Ame-no-tajikarao

Ame-no-tajikarao (アメノタジカラオ) is a Japanese deity (kami) who appears in Japanese mythology. In the Kojiki, Ame-no-tajikarao is mentioned as a tente-chikara-no-ogami (天手力男神); in the Nihon Shoki he is referred to as a tente-chikara-no-ogami (天手力雄神) (using a kanji for non-human or biological male).

Mythological description

At the event of Amano-Iwato, Ame-no-tajikarao waited at the caves' door to pull out (in the Nihon Shoki and the Kogo Shui, 'to pull open') Amaterasu (天照) from the cave, and thus return light to the world.

During the Tenson kōrin, Amaterasu had Omoikane, Ame-no-tajikarao, and Ama-no-iwa-to-wake-no-kami accompany the Imperial Regalia of Japan when it went to the Ise province to be enshrined at Ise Grand Shrine.

Explanation

The name Ame-no-tajikarao carries the connotation of a male god with great physical brute strength.

Religious Belief

Ame-no-tajikaro is believed to be a god of sports and physical power, and is enshrined at shrines associated with Ise Grand Shrine such as Togakushi Shrine (戸隠神社), Sano Shrine (佐那神社), Shiroi Shrine (白井神社), Oyama Shrine (雄山神社), Tejikarao Shrine (手力雄神社) (Gifu), Tejikarao Shrine (手力雄神社) (Kakamigahara), Toake Shrine (戸明神社), and Ame-no-ta-nagao Shrine (天手長男神社).

At the Togakushi Shrine there's a legend that says that the cave door that Ame-no-tajikarao threw away landed on Togakushi mountain (戸隠山) in Shinano Province (信濃国).

References

This article is translated from アメノタジカラオ.