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Amaterasu, sometimes called by her full name Amaterasu-omikami, is one of the most important deities in the Shinto religion. Goddess of the sun and the universe, Amaterasu's name means 'shining in heaven', while her full name translates to 'the great august kami (god) who shines in the heaven'.<br/><br/> Amaterasu was born from the left eye of the creator god Izanagi as he purified himself from his attempt to save his wife Izanami from the underworld, Yomi. Her brother and later husband, the moon god Tsukuyomi, was born from Izanagi's right eye, while her other brother, the storm god Susanoo, was born from washing the nose. She ruled the heavens alongside her husband until a dispute led to Tsukuyomi being split and sent away, separating night from day.<br/><br/> She also had a great rivalry with her hotheaded brother Susanoo, and after he rampaged through her rice fields and tossed a flayed pony at her loom, as well as killing one of her advisors, Amaterasu fled into a cave and hid herself. With her gone, the sun disappeared and the people suffered, and she was eventually lured out of the cave, while Susanoo was banished from Heaven.<br/><br/> Amaterasu had in her possession three items which she would bequeath to her descendant Ninigi, one of the first emperors of Japan. These items would become the Imperial Regalia of Japan. Amaterasu is still worshipped to this day, with shrines to her scattered throughout Japan.
Amaterasu, sometimes called by her full name Amaterasu-omikami, is one of the most important deities in the Shinto religion. Goddess of the sun and the universe, Amaterasu's name means 'shining in heaven', while her full name translates to 'the great august kami (god) who shines in the heaven'.<br/><br/> Amaterasu was born from the left eye of the creator god Izanagi as he purified himself from his attempt to save his wife Izanami from the underworld, Yomi. Her brother and later husband, the moon god Tsukuyomi, was born from Izanagi's right eye, while her other brother, the storm god Susanoo, was born from washing the nose. She ruled the heavens alongside her husband until a dispute led to Tsukuyomi being split and sent away, separating night from day.<br/><br/> She also had a great rivalry with her hotheaded brother Susanoo, and after he rampaged through her rice fields and tossed a flayed pony at her loom, as well as killing one of her advisors, Amaterasu fled into a cave and hid herself. With her gone, the sun disappeared and the people suffered, and she was eventually lured out of the cave, while Susanoo was banished from Heaven.<br/><br/> Amaterasu had in her possession three items which she would bequeath to her descendant Ninigi, one of the first emperors of Japan. These items would become the Imperial Regalia of Japan. Amaterasu is still worshipped to this day, with shrines to her scattered throughout Japan.
Xihe, Mother of the Suns, was a solar deity from Chinese mythology and Chinese folk religion. Alongside Changxi, she was one of the two wives of Di Jun, God of the Eastern Heaven, and the mother of the ten three-legged sunbirds who lived in a mulberry tree in the East Sea known as the Fusang.<br/><br/> Every day, one of her sunbirds would travel with her on her sun chariot, pulled by a dragon-horse (kirin). Together they would bring light to the mortal world, but one day the sunbirds became restless and mischievous, and all left the Fusang at once. This resulted in great calamity throughout the earth, leading to the divine archer Houyi shooting down all but one of Xihe's errant offspring.
Surya (the Supreme Light), also known as Aditya, Bhanu or Ravi, is the chief solar deity in Hinduism and generally refers to the Sun.<br/><br/> Surya is the chief of the Navagraha, the nine Indian Classical planets and important elements of Hindu astrology. He is often depicted riding a chariot harnessed by seven horses which might represent the seven colors of the rainbow or the seven chakras in the body. He is also the presiding deity of Sunday.<br/><br/> Surya is regarded as the Supreme Deity by Saura sect and Smartas worship him as one of the five primary forms of God. The sun god, Zun, worshipped by the Afghan Zunbil dynasty, is thought to be synonymous with Surya.