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Description
Took me long enough.

--Tsukuyomi, Japanese god of the moon--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tsukuyomi ("The moon phase reader"), also known as Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, is the Japanese god
of the moon and night, brother to the god of storms and sea Susanoo, and to Amaterasu, the
most important deity in Shintoism, and the goddess of the sun, to whom which he is also married.
Along with his siblings, Tsukuyomi is one of the "Three noble children" birthed from Izanagi's
purification ritual after he escaped from his journey to Yomi, the Shinto underworld. By cleaning
himself from the dust of the underworld, Amaterasu was born from Izanagi's left eye, Tsukuyomi
from the right, and Susanoo from his nose. In alternative versions, Tsukuyomi is born instead
from a white copper mirror that Izanagi was holding in his right hand during the process.
Even though he's quite famous in name and by association with his sister, Tsukuyomi is barely
mentioned at all in most stories from Shinto mythology, with only one focusing on him as the
main character. In this story, Amaterasu is invited to a feast by the goddess of food, Uke Mochi
(in some versions, it's the goddess Inari instead), but she can't go, and sends her husband
instead to represent her. Once everyone was reunited, the goddess started to create the
food by coughing, spitting and puking fish, meat and rice. Even though the food looked and
tasted exquisite, Tsukuyomi was so disgusted and offended by the scene that he killed the
goddess with his sword, and from her body, food started pouring out. Cattle and horses were
produced from her head, rice from her belly, and wheat and beans from her genitals. All this food
descended from the heavens unto the earth bellow, giving humans better ways to sustain
themselves. Even though the gods were pleased by this outcome, Amaterasu became incredibly
upset by what her husband had done, and vowed to never look at him again, moving to a
some place far away from him. From that day onwards, day and night became separate for the first
time. Due to this association with bringing food to humans, Tsukuyomi is also worshipped in some
parts of Japan as a god of agriculture as well.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is one I tried to tackle several times in the past, but the lack of references or stories about this
guy made it really hard to come up with something interesting, he barely even appears in japanese
media at all, despite being quite famous. Finally, I got somewhere, or at least got something close
enough to be presentable to you guys.

If Amaterasu is the leader of the Shinto gods in Takamagahara, she could be considered their Empress,
and with Tsukuyomi being her husband, he would be the Emperor himself (he doesn't seem to have authority
over any god though), so I decided to dress him in the traditional Sokutai , the typical robe that's the symbol of
the ancient Japanese aristocracy. If I ever tackle Amaterasu's design in the future, I would probably follow suit
and dress her up in a proper Junihitoe as well.

The only story focused on Tsukuyomi is one where he kills someone out of disgust, so he probably isn't
a very nice guy to begin with, and I tried to focus on that aspect, wanting to make him look like a cold,
distant and mysterious person. The way his robes melt away at the end is supposed to resemble the way
the light of the moon reflects on a watery surface, or vanishing behind the clouds, heavily stylized in a way
to better resemble Japanese art. Dunno if I was successful in that regard or not, but oh well.

Those little plants behind him are a reference to Susuki grass , a type of plant that's synonymous in Japan with the Tsukimi,
the Japanese moon festivals, where it's used as decoration and is believed to ward off evil until the following year. Just an extra
detail so that the design wouldn't feel too empty.

I've already tackled Susanoo in the past as well, so if you're interested in seeing how I designed him, you can check it
right here . I've got other stuff from japanese mythology in my gallery as well, so please check it out if you're interested.

Well, that's it from me, hope you all liked it!
See you all next time!

Description
Took me long enough.

--Tsukuyomi, Japanese god of the moon--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tsukuyomi ("The moon phase reader"), also known as Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, is the Japanese god
of the moon and night, brother to the god of storms and sea Susanoo, and to Amaterasu, the
most important deity in Shintoism, and the goddess of the sun, to whom which he is also married.
Along with his siblings, Tsukuyomi is one of the "Three noble children" birthed from Izanagi's
purification ritual after he escaped from his journey to Yomi, the Shinto underworld. By cleaning
himself from the dust of the underworld, Amaterasu was born from Izanagi's left eye, Tsukuyomi
from the right, and Susanoo from his nose. In alternative versions, Tsukuyomi is born instead
from a white copper mirror that Izanagi was holding in his right hand during the process.
Even though he's quite famous in name and by association with his sister, Tsukuyomi is barely
mentioned at all in most stories from Shinto mythology, with only one focusing on him as the
main character. In this story, Amaterasu is invited to a feast by the goddess of food, Uke Mochi
(in some versions, it's the goddess Inari instead), but she can't go, and sends her husband
instead to represent her. Once everyone was reunited, the goddess started to create the
food by coughing, spitting and puking fish, meat and rice. Even though the food looked and
tasted exquisite, Tsukuyomi was so disgusted and offended by the scene that he killed the
goddess with his sword, and from her body, food started pouring out. Cattle and horses were
produced from her head, rice from her belly, and wheat and beans from her genitals. All this food
descended from the heavens unto the earth bellow, giving humans better ways to sustain
themselves. Even though the gods were pleased by this outcome, Amaterasu became incredibly
upset by what her husband had done, and vowed to never look at him again, moving to a
some place far away from him. From that day onwards, day and night became separate for the first
time. Due to this association with bringing food to humans, Tsukuyomi is also worshipped in some
parts of Japan as a god of agriculture as well.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is one I tried to tackle several times in the past, but the lack of references or stories about this
guy made it really hard to come up with something interesting, he barely even appears in japanese
media at all, despite being quite famous. Finally, I got somewhere, or at least got something close
enough to be presentable to you guys.

If Amaterasu is the leader of the Shinto gods in Takamagahara, she could be considered their Empress,
and with Tsukuyomi being her husband, he would be the Emperor himself (he doesn't seem to have authority
over any god though), so I decided to dress him in the traditional Sokutai , the typical robe that's the symbol of
the ancient Japanese aristocracy. If I ever tackle Amaterasu's design in the future, I would probably follow suit
and dress her up in a proper Junihitoe as well.

The only story focused on Tsukuyomi is one where he kills someone out of disgust, so he probably isn't
a very nice guy to begin with, and I tried to focus on that aspect, wanting to make him look like a cold,
distant and mysterious person. The way his robes melt away at the end is supposed to resemble the way
the light of the moon reflects on a watery surface, or vanishing behind the clouds, heavily stylized in a way
to better resemble Japanese art. Dunno if I was successful in that regard or not, but oh well.

Those little plants behind him are a reference to Susuki grass , a type of plant that's synonymous in Japan with the Tsukimi,
the Japanese moon festivals, where it's used as decoration and is believed to ward off evil until the following year. Just an extra
detail so that the design wouldn't feel too empty.

I've already tackled Susanoo in the past as well, so if you're interested in seeing how I designed him, you can check it
right here . I've got other stuff from japanese mythology in my gallery as well, so please check it out if you're interested.

Well, that's it from me, hope you all liked it!
See you all next time!