An image of Amaterasu, aka the Sun Goddess. Picture: Alamy
Opinion
Opinion
Reflections
How goddess myth gave divine justification to imperial elites
- Also known as the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, along with China’s Nü Wa deity, are suggestive of an ancient matriarchal past
- When creating mankind, the goddess fashioned handfuls of earth in her own image, which became the elites, before flicking mud from a branch, with each spatter becoming commonfolk
An image of Amaterasu, aka the Sun Goddess. Picture: Alamy