Ninigi (瓊瓊杵) or Ninigi-no-Mikoto (瓊瓊杵尊), is a god in Japanese mythology. Grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu, Ninigi is regarded according to Japanese mythology as the great-grandfather of Japan’s first emperor, Emperor Jimmu. The three sacred treasures brought with Ninigi from Heaven and divine ancestry established the Japanese Imperial Family. The Encyclopedia of Shinto states that the three generations of kami starting with Ninigi are sometimes referred to as the Three Generations of Hyūga: they are said to represent a transitional period between the heavenly kami and the first emperor.