The night the sun hid
An ancient Japanese myth, retold.
The world went dark
Long ago, the sun goddess Amaterasu was deeply wounded by her brother Susanoo, the storm god, whose rampage tore through the heavens and destroyed what she had tended. Overwhelmed, she ran into the Heavenly Rock Cave and sealed the entrance behind her.
Because she was the sun, her grief became everyone's darkness. The fields stopped growing. Mischief crept through the endless night. Heaven and earth went cold, and the whole world suffered with her.
The gods tried everything
Eight million gods gathered by the river of heaven to bring her back. They hung a mirror and strands of jewels on a sacred tree. They set the roosters crowing, as if morning had already come. They called her name.
Nothing worked. The stone did not move.
Until Uzume had an idea.
Then Uzume danced
Ame-no-Uzume, goddess of dawn, joy, and laughter, turned a wooden tub upside down outside the cave and climbed on top. She stamped a rhythm that shook the ground. She danced wildly, passionately, without a trace of inhibition. In the oldest tellings she even loosened her robes, a performance so outrageous and unexpected that no one could keep a straight face.
The gods erupted. Eight million voices laughing at once, echoing through the heavens.
The light came back
Inside the cave, Amaterasu heard the laughter and could not understand it. How could anyone feel joy while the world was dark? She opened the door, just a crack, to see.
The gods told her they had found a goddess even brighter than she was, and held up the sacred mirror. There she was, radiant. As she leaned closer to her own reflection, the strongest of the gods took her hand and drew her the rest of the way out.
The sunlight returned. The darkness lifted. Life came back to the world.
