noun
imperial ancestor; divine ancestor of the imperial line
Archaic Shinto term referring to the ancestral kami of the Japanese imperial family, especially Amaterasu. Used in classical Japanese and religious contexts.
天津御祖は皇室の祖神として祀られている。
Amatsu-mioya is enshrined as the ancestral deity of the imperial house.
Compound of 天津 (amatsu, 'heavenly') + 御祖 (mioya, 'august ancestor'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term is deeply rooted in Shinto mythology.