Takama-ga-hara

For the general realm of the non-living, see Far Shore.

Takama-ga-hara (高天原 (たかまがはら) , Takamagahara^?, lit. "the Plain of High Heavens") is a realm that serves as the home of the gods.

When a god is officially added to the divine register, they gain the ability to freely teleport between the living realm and Takama-ga-hara using their shrine.^[1] They can also be approved as a resident of Takama-ga-hara and afforded a plot of land.^[2] It is shown that Amaterasu,^[3] Bishamonten,^[1] Ebisu,^[4] and Takemikazuchi^[5] all have large estates in Takama-ga-hara that serves as their primary residence.

Simply having a shrine is not enough to gain these advantages– the shrine must be recognized as legitimate by Heaven's public office^[2] and the god must remain in good standing with Heaven. For example, even though Kofuku has shrines dedicated to her name, she is banned from owning land in Takama-ga-hara after "popping" the Bubble Era of Japan and sending the country into economic stagnation.^{[citation needed]}

Trivia[]

• It is believed to be connected to the Earth by the bridge Ama-no uki-hashi (the "Floating Bridge of Heaven").^{[citation needed]}

References