Amaterasu

One day I found this article  on the Tech Radar site titled 5 ChatGPT prompts to inspire your creativity. I came upon the second suggestion on myth creativity. It suggested asking ChatGPT for three lesser-known myths and creative directions that I could take with each one. I decided to be more specific and ask for three lesser-known goddesses. Amaterasu was among the suggestions. I began to research her and I found her quite interesting.

Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu-Ōmikami (天照大御神), is the revered sun goddess in Shinto belief and one of the most important deities in Japanese mythology. Her name means “She Who Shines in the Heavens.” She is said to rule over Takamagahara, the High Celestial Plain, and is considered the divine ancestor of the Japanese imperial family, with emperors believed to be her direct descendants.

As the goddess of the sun and light, Amaterasu represents illumination, warmth, growth, and life itself. Her radiant presence brings order to the world, and her temporary withdrawal into a cave—after being insulted by her brother Susanoo—plunged the world into darkness, causing natural and spiritual chaos. The tale of her return, lured out by the laughter of the gods and a mirror, marks the return of light and is a foundational myth in Japanese culture.

She is often depicted in radiant, elegant robes, and is symbolically linked to the mirror, one of the Three Imperial Regalia of Japan, representing wisdom and truth. Temples such as the Ise Grand Shrine (Ise Jingū) are dedicated to her and are among the most sacred in Japan.

You can learn more about Amaterasu on the Wikipedia and on the Kimura Kami website.

After seeing images of Amaterasu on the web I decided to try drawing her. Here is what I came up with.

Then I imported that drawing into ChatGPT and had it create a 3D action figure based on my drawing. Here is the result.

Come back later for further progress on the creation of the Amateratsu action figure.