also: あまの
noun-modifying (irregular)
Prenominal modifier used in elevated, mythological, or poetic contexts to describe things of the heavens or gods.
天の川が夜空に輝いている。
The Milky Way (lit. heavenly river) shines in the night sky.
古事記には天の岩戸の神話が記されている。
The Kojiki records the myth of the Heavenly Rock Cave.
天 (てん) is the standard Sino-Japanese word for 'heaven' or 'sky', used in everyday and technical contexts. 天の (あめの) is a native Japanese prenominal form found mainly in classical or mythological names.
The native Japanese word あめ (heaven, sky) combined with the archaic genitive particle の, forming a prenominal modifier. The reading あまの is an older variant.