Kami (Shinto deity)
Ame no Tokotachi no Kami
天之常立神
In the Kojiki, Ame no Tokotachi is the kami who appears after Umashiashikabihikoji no Kami. Ame no Tokotachi is placed last among the first five kami, the Kotoamatsukami, and is recorded as having become a hitorigami (single kami) and hidden away.
What is recorded in the Kojiki and scholarly views on the kami's name are introduced separately. The page introduces the relationships recorded in the Kojiki and explanations concerning the name.
English pages are the site’s own translations of its Japanese pages. The sources cited are in Japanese. 日本語で読む
Place in the Kojiki
In the Kojiki, Ame no Tokotachi is the kami who appears after Umashiashikabihikoji no Kami. Ame no Tokotachi is placed last among the first five kami, the Kotoamatsukami, and is recorded as having become a hitorigami (single kami) and hidden away.
Source: 國學院大學
What the text records
At the start of the Kamiyo Nanayo (seven generations of the age of the kami) that follow, Kuni no Tokotachi no Kami appears. The names are similar, but in the text they are listed separately: Ame no Tokotachi no Kami is counted among the Kotoamatsukami, and Kuni no Tokotachi no Kami among the Kamiyo Nanayo.
Source: 國學院大學
How to receive the name
There are several interpretations of the meaning of “tokotachi,” relating to permanence or to the place where the kami appear, among others. We do not define the kami's character by any single interpretation, and center our introduction on the order of appearance conveyed by the text.
Source: 國學院大學
An example of a chant (in Japanese)
祓え給い、清め給え、神（かむ）ながら守り給い、幸（さきわ）え給え
Related shrines and temples
Sources (in Japanese)
- 國學院大學「『古事記』上巻・天地初発（校訂本文）」（2026-10-15 確認）
- 國學院大學「神名データベース「天之常立神」」（2026-10-15 確認）
- 國學院大學「古事記ビューアー・神名データベース「天之常立神」」（2026-10-15 確認）