Why a White Swiss Shepherd- and 'Amaterasu'?

Why would I choose such a complicated name for my dog? Below I shall explain where it came from, and why it is, to me, a beautiful match.

Why the White Swiss Shepherd

I have been wanting a dog for close to 15 years now, but it just never was the right time for it. In the beginning, I had decided on getting more of a lap dog, due to their portability. Later, I realised that with a smaller dog, I couldn't really do the things I wanted to do with them, like going on long walks, hiking or short trips by bicycle.
After a friend got a German Shepherd pup, and I got a feeling for the breed and their needs, I knew that it was the type of dog that I was looking for, and could handle. There was only one problem: I have a strong dislike for the sloped backs that are supposed to be beautiful in the show ring. The only way for me to avoid this, was to go for a working line German Shepherd. A very short internet search told me all I needed to know: those working lines are not for me. Too much energy, too intense.
I also had a preference for either white or black shepherds, since I don't really like the colouring of the standard German Shepherds. This was never a dealbreaker, but the preference was there.
After a search on the internet for similar breeds of dogs, I found the White Swiss Shepherd, and I knew that this was the breed I wanted. The perfect fit.

The White Wolf

When I saw that the White Swiss Shepherd existed, I knew that this was what I was looking for, a breed that is very similar to a German Shepherd, but with a healthy back.
I also knew right away that I wanted a female, and that the name had to be Amaterasu.
The naming was instinctive and immediate, but the more I thought about it, the more it suited me perfectly.
As a lifelong gamer, I recently played the HD remake of the 2006 game Ōkami, which became one of my favourite games. The game featured a white wolf as a protagonist. This white wolf, tasked with vanquishing a great evil threatening the fictional, feudal Japan inspired country of 'Nippon', was actually the earthly manifestation of the goddess Amaterasu.

Amaterasu

In Japanese mythology, Amaterasu (天照), or Amaterasu Omikami (天照大神) is the supreme deity of the sun, ruler of the heavens and daughter of the creator god Izanagi. There are a few different texts describing her origin and certain events in her life, like after the misbehaviour of her youngest brother Susanoo, locking herself in a cave, taking away all the light in the world. I won't tell her whole story here, since it doesn't really matter for why I chose the name for my dog.

Why Tera, and not Ama?

Now that you know the origin of the name of my upcoming dog, why did I choose Tera over Ama?

In Ōkami, the nickname given to Amaterasu by her companion Issun depends on the language of the game. In the Japanese version, she is nicknamed Amako, and in the English version she is nicknamed Ammy. Neither really had a nice ring to it for me.

This brings me to Tera. The name Amaterasu would usually and logically be shortened to Ama. The thing is that in Japanese, calling a woman Ama (often spelled as アマ), can be used as a derogatory term. Even though the first character in Amaterasu, 天, means something like 'heavenly', it didn't feel right to me.
This is how I came to Tera. Way after I decided on that name, I found out that the translation for 照, the second character of her full name, meant things like 'illuminate', 'shine', 'warmth of the sun', etc.
Since the last few years have not been very good to me on a personal level (losing my job, my father passing away suddenly and my mother getting an Alzheimer's diagnosis), having a warm ray of light after this 'darkness' feels very fitting.

Sometimes it feels like things are meant to be. For me, this is one of those moments.
What drew you to your breed? Do you have a similar origin for your dog's name?