of the goddess herself, rather than just the same torii as appears in Japanese mythology? elvenscout742 19:31, 10 Mar 2005 (UTC) I saw a picture of amaterasu on this page http://www.h2.dion.ne.jp/~albireo/NewFiles/kodai%20illust/amaterasu.jpg. If it can be used please do so.
Is the alternative spelling "AmateraTsu" correct? The relatively few Google hits seem to be typos or bogus "corrections" by non-Japanese. Can anyone check?
Jorge Stolfi 02:33, 14 Apr 2004 (UTC)
- Hmm, I've never heard of the "アマテラツ" spelling or reading in Japan. At least the relevant edits[1][2] seem not to be based on so accurate information. Mulukhiyya 03:07, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)
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[edit] Hrm.
Looking it up on google seems to suggest that, yeah, they are just typos and other common mistakes. Dictionary.com also has two entries for "Amaterasu" and none for "Amateratsu." (UrbanDictionary also has one post for Amaterasu, and none for Amateratsu.) - Checking out Everything2, there were two hits for Amaterasu and, again, None for Amateratsu. I think it would be safe to assume that the correct spelling is "Amaterasu." I've gone ahead and removed the alternate spelling from the article, along with the question marks.
I've never seen it spelled "Amateratsu" anywhere.
[edit] citation needed
For the purposes of another article, I have fact tagged "Until the end of World War II, the Japanese royal family claimed descent from Amaterasu." Could someone cite this, please? Hipocrite - «Talk» 15:22, 19 January 2006 (UTC)
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- I am pretty sure the Imperial family still claims descent from Amaterasu. This is so central to the foundation of their national identity and the power and importance of the Emperor that I don't believe it could ever be changed. The 1946 New Year's speech by the Showa Emperor was designed to satisfy Western (American) desires, but I cannot imagine it changed the view of the Japanese people one bit.
- The quote, as I have it, reads: "The ties between us and our people have always stood upon mutual trust and affection. They do not depend upon mere legends and myths. They are not predicated on the false conception that the Emperor is divine and that the Japanese people are superior to other races and fated to rule the world." This comes from David Lu's "Japan: A Documentary History", which takes it from the January 1, 1946 translation printed by the New York Times. The Imperial family may not claim divine descent as blatantly or loudly or officially as they once did, but I do not believe that the nation's cultural & religious core has changed; only the way they choose to talk about it. LordAmeth 01:00, 20 January 2006 (UTC)
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- I agree. Also, the emphasis seems to be on the idea that the Emperor is not a living god, not that he is somehow not descended from the Sun Goddess all of a sudden, just because they lost a war. elvenscout742 20:28, 21 January 2006 (UTC)
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Few people in Japan take the descent from Amaterasu stuff seriously. As a percentage of the population I have little doubt that it is far, far smaller than the percentage of people in Christian countries who believe all humans descend from Adam and his transformed rib. I would be very surprised if any of the imperial family took it seriously, and I would be very interested to see support for LordAmeth's "I am pretty sure the Imperial family still claims descent from Amaterasu."-Jefu 17:10, 22 January 2006 (UTC)
- Well, maybe it's not taken seriously, but I don't see much evidence that this tidbit of information was explicitly denied by HIM Showa Tenno. It was mostly about whether he himself was a god. Take the kings of Sweden, for example: they have little reason to believe that they are descended directly from the Norse god Odin, but they don't really have anyone else from whom to claim to be descended. It's the same with the Emperors of Japan. What I want to know is why, if the most important being in the history of the Imperial Family was a woman, can a woman not ascend to the throne ; ) ?
Actually, kings of Sweden in the past two centuries have not expressed the Odin descent very loudly, as they descend from a French revolutionary general, and not from any native dynasty in a throne-inherited route. Why woman cannot ascend the Japanese throne, is mostly due to Prussians and Americans. Before western influences, there were eight female emperors of Japan. Older Japanese traditins allow for female monarchs, thus.
[edit] Current Emperor's Birthday
The current emperor's birthday is December 23. Not the 21st, as is stated in the article. The Wiki for 明仁 (Akihito) is correct.
[edit] moon+human legend
There is a legend where she fell in love with the moon, and they both came to earth where they further fell in love with a man. Can anyone cite this or help me provide documentation? Chris 13:49, 18 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Could someone help...?
I need to know how "Amaterasu-no-omi-kami" is written in Japanese (I'm drawing her and I want to write the name in kanji next to her, but although I'm learning Japanese I still don't know almost any kanji). But I can't see it in the article 'cause my computer isn't enabled to read Japanese and the disc I should use to install it is broken! So, could anyone please help? Either send me an image with the kanji written on it or tell me if there's any chance I can dowload a support pack or something (I tried in the Microsoft page but none of those files can even be opened with my computer...).
Thanks in advance,
