Amaterasu
From L5r: Legend of the Five Rings
| Amaterasu | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born: | Pre-calendar |
| Died: | 1132 |
| Parents: | The Three Gods Whose Names Cannot Be Spoken |
| Siblings: | None |
| Spouse: | Onnotangu |
| Children | Akodo, Bayushi, Doji, Fu Leng, Hantei, Hida, Ryoshun, Shiba, Shinjo, Togashi |
| Titles: | Lady Sun |
| People | |
Amaterasu was the first sun. She was the mother of the Kami, wife to Onnotangu (the first moon), the mother of all of humanity, and chief of the Fortunes.
Contents |
[edit] Creation of the World
Amaterasu and Onnotangu were the first beings created by the chaos that existed before the world. Together they brought order to the world by naming all things. A tiny piece of the Nothing that existed before the world escaped this naming by hiding in Onnotangu's shadow.[1]
[edit] Mother of the Kami
Lady Sun and Lord Moon had ten children together: Akodo, Bayushi, Doji, Fu Leng, Hantei, Hida, Ryoshun, Shiba, Shinjo, and Togashi. [1]
[edit] Betrayal of the Moon
The Lying Darkness, the bit of Nothing that had gone unnamed, attempted to bargain with Fu Leng to share his power with it. When Fu Leng refused, it grew fearful of what it had already told him of its nature and attempted to convince Onnotangu that his children were potential rivals. Shiba and Bayushi grew fearful and approached Hantei and Fu Leng with a plan. Hantei forbade them to continue, but Fu Leng informed Onnotangu what his children had planned in an attempt to curry favor with his father. Lord Moon's wrath was terrible and he ordered Lady Sun to bring their children before him so that he could destroy them.[1]
Amaterasu obeyed her husband and offered each child to him, though she shed tears that fell to earth as he swallowed each of them. This tears fromed Jade when they touched the earth. But as he swallowed each child she also offered him a cup of sake containing a single drop of poison. By the time he got to Hantei, the youngest child, Lord Moon was very sleepy from the poison. Lady Sun was able to substitute a stone for her youngest child without his noticing. Lord Moon then fell into a deep sleep, and Amaterasu took Hantei apart and trained him to rescue his brothers and sisters.[1]
[edit] The Creation of Mankind
Hantei was successful in challenging his father. When he cut open Onnotangu's belly Lord Moon's blood dripped to the earth. Wherever a drop of his blood found one of Amaterasu's tears the two combined to form a human man and woman.
[edit] Fall of the Kami
The fight between Hantei and Onnotangu caused a tear in the sky, and the Kami fell through the hole and down earth where they founded Rokugan.[1]
[edit] Chief of the Fortunes
The Hantei dynasty derived their authority to rule from Hantei's mother. Each emperor was called the "Child of Heaven" throughout his reign - referring to the original Hantei's mother and father. Amaterasu was venerated in Rokugan as the most noble and powerful of the Fortunes. Her temple in Otosan Uchi was the tallest structure in the city. An entire minor clan, the Centipede Clan, was devoted to her worship. When the Hantei line was ended and Toturi I took the throne Lady Sun showed her acceptance of the new Son of Heaven by staying directly over the Imperial City for a full day. [citation needed]
[edit] The Death of Lord Moon
When Hitomi killed Onnotangu, Amaterasu departed from the heavens for the space of twenty-seven days, which became known as the Twenty-Seven Days of Darkness. She ordered her daughter Shinjo to collect the seven Ancestral Swords of the great clans and scatter them to the heavens in retribution for the death of her husband. After twenty-seven days of mourning, she committed jigai. Hida Yakamo served as her second, and because of his special ties to the Naga Akasha and Hitomi, Yakamo was able to ascend to the Celestial Heavens and became the new sun. [citation needed]
[edit] References
| Preceded by: None | Lady Sun Pre-calendar - 1132 | Succeeded by: Yakamo |
