Japanese Historical Text Initiative (JHTI) is a searchable online database of Japanese historical documents and English translations. It is part of the Center for Japanese Studies at the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

History

Delmer M. Brown started the process of establishing JHTI in 1998. The development of JHTI involved negotiations with the

University of Tokyo Press The is a university press affiliated with the University of Tokyo in Japan. It was founded in 1951, following the post-World War II reorganization of the university. Honors * Japan Foundation: Special Prize, 1990. Location The headquarters of t ...

and the

National Institute of Japanese Literature The , or NIJL, was established in May 1972. Its primary purpose is to preserve manuscripts and books relating to the study of Japanese literature. Original texts and microfilms Microforms are scaled-down reproductions of documents, typically ei ...

Select list

JHTI is an expanding online collection of historical texts. The original version of every paragraph is cross-linked with an English translation. The original words in Japanese and English translation are on the same screen. There are seven categories of writings, including

Ancient chronicles

These works were compiled by officials of the Imperial Court at the command of the emperors. * ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'' (completed in 712 CE) with translation by Donald L. Philippi * '' Nihon Shoki'' (completed in 720) with translation by W. G. Aston * '' Shoku Nihongi'' (covering 697 to 791) with translation by J. B. Snellen * ''

Kogo Shūi is a historical record of the Inbe clan of Japan written in the early Heian period (794–1185). It was composed by Inbe no Hironari (斎部広成) in 807 using material transmitted orally over several generations of the Inbe clan. Backgroun ...

'' (completed in 807) with translation by Genchi Katō and Hikoshirō Hoshino

Ancient gazetteers

These records, ''

Fudoki are ancient reports on provincial culture, geography, and oral tradition presented to the reigning monarchs of Japan, also known as local gazetteers. They contain agricultural, geographical, and historical records as well as mythology and ...

'', were compiled by provincial officials according to imperial edicts during the first half of the 8th century. * (submitted in 733) with translation by Michiko Aoki * with translation by Michiko Aoki * with translation by Michiko Aoki * with translation by Michiko Aoki * with translation by Michiko Aoki

Ancient kami-civil code

This was a compilation of religious law and civil law. * ''

Engishiki The is a Japanese book about laws and customs. The major part of the writing was completed in 927. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Engi-shiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 178. History In 905, Emperor Daigo ordered the compilation of th ...

'' (927) with translation by Felicia Gressitt Bock

Medieval stories

These historical tales (''

monogatari is a literary form in traditional Japanese literature – an extended prose narrative tale comparable to the epic novel. ''Monogatari'' is closely tied to aspects of the oral tradition, and almost always relates a fictional or fictionalized st ...

'') were about what was said and done by the prominent historical figures in aristocratic and military clans in feudal Japan * '' Okagami'' (covering the years 866 to 1027) with translation by

Helen Craig McCullough Helen Craig McCullough (February 17, 1918 – April 6, 1998) was an American academic, translator and Japanologist. She is best known for her 1988 translation of ''The Tale of the Heike''. Early life McCullough was born in California. She gradua ...

* ''

Yamato Monogatari is a collection of 173 short stories which give details about life in the imperial court in the 9th and 10th centuries. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Yamato monogatari''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 1047. It is an ''uta monogatari'' (a w ...

'' (completed around 951) with translation by

Mildred Tahara Mildred may refer to: People * Mildred (name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) * Saint Mildrith, 8th-century Abbess of Minster-in-Thanet * Milred (died 774), Anglo-Saxon prelate, Bishop of Worcester * Henry M ...

translation * ''

Eiga Monogatari is a Japanese ''monogatari'' which relates events in the life of courtier Fujiwara no Michinaga. It is believed to have been written by a number of authors, over the course of roughly a century, from 1028 to 1107. It is notable for giving high c ...

'' (covering the years 794 to 1185) with translation by William H. McCullough & Helen Craig McCullough * ''

Taiheiki The (Chronicle of Great Peace) is a Japanese historical epic (see ''gunki monogatari'') written in the late 14th century and covers the period from 1319 to 1367. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Taiheiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', pp. 923� ...

'' (completed around 1371) with translation by Helen Craig McCullough * ''

Azuma Kagami is a Japanese historical chronicle. The medieval text chronicles events of the Kamakura Shogunate from Minamoto no Yoritomo's rebellion against the Taira clan in Izokuni of 1180 to Munetaka Shinnō (the 6th shōgun) and his return to Kyoto in 12 ...

'' (completed around 1300) with partial translation by

Minoru Shinoda Minoru is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Minoru Arakawa (荒川實, born 1946), Japanese former president of Nintendo of America *Minoru Chiaki (千秋実, 1917–1999), Japanese actor *Minoru Fujita (� ...

Medieval and early-modern histories

These three histories were written in ways that mirror the religious and political interests of their authors. * '' Gukanshō'' (completed in 1219) with translation by Delmer M. Brown and Ichiro Ishida * ''

Jinnō Shōtōki is a Japanese historical book written by Kitabatake Chikafusa. The work sought both to clarify the genesis and potential consequences of a contemporary crisis in Japanese politics, and to dispel or at least ameliorate the prevailing disorder. ...

'' (completed in 1339) with translation by

H. Paul Varley Herbert Paul Varley (February 8, 1931 – December 15, 2015) was an American academic, historian, author, and Japanologist. He was an emeritus professor at Columbia University and Sen Sōshitsu XV Professor of Japanese Cultural History at the Unive ...

* ''

Tokushi Yoron The is an Edo period historical analysis of Japanese history written in 1712 by Arai Hakuseki (1657–1725). Hakuseki's innovative effort to understand and explain the history of Japan differs significantly from previous chronologies which were c ...

'' (completed in 1712) with translation by

Joyce Ackroyd Joyce Irene Ackroyd, (23 November 1918 – 30 August 1991) was an Australian academic, translator, author and editor. She was a scholar of Japanese language and literature. Early life Ackroyd apparently acquired an interest Japan during her ...

State and Imperial Shinto

These works are about State Shinto and the Empire of Japan. * * ''

Kokutai no Hongi is a concept in the Japanese language translatable as "system of government", "sovereignty", "national identity, essence and character", "national polity; body politic; national entity; basis for the Emperor's sovereignty; Japanese constitut ...

'' (Cardinal Principles of Nation Polity, 1937) with translation by John Owen GauntlettJHTI
''Kokutai no Hongi''
retrieved 2013-2-1.

Late-Edo period and Meiji period texts

This category is for miscellaneous writings which are from Japan's pre-modern and early-modern periods.

References

{{reflist

External links

Japanese Historical Text Initiative

National Institute of Japanese Literature

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

Japanese Text Initiative

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

and

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

University of California, Berkeley Historiography of Japan