Amaterasu

Amaterasu is a Mangekyō Sharingan dōjutsu, and the highest level of Fire Release. Said to represent the, Amaterasu is the antipode to Tsukuyomi.

Overview
Amaterasu produces black flames at the focal point of the user's vision. In most situations, this makes Amaterasu impossible to avoid. However, techniques of extreme speed allow the avoidance or interception of the jutsu after it has been cast. Said to be "the fires from hell" and to burn as hot as the sun itself, Amaterasu burns any material — other flames included — until nothing but ash remains. Throughout the series some objects have shown some degree of imperviousness to the flames such as Gaara's chakra-infused sand, and Naruto's Version 1 chakra cloak. Fitting of their description as never disappearing and immortal, Amaterasu cannot be extinguished through most conventional means and will continue burning until their target is completely incinerated; only the user can put out the flames.

Amaterasu does not ordinarily require hand seals to be performed, though Sasuke Uchiha once used the Tiger hand seal, which is common for fire techniques. This technique can also be sealed within the Sharingan of another person. Beyond mere offence, Amaterasu's flames can be used as a deterrent, with users surrounding themselves in its flames to discourage physical attacks.

Use of this technique puts a great deal of strain on the user, usually causing their eyes to bleed. Though the user can make Amaterasu incinerate things near instantly when focusing on it, Amaterasu burns fairly slowly normally, allowing targets to remove burning clothes before their body is caught ablaze or, if it's too late for that, remove the burning body part(s) before it spreads. Other defensive options are pushing the flames away, absorbing them, izanagi, or being the jinchūriki of the Ten-Tails. While impractical as a defence, Amaterasu can also be sealed.

Because of the ability of his right Mangekyō Sharingan, Sasuke can control and shape the flames of Amaterasu using Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi.

Influence
Amaterasu, like Tsukuyomi and Susanoo, is a god in ancient Japanese myth and the Shintō religion. Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, was born from the left eye of Izanagi when he performed the cleansing ritual after escaping the underworld.

Trivia

 * In the anime, Amaterasu was shown to be capable of burning through Yagura Karatachi's Version 2 cloak, while in the manga, it couldn't burn Naruto Uzumaki's Version 1 cloak.
 * Despite being initially described as spawning at the user's point of focus, Amaterasu has at times been depicted as traveling through space towards its targets, making it possible for other high speed techniques to counter it.