Takamagahara

Takama-ga-hara (高天原, "Plain of High Heaven") is a place in Japanese mythology. In Shinto, Takama-ga-hara (or Takama no Hara) is the dwelling place of the heavenly gods (ama-tsu-kami). It is believed to be connected to the Earth by the bridge Ama-no-uki-hashi (the "Floating Bridge of Heaven").

In Shinto, ame (heaven) is a lofty, sacred world, the home of the kotoamatsukami. Some scholars have attempted to explain the myth of descent of the gods from the Takama-ga-hara as an allegory of the migration of peoples. However, it is likely to have referred from the beginning to a higher world in a religious sense. A Shinto myth explains that at the time of creation, light, pure elements branched off to become heaven (ame). Heavy, turbid elements branched off to become earth (tsuchi). Ame became the home of the ama-tsu-kami or gods of heaven, while tsuchi became the home of kuni-tsu-kami or gods of the land. The ama-tsu-kami are said to have descended from heaven to pacify and perfect this world.