Tamanoya- Japanese GodDeity"Jewel-Making God"

The Jewels on the Sakaki Tree

When Amaterasu withdrew into the Heavenly Rock Cave and plunged the world into darkness, the assembled gods devised a ritual to draw her out. Tamanoya was charged with crafting the jewels. The Kojiki records that he produced a magnificent string of magatama, curved stones polished to catch light, and these were hung from the upper branches of a sakaki tree alongside the mirror forged by Ishikoridome.

Futodama held the offerings aloft while Ame-no-Koyane recited prayers and Ame-no-Uzume danced. When Amaterasu peered out of the cave, drawn by curiosity and the gods' laughter, the radiance of the mirror and jewels reflected her own light back to her. Ame-no-Tajikarao seized her and hauled her from the cave. Light returned.

The Regalia

The string of magatama Tamanoya had fashioned did not end its life as a ritual offering. When Amaterasu sent her grandson Ninigi to descend and rule the earthly realm, she entrusted him with three sacred objects: the mirror Yata no Kagami, the sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi, and Tamanoya's jewel, the Yasakani no Magatama. These Three Imperial Regalia have been passed from emperor to emperor as proof of sovereignty.

Tamanoya is recorded as the ancestor of the Tamatsukuri clan, hereditary jewel craftsmen who produced magatama for court ritual. The Tamatsukuri hot springs in Shimane Prefecture, one of Japan's oldest onsen sites, takes its name from this tradition: the surrounding hills supplied the agate and jasper from which the craftsmen worked. Tamanoya's shrine within the Tamatsukuri Yujo Shrine complex still stands there.