1.   He will offer the first harvest of rice to the sun goddess.

2.   After all, the imperial line begins with Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess.

3.   All my sons wanted to do was look for arrowheads and old swords, not old sun goddesses.

4.   Perking up at the thought that a Japanese sun goddess would come equipped with an amazing sword, they scrutinized the faint trail closely.

5.   The Grand Shrine of Ise in south central Honshu commemorates the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami, considered the founder of the Japanese nation and ancestor of the emperor.

6.   The sun goddess Amaterasu, from whom the imperial family descends, has her shrine at nearby Ise.

7.   On Wednesday, the emperor and empress prayed for a safe and speedy birth at a shrine to the sun goddess, legendary ancestor of the imperial line.

8.   The origins of the imperial family are clouded in myth, which holds that the royal family is directly descended from the sun goddess.

9.   The shrines are believed to be the abode of the sun goddess Amaterasu, from whom emperors are by legend descended.