Amaterasu (Ōkami)

"...the great goddess, the sun god, the mother to all that is good—as the cutest, most fluffiest and huggable thing in eternity ever oh gracious."

—"A Warm and Fluffy Feeling" by loquaciouslass

Character
Name:	Amaterasu (天照; アマテラス)
Occupation:	Sun Goddess Ruler of the Celestial Plain Origin of all that is good, mother to us all
Relationships:	Issun (friend); Waka (friend); Celestial Brush gods (embodiments of power); Shiranui (previous incarnation, "father"); Chibiterasu (son); Thor (honored opponent)
Fandom:	Ōkami
Other:
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Amaterasu (天照, アマテラス) also known as Ōkami Amaterasu (⼤神天照), and affectionately by the nickname Ammy (アマ公), is the protagonist of the 2006 Capcom video game Ōkami. She is a white wolf based on the Japanese goddess, Amaterasu (天照⼤御神, Amaterasu-ōmikami), of real-life Shinto tradition.

Ammy has also appeared in other media, notably as a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2010) and TEPPEN (2020).

Reception and popularity

Ammy—as she is called by her in-game companion Issun and by her real-life fans—is adored by Ōkami fans and many JRPG fans in general. She is as endeared by her canine antics and warm personality as she is by her striking design and majestic presence. In 2010, readers of the Japanese magazine Famitsu voted Amaterasu into eighth place in a poll for the best video game character of all time. That same year, in a Dengeki poll, Japanese readers voted her fourth in a character they wanted to befriend.

Fans have called for Amaterasu to join the playable roster of Super Smash Bros.

Ammy is popular with furries and wolfaboos.

Fanon and tropes common to fan works

Due to the ghost guard Yatsu referring to Amaterasu as a lovely maiden, and the seer Waka addressing her with flirtatious speech, many hold the headcanon that she—like the Amaterasu of real-life Shinto belief—has a beautiful female humanoid appearance (AKA a gijinka) as her true form, or as one of many forms. Some fans use a fanon explanation that Amaterasu doesn't use this humanoid form because she can only assume it on the Celestial Plain with her full power as a goddess, while others believe that she outright prefers her wolf form for comfort, convenience, and/or power.

Fan artists and authors have designed many gijinka interpretations. Amaterasu's white coloring and red markings are usually incorporated into the design, and she also tends to retain certain wolf traits—most often her wolfish ears, and commonly her tail as well. Humanoid Amaterasu is a popular subject of cosplay. In romantic fan works, Ammy often takes a humanoid form if her love interest is humanoid.

Amaterasu is referred to as male by many in-game mortal characters; Amaterasu's previous incarnation, Shiranui, is referred to as male; and Amaterasu performs her urination attack with her leg raised, which—according to a popular misconception—is exclusively the habit of male canines. Thus, many fans (especially those in the North American region) believe that Amaterasu is male or sexless, though she is officially female according to the Japanese and European versions of the game. One common theory is that most of the characters simply default to referring to any random stray as male, without bothering to check its sex. Another common theory is that the female Amaterasu has a mortal wolf as a vessel, and this mortal wolf itself was male; the stone statue that she may be currently possessing may be male, female, or sexless.

Ammy is commonly depicted sharing affection with her son, Chibiterasu, in fan works; the two never interacted face-to-face in Ōkamiden (excepting the meeting between Chibi and Shiranui). Dark Chibiterasu is often depicted as his brother, sometimes inheriting his coloring from his fanon father, Oki.

Amaterasu has become heavily associated with the Doge [1] and DoggoLingo memes that gained popularity in the mid-2010s.

Shipping

Ammy has been commonly paired with Waka, with whom she shares an affectionate relationship, and with Oki, who possesses the ability to transform into a wolf. Crossover pairings involving fictional wolves from other media—particularly Wolf Link from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, another JRPG with a wolf protagonist released in 2006—are also popular.

Notable ships

• Amaterasu/Waka
• Amaterasu/Oki
• Amaterasu/Wolf Link

Fan works

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

Fan fiction

• "grow me a garden of roses" by orphan_account, featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry™ Series!

Fan art

• https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/71167743
• https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/56726153
• https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/9628059
• https://www.deviantart.com/enijoi/art/Okami-457425845

Gijinka

• 

  慈母擬人化 (Gijinka Mother) by DAI (29 Feb 2012)

• 

  Amaterasu, Mother to us all. I always imagined she would look like other ladies in the game outside of her wolf form by fabulousquel (21 Jan 2013)

• 

  Amaterasu gijinkas sure are a ton of fun to design by wickedliltongue (27 Feb 2014)

• 

  Amaterasu Omikami or Okami by MyCKs (23 Sep 2014)

• 

  A more armored take on Amaterasu personified by Hakuramen (23 Jan 2015)

• 

  Everyone always draws their Amaterasu gijinkas as cute young anime girls, but everyone in the game calls her “mother” so???? Here’s my take on Mamaterasu by Lyla Hammar (24 Aug 2018)

Cosplay

• Amaterasu - Otakon 2015, photo taken by David "Dtjaaaam" Ngo

External links

Fan communities and archives

• FanFiction.Net (FFN): Ōkami stories and crossovers featuring Amaterasu
• DeviantArt (DA): GijinkaOkami
• Archive of Our Own (AO3): Amaterasu (Okami) - Works
• Pixiv: #アマテラス(大神), #アマ公

Resources

• Wikipedia