Amatsu-Mikaboshi

For the Marvel Comics character, see Amatsu-Mikaboshi (comics).

In Japanese mythology, Ama-tsu-Mikaboshi (ja:天津甕星, "August Star of Heaven"),[1][2] also called Ame-no-Kagaseo (ja:天香香背男, "Brilliant Male"),[1][2] and later Ama-no-Minaka-nushi ("Divine Lord of the middle heavens")[1][3] was originally a Shinto god of the Pole Star and the primordial chaos.[1][3] Under Chinese Buddhist influence,[1] the god was identified with "Myo-Ken" (Sudarshana),[1] as either Venus[2] or the pole star, before being combined with the god of all stars, Ama-no-Minaka-Nushi.[1][3]

He is mentioned in passing in the Nihon Shoki as an opponent of Takemikazuchi-no-kami during the latter's conquest of the land of Izumo, and is sometimes identified with the figure of Takeminakata in the Kojiki.

In modern media

The Mikaboshi legend was adapted in Super Sentai series, Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger as the ultimate goal of its antagonists, the Jakanja.

Mikaboshi inspired the Marvel Comics character of the same name, which was prominent during the Chaos War event as the mastermind behind it, and was revealed to be a personification of the Universe before creation.

In White Wolf's tabletop roleplaying game Scion, Mikaboshi is a major antagonist. He also features as an antagonist in the White Wolf game lines Wraith: the Oblivion and Kindred of the East; in the latter he rules an Tokyo-esque urban hell-realm known as the Wicked City of Yin.

In the PlayStation 2 game Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon, Mikaboshi appears as a boss character in the fifth chapter.

The Okami franchise bases its final boss on Mikaboshi, representing the cycles of human evil and corruption.

Amatsu-Mikaboshi is revered by the Seitenguu shrine in the visual novel Hoshizora no Memoria, where he is represented by a meteorite that fell on the town in which the game takes place.

In the game Fire Emblem Awakening, Amatsu is used as a name for a golden sword laced with multiple pronged spikes along its blade. It is a Regalia-class weapon, one of the only three long ranged Sword-Type weapons, and is the signature weapon of the swordsman Yen'fay before being passed down to his younger sister Say'ri after his death.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 New Larousse encyclopedia of mythology, by Félix Guirand and Robert Graves, Hamlyn, 1968, p.415
  2. 1 2 3 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).
  3. 1 2 3 Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities by Charles Russell Coulter and Patricia Turner, Routledge, 4 Jul 2013, p.96
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