Amaterasu-ōmikami ('Great Divine Illuminator of Heaven') is the sun goddess and, in later Shinto, the highest deity of the pantheon and the mythic ancestress of the imperial house [S1]. In the Kojiki she is born from Izanagi's left hand (with the jewel) during the birth-sequence after the islands are formed, and she is sent to rule over the High Plain of Heaven [S1]. Her brother Susanoo's violent misconduct leads to his banishment from heaven; when he departs, Amaterasu, in grief and fear, withdraws into the Heavenly Rock-Cave (Ame-no-Ohafutsu), plunging the world into darkness. The other kami, led by the dancing goddess Ame-no-Uzume, lure her back out, restoring light [S1]. From her line descends the heavenly prince Ninigi and, ultimately, the Japanese emperors [S1][S2]. She is the patron of the Ise Grand Shrine and the symbolic center of state Shinto; the mirror Yata no Kagami, one of the three Imperial Regalia, is her emblem [S1].