 | This article cites its sources but does not provide page references. (August 2021) |
| Amenohoakari | |
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| Genealogy | |
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| Children | Ame-no-Kaguyama-no-Mikoto |
Amenohoakari (天火明) is a kami of sun and agriculture in Japanese mythology. The Shinsen Shōjiroku marks his descendants as descendants of kami (天孫族, tensonzoku).
Other names for Amenohoakari are listed below.
According to the Kojiki and volumes six and eight of the Nihon Shoki, Amenohoakari was born to Ame-no-oshihomimi and Takamimusubi's daughter, Takuhatachijihime, and lists that Ninigi-no-Mikoto is his younger brother. However, in volumes two, three, five, and seven of the Nihon Shoki, Ninigi-no-Mikoto is said to be his father.
The Kujiki treats Amenohoakari as an alternate name for Nigihayahi, the ancestral kami of the Hozumi and Mononobe clans, though this interpretation raises many questions in terms of genealogy and domain.
The Harima no Kuni Fudoki notes Amenohoakari as the child of Ōkuninushi and Notsuhime.
The Shinsen Shōjiroku list the descendants of Amenohoakari, in addition to the descendants of Amatsuhikone, Ame-no-hohi, and Amanomichine-no-Mikoto, as descendants of kami (天孫族, tensonzoku). The tensonzoku descended from the heavenly realm of Takamagahara to former Japanese provinces of Owari and Tanba, and are considered to be the divine ancestors of several clans including the Owari, Tsumori, Amabe, and Tanba clans. The Genealogy of the Amabe Clan (海部氏系図, Amabeshi Keizu) also notes Amenohoakari as the clan's ancestor.
Amenohoakari is also said to be the same kami as Nigihayahi, the ancestor of the Hozumi clan and Mononobe clan. However, there has been research which rejects conflating the two kami and insists it is a fabrication and absurd claim made only to link the two kami when it is said that Nigihayahi is Nigini-no-Mikoto's older brother. Additionally, the Shinsen Shōjiroku lists the descendants of Amenohoakari as descendants of kami (天孫族, tensonzoku) while Nigihayahi's descendants are kami of the heavens (天神, tenshin).
As Amenohoakari's name suggests, he is the deification of sunlight and heat. Also, in the Kojiki-den, his alternative name of Hoakari is written differently (穂赤熟; ears of grain + red + ripen), meaning he warms grain so that it may ripen. Like other kami connected to the emperor, this name is connected to rice, leading to worship of him as a kami of the sun and agriculture.
While his name contains two characters in common with Amaterasu (天照), they are not the same kami. At Kono Shrine, the primary kami is Amenohoakari, while Amaterasu, enshrined in the same location, is considered another kami.