Who Is Ame-no-Uzume?
The goddess who danced before the Rock Cave
Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto
Ame-no-Uzume (Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto) is a goddess in the Kojiki, famous for dancing in front of the Heavenly Rock Cave and making the gods roar with laughter. She is popular as a goddess of the performing arts.
When Amaterasu shut herself inside the cave and the world went dark, Ame-no-Uzume stamped on an overturned tub and danced as if possessed. The countless gods burst out laughing, and Amaterasu, wondering what was happening, opened the door a little, which led to the return of the sun's light. She also accompanied Ninigi when he descended to earth, and alone she went up to a great god standing in the road who shone over both heaven and earth, and asked his name. After escorting that god, Sarutahiko, home, she took on his name and became the ancestor of the Sarume clan.
Another story says she asked the fish of the sea whether they would serve the child of the heavenly gods, and when the sea cucumber did not answer, she slit its mouth with a small knife.
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