Imperial Regalia of Japan

The Three Sacred Treasures (三種の神器, Sanshu no Jingi/Mikusa no Kamudakara) are the imperial regalia of Japan and consist of the sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi (草薙劍), the mirror Yata no Kagami (八咫鏡), and the jewel Yasakani no Magatama (八尺瓊勾玉).

[2][3][4] According to legend, these treasures were brought to Earth by Ninigi-no-Mikoto, legendary ancestor of the Japanese imperial line, when his grandmother, the sun goddess Amaterasu, sent him to pacify Japan.

Susanoo later presented the sword Kusanagi to Amaterasu as a token of apology; he had obtained it from the body of an eight-headed serpent, Yamata no Orochi.

They were present when the Taira were defeated by the rival Minamoto clan at the Battle of Dan-no-ura, which was fought on boats in the shallow Kanmon Straits.

[16] Mikael Adolphson, a professor at Cambridge University, stated that this hidden strategy "adds mystique, and thus, authority, to the objects."