Japanese Pantheonjewelry
Yasakani no Magatama
- Benevolent Blessing
- Imperial Authority
- Spiritual Protection
- Divine Connection
The Grand Jewel, one of the three Imperial Regalia representing the virtue of benevolence. This comma-shaped jewel holds the spiritual essence of imperial authority.
About Yasakani no Magatama
Comma jewels on the sacred tree
In the same cave episode, Tamanooya's yasakani magatama hang with the mirror to bait Amaterasu. Magatama are real Jōmon and Kofun jewels; the named Grand Jewel is the imperial set, said to stay with the court. "Benevolence" as the jewel's virtue is later didactic overlay on the three treasures. The Kojiki needs jewelry as lure for the hidden sun. Oral court tradition sits behind an eighth-century text; the object is not a public exhibit.
Origin
Created by the god Tamanooya and offered to Amaterasu along with the mirror to entice her from her cave.
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- Kojiki (Ame-no-Iwato)
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
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