Amaterasu Was Born When a God Washed His Left Eye | Kojiki (Japanese Mythology)

Japan's most important deity had no mother. Her father climbed out of the land of the dead, walked to the water, and washed his face — and the sun came out of his left eye, the moon out of his right, and the storm out of his nose. Twenty-six gods came off one man in one washing, and the Kojiki counts every one of them. This is the chapter that ends where this channel began: with a bearded god climbing to heaven, and his sister reaching for her bow. Retold in English by a Japanese storyteller, directly from the Kojiki. Chapters 0:00 Cold open 1:10 Three things to know first 2:41 Where this story comes from 3:05 Act 1: Taking everything off 5:10 Act 2: Under the water 8:22 Act 3: The child who would not go 10:43 Act 4: The climb 11:54 What Japan kept Sources: the Kojiki (712), the purification at Tsukushi, the division of the three noble children, and the banishment of Susanoo. The Nihon Shoki is not used. Some moments are dramatized for a modern audience.