Amaterasu myth, a relic of Persian and Indo Iranian thought diffusing through Japanese culture

 Brightness is certainly the most significant god in the Indo European mythology, and the cycle of opening and closing of day is the main theme in the mythology of this people.  Indo Iranian people have also based their myths upon the nature of light.  Creation, fertility, abundance of water, victory, and other components of life in their beliefs are different manifestation of the brightness myth.  Likewise in Japanese culture god of brightness plays a central role.  Amaterasu, goddess of light is also responsible for abundance and fertility of pastures and the imperial dynasty comes from the same race.  Her life story is the expansion of day and night cycle and resemblance of her life history with that of Indo Iranian people are far more than it could be assumed accidental.  Beforehand instances of the influence of Arian myths over Japanese culture were studied and introduced.  This article has made use of descriptive analytic method to represent common features of Iranian and Indo Iranian myths with the Japanese counterpart in terms of brightness Gods.  The results obtained show that Amaterasu myth according to Japanese beliefs has its roots in Indo Iranian culture considering the historical influence of Persian culture over the Japanese one.  Also centuries after the first entry of this myth to Japan in the second half of the seventh century AD, at the same time that cultural features of Iranians began to penetrate Japan Japanese emperors followed the example of Iranian kings who have long before established kinship to God.  They used Amaterasu myth to legitimize their sovereignty.