Amatsumikaboshi

In Japanese mythology, Ama-tsu-mika-boshi (天津甕星[1], "Dread Star of Heaven"[2], "August Star of Heaven"[3]), also called Ame-no-kagase-o (天香香背男[1], "Scarecrow Male of Heaven"[2], "Brilliant Male"[3]), was originally a malevolent Shinto god.[2][4][3]

Under Chinese Buddhist influence,[4] the god was identified with Myōken[4] either as the pole star or Venus[1], before being combined with the god of all stars, Ama-no-mi-naka-nushi (天之御中主神, "Divine Lord of the middle heavens").[4][3]

He is mentioned in passing in the Nihon Shoki as being subdued by Takemikazuchi during the latter's conquest of the land of Izumo, and is sometimes identified with the figure of Takeminakata in the Kojiki.

References
  1. 長崎大学教育学部人文科学研究報告 (Nagasaki Daigaku Kyōiku-bu Jinbun Kagaku Kenkyū Hōkoku) [Nagasaki University Education Department Report on Humanities Research]. Issues 37-45 (in Japanese). Nagasaki: Nagasaki University. 1988. Retrieved 2013-06-06. ...願染みの度合い、等の様々な観点から判定して、この金星が、やはり、天津甕星(天香 香背男)として、一番相応しいのではないかと考える。 - ...so judging from degree of familiarity, and various other perspectives, this Venus indeed looks to be the most appropriate match for Ama tsu Mikaboshi (Ame no Kagaseo).
  2. William George Aston: Shinto, the Way of the Gods. Longmans, Green, And Co., 1905, p. 142
  3. Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities by Charles Russell Coulter and Patricia Turner, Routledge, 4 Jul 2013, p.96
  4. New Larousse encyclopedia of mythology, by Félix Guirand and Robert Graves, Hamlyn, 1968, p.415
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