Amatsu-Mikaboshi

In the mythic sequence of the heavenly deities' pacification of Ashihara‑no‑Naka‑tsu‑kuni recorded in the Nihon Shoki, the star‑deity appears in divergent accounts: one passage names the Star‑God Kagaseo as the sole deity who "refused submission" and who was sent for and subdued by the Weaver‑God Takehazuchi‑no‑Mikoto at the request of Takemikazuchi and Futsunushi; another passage describes a deity identified with Amatsu‑Mikaboshi as an "Evil Deity (悪しき神, Ashiki‑gami)" whom the heavenly deities requested be executed before their descent. These conflicting placements leave his exact classificatory origin (heavenly amatsukami vs. local kunitsukami) ambiguous in the chronicles.

Classical chronicle passages cited do not provide a corporeal description. The deity is identified by name and role (star‑god, rebellious or malefic deity) rather than physical attributes. Later etymological and kokugaku commentary (e.g., Hirata Atsutane) connects name elements to star imagery and to interpretations linking Mikaboshi with the planet Venus, but bodily form is not specified in the provided sources.

The Nihon Shoki passages record behavioral features rather than explicit supernatural powers: Mikaboshi (Kagaseo) resisted the authority of the conquering amatsukami and had to be subdued by an agent of those deities; in an alternate account he is termed an "Evil Deity" whom the heavenly gods sought to have executed. Beyond these narrative actions, the supplied material does not list specific powers; later summaries characterize him as "malevolent," and kokugaku commentary identifies him with Venus, but such attributions are interpretive or modern.