Who Is Ame-no-Tajikarao?
The strong god who pulled Amaterasu from the cave
Ame-no-Tajikarao-no-Kami
Ame-no-Tajikarao (Ame-no-Tajikarao-no-Kami) is a god in the Kojiki whose hands, as his name ("Heavenly Hand-Strength Man") says, are extremely strong. He is known for pulling Amaterasu out of the Heavenly Rock Cave.
Following Omoikane's plan, he hid beside the door of the cave and waited. Amaterasu, puzzled by the gods laughing outside, opened the door a little and leaned out to look at the mirror. At that moment he took her hand and drew her out, and the sun's light returned to the world. He also joined Ninigi as one of his companion gods when Ninigi descended to earth.
The Kojiki says he rests in Sananagata. A later legend says the rock door he threw away became Mount Togakushi in Shinshu, and he is enshrined at Togakushi Shrine.
Episodes featuring this character2
Episode 4
Darkness Fell. Why Are the Gods Laughing?The Heavenly Rock Cave (Ama-no-Iwato)
When the sun goddess Amaterasu shuts herself inside a rock cave, the world falls into darkness. The gods throw a festival outside her door and use laughter to draw the light back out. Her younger brother Susanoo brought on the darkness. He is the only one who can't laugh, and the gods banish him to the land below. There he stops when he hears someone crying upstream.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 9
The Blinding Giant and the Smallest DancerThe Descent of the Heavenly Grandson
As the young god Ninigi prepares to descend to the earth, a blinding god who lights both heaven and earth blocks his way. Uzume, the smallest of the dancing goddesses, goes to him alone, stepping as if she were dancing, and demands to know who he is. Ninigi lands on the earth carrying his grandmother's mirror. Uzume then sees the guide god off to the sea and takes his name as her own.
19 pages