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The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of
myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...
s, legends,
hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...
s, genealogies,
oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985 ...
s, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese
archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
, the , and the Japanese imperial line. It is claimed in its preface to have been composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of Empress Genmei in the early 8th century (711–712), and thus is usually considered to be the oldest extant literary work in Japan. The myths contained in the as well as the are part of the inspiration behind many practices. Later, they were incorporated into
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoist ...
practices such as the purification ritual.


Composition

It is believed that the compilation of various genealogical and anecdotal histories of the imperial (Yamato) court and prominent clans began during the reigns of Emperors Keitai and Kinmei in the 6th century, with the first concerted effort at historical compilation of which we have record being the one made in 620 under the auspices of Prince Shotoku and Soga no Umako. According to the '' Nihon Shoki'', the documents compiled under their initiative were the '' TennÅki'' (, also ''Sumera-mikoto no fumi'') or the "Record of the Emperors", the ''Kokki'' (, also ''Kunitsufumi'') or the "National Record", and other "fundamental records" (, ''hongi'' or ''mototsufumi'') pertaining to influential clans and free subjects. Out of these texts, only the ''Kokki'' survived the burning of Soga no Emishi's estate (where these documents were kept) during the Isshi incident of 645, and was itself apparently lost soon after. The ''Kojiki'' preface indicates that leading families also kept their own historical and genealogical records; indeed, one of the reasons it gives for the compilation of the ''Kojiki'' is the correction of errors that had supposedly crept into these documents. According to the preface, Emperor Tenmu (reigned 673–686) ordered the review and emendation of clan documents and commissioned a certain court attendant (''toneri'') of exceptional memory named Hieda no Are to memorize records and
oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985 ...
s concerning the imperial lineage. Beyond this memorization, nothing occurred until the reign of Empress Genmei (reigned 707–715), who on the 18th of the 9th month of 711 ( WadŠ4) ordered the courtier Ō no Yasumaro to record what had been learned by Hieda no Are. He finished and presented his work to Empress Genmei on the 28th of the 1st month of 712 (WadŠ5).


Purpose

The ''Kojiki'' is a collation of different traditions woven into a single "official" mythology, made in an attempt to justify the rule of the imperial Yamato
polity A polity is an identifiable political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any other group of p ...
and at the same time to subsume different interest groups under its wing by giving them a place and an interest in the national genealogy-mythology. Apart from furthering the imperial agenda, an increased interest in the nation's origins in reaction to the influx of foreign culture and the need for an authoritative genealogical account by which to consider the claims of noble families and to reorganize them into a new system of ranks and titles are also possible factors for its compilation.Philippi, Donald L. (2015). ''Kojiki''. Princeton University Press. pp. 6–14. The ''Kojiki'' narrative establishes the Yamato line's right to rule via myth and legend, portraying it as the progeny of heavenly deities and the rightful heir to the land of Japan. A good part of the latter portion of the text is spent recounting various genealogies which served not only to give the imperial family an air of antiquity (which may not necessarily reflect historical reality), but also served to tie, whether true or not, many existing clans' genealogies to their own. Regardless of the work's original intent, it finalized and possibly even formulated the framework by which Japanese history was examined in terms of the reign of emperors. In contrast to the ''Nihon Shoki'' (compiled 720), the first of six histories commissioned by the imperial court, which was modeled on
Chinese dynastic histories The ''Twenty-Four Histories'' (), also known as the ''Orthodox Histories'' (), are the Chinese official dynastic histories covering from the earliest dynasty in 3000 BC to the Ming dynasty in the 17th century. The Han dynasty official Sima Qia ...
and was intended to be a national chronicle that could be shown with pride to foreign envoys, the ''Kojiki'' is inward looking, concerned mainly with the ruling family and prominent clans, and is apparently intended for internal consumption. Whereas the ''Nihon Shoki'' uses a variety of source documents (including Chinese texts), the ''Kojiki'' is apparently based on sources handed down within the court.


Transmission and study

Whereas the ''Nihon Shoki'', owing to its status as one of the six imperial histories, was widely read and studied during the
Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyÅ (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...
(794–1185), the ''Kojiki'' was mostly treated as an ancillary text. Indeed, a work known as the '' Sendai Kuji Hongi'' (also known as the ''Kujiki''), claimed to have been authored by Prince ShÅtoku and Soga no Umako, was considered to be earlier and more reliable than the ''Kojiki''. (Modern scholarly consensus holds the ''Kuji Hongi'' to be a Heian period forgery based on both the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Shoki'', although certain portions may indeed preserve genuine early traditions and sources.) By the
Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first '' shÅgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...
(1185–1333), the work languished in obscurity such that very few people had access to the text, particularly that of the middle (second) volume. It is due to this neglect that the ''Kojiki'' is available only in comparatively late manuscripts, the earliest of which dates to the late 14th century.Philippi, Donald L. (2015). ''Kojiki''. Princeton University Press. pp. 30–32. It was with the advent of printing in the early modern period that the ''Kojiki'' first reached a wide audience. The earliest printed edition of the text was the ''Kan'ei Kojiki'' (), published in Kyoto in 1644 ( Kan'ei 21). A second edition, the ''GÅtÅ Kojiki'' (, "''Kojiki'' with Marginal Notes") was printed by Deguchi (Watarai) Nobuyoshi, a priest at Ise Shrine, in 1687 ( JÅkyÅ 4). The birth of nativist studies ('' kokugaku'') and nationalist sentiment during the
Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...
saw a reappraisal of the ''Kojiki''. ''Kokugaku'' scholars saw Japan's earliest writings as the repository of a uniquely superior Japanese identity that could be revived by recovering the ancient language they were written in; the ''Kojiki'', by virtue of its antiquity, gained the status of a sacred text. The ''Kojiki'' came to be highly regarded that scholars such as Kada no Azumamaro and Kamo no Mabuchi – himself a student of Azumamaro – produced annotated versions of it. The ''Kojiki'' received its most serious study and exposition in the hands of
Motoori Norinaga was a Japanese scholar of '' Kokugaku'' active during the Edo period. He is conventionally ranked as one of the Four Great Men of Kokugaku (nativist) studies. Life Norinaga was born in what is now Matsusaka in Ise Province (now part of M ...
, who obtained a copy of the Kan'ei printed edition in 1754. After meeting Mabuchi in 1763, Norinaga began to devote his efforts to an in-depth scholarly study of the text. A monumental 44-volume study of the ''Kojiki'' called , composed over a 34-year period (1764–1798), was the fruit of his labor. With Norinaga, the ''Kojiki'' assumed an importance equal to the ''Nihon Shoki''; in fact, in his view the ''Kojiki'' was a more trustworthy source for ancient Japanese traditions than was the ''Shoki'' precisely because it was free of "Chinese mentality". He viewed the ''Kojiki'' as a true account of actual events that when read correctly, could reveal Japan in its pristine, ideal state as a community where the ''kami'', the emperor and the people lived in harmony. Norinaga's work was carried on in different directions by his disciple Hirata Atsutane and his rivals Fujitani Mitsue (1781–1849) and Tachibana Moribe (1768–1823), who each produced commentaries and treatises on the text. The ''Kojiki'' became once more the object of scholarly focus and discussion in the
Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
with the introduction of Western academic disciplines such as
philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...
and
comparative mythology Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics.Littleton, p. 32 Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes. For example, scholars have used ...
. The importance of the text as a work of literary value was recognized, and scholars realized that its accounts were comparable in many ways to
ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
and
Roman myths Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representat ...
. At the same time, however, the ''Kojiki'' and ''Nihon Shoki'' achieved a sort of scriptural status under State ShintÅ, which viewed the stories contained therein as orthodox national history. Official ideology upheld as unquestionable fact the belief in the emperor's divinity and the idea of Japan as a racially superior "national body" ('' kokutai''), with scholars who questioned their veracity facing the threat of censorship, forced resignation, or even trial in court. In 1913, Tsuda SÅkichi argued in a study that the ''Kojiki'', particularly in its earlier sections, was neither history nor myth but a document created to legitimize the rule of the imperial line. While his conclusions led to considerable controversy, his influence remains in subsequent studies of the text (particularly in post-
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
scholarship), which amounts largely to development and correction of the line of thought originally proposed by him. In reaction to Tsuda,
Watsuji TetsurÅ was a Japanese historian and moral philosopher. Early life Watsuji was born in Himeji, HyÅgo Prefecture to a physician. During his youth he enjoyed poetry and had a passion for Western literature. For a short time he was the coeditor of a lit ...
(1920) argued for a literary appreciation of the Kojiki, claiming that this gave it inner coherence. Kurano Kenji (1927) took it a step further, proposing that the ''Kojiki'' may best be compared with Western epic literature and regarded as a national epic like ''
Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, BÄ“owulf ) is an Old English Epic poetry, epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translations of Beo ...
'' is in the English-speaking world. During the 1920s and 30s, linguist Hashimoto Shinkichi studied the phonology of the Old Japanese language, and his conclusions were applied by scholars to the study of the text. The ''Kojiki'' continued to attract the attention of academics and other specialists in the post-war period, which saw the appearance of numerous editions, translations and commentaries on the text by authors such as Kurano Kenji, Takeda YÅ«kichi, SaigÅ Nobutsuna, and KÅnoshi Takamitsu.


Manuscripts

There are two major branches of ''Kojiki'' manuscripts: Ise and Urabe. The extant Urabe branch consists of 36 existing manuscripts all based on the 1522 copies by Urabe Kanenaga. The Ise branch may be subdivided into the manuscript of 1371–1372 and the manuscripts. The DÅka sub-branch consists of: * the manuscript of 1381; only the first half of the first volume remains * the manuscript of 1424; only the first volume remains, and there are many defects * the manuscript of 1426; one volume The Shinpukuji-bon manuscript (1371–1372) is the oldest existing manuscript. While divided into the Ise branch, it is actually a mixture of the two branches. The monk Ken'yu based his copy on ÅŒnakatomi Sadayo's copy. In 1266, Sadayo copied volumes one and three but did not have access to the second volume. Finally, in 1282, he obtained access to the second volume through a Urabe-branch manuscript that he used to transcribe.


Structure

The ''Kojiki'' contains various songs and poems. While the historical records and myths are written in a form of Chinese with a heavy mixture of Japanese elements, the songs are written with
Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as '' kan ...
s, though only used phonetically. This special use of Chinese characters is called '' Man'yÅgana'', a knowledge of which is critical to understanding these songs, which are written in Old Japanese.


Sections

The ''Kojiki'' is divided into three parts: the , the and the . *The ''Kamitsumaki'', also known as the , includes the
preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a '' foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface often close ...
of the ''Kojiki'', and is focused on the deities of creation and the births of various deities of the ''kamiyo'' () period, or Age of the Gods. The ''Kamitsumaki'' also outlines the myths concerning the foundation of Japan. It describes how Ninigi-no-Mikoto, grandson of Amaterasu and great-grandfather of Emperor Jimmu, descended from
heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the bel ...
to Takachihonomine in Kyūshū and became the
progenitor In genealogy, the progenitor (rarer: primogenitor; german: Stammvater or ''Ahnherr'') is the – sometimes legendary progenitor, legendary – founder of a family, Kinship, line of descent, clan or tribe, Nobility, noble house, or ethnic group. ...
of the Japanese Imperial line. *The ''Nakatsumaki'' begins with the conquests of Jimmu, which make him the first
Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the ...
; and ends with the 15th Emperor, ÅŒjin. The second through ninth Emperors' reigns are recorded in a minimum of detail, with only their names, the names of their various descendants, and the locations of their palaces and tombs listed, with no mention of their achievements. Many of the stories in this volume are mythological; the allegedly historical information is highly suspect. *The ''Shimotsumaki'' covers the 16th to 33rd Emperors and, unlike previous volumes, has very limited references to interactions with deities. (Such interactions are very prominent in the first and second volumes.) Information about the 24th to 33rd Emperors is scant.


Synopsis

What follows is a condensed summary of the contents of the text, including many of the names of gods, emperors, and locations as well as events which took place in association with them. The original Japanese is included in parentheses where appropriate.


Preface ()

Ō no Yasumaro's preface, in the form of a dedicatory address to Empress Genmei, begins with a poem summarizing the main contents of the work. He then relates how Emperor Tenmu commissioned Hieda no Are to memorize the genealogies and records of the imperial house years earlier, and how Genmei in turn ordered Yasumaro to compile a written record of what Are had learned. He finally concludes the preface with a brief explanation of the
Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as '' kan ...
used to transcribe native Japanese words in the text and the division of the work into three volumes.


The Kamitsumaki (), or first volume


The Nakatsumaki (), or second volume

*Kamu-Yamato-Iwarebiko-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor Jimmu () ** Emperor Jimmu conquers Yamato **The sword from heaven, or Futsu no mitama () and the three legged crow, or Yatagarasu () **The emperor's brother Hikoitsuse no Mikoto () **From Kumano () to Yamato () **An ancient ballad, kumeuta () **The Empress Isukeyorihime or Empress Hime Tatara Isuzu () **The rebellion of Tagishimimi no Mikoto () *Kamu-Nunakawamimi-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor Suizei () *Shikitsuhiko-Tamatemi-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor Annei () *ÅŒyamatohiko-Sukitomo-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor Itoku () *Mimatsuhiko-Kaeshine-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor KÅshÅ () *ÅŒyamato-Tarashihiko-Kuni-oshihito-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor KÅan () *ÅŒyamato-Nekohiko-Futoni-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor KÅrei () *ÅŒyamato-Nekohiko-Kunikuru-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor KÅgen () *Wakayamato-Nekohiko-ÅŒbibi-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor Kaika () *Mimakiirihiko-Inie-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor Sujin () **The emperor's son and queen **The god of Mount Miwa () or Mimoro (),
Ōmononushi Ōmononushi ( ja, 大物主神, Ōmononushi-no-Kami; historical orthography: ''Ohomononushi'') is a '' kami'' in Japanese mythology associated with Mount Miwa (also known as Mount Mimoro) in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture. He is closely linked in t ...
() **The rebellion of Takehaniyasu no Miko () **Emperor Hatsukunishirashishi () *Ikume-Iribiko-Isachi-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor Suinin () **The emperor's son and queen **The Sahobiko () and Sahobime () **Homuchiwakenomiko () () **The fruit of time *Ōtarashihiko-Oshirowake-no-Sumeramikoto (), or Emperor KeikŠ() **The emperor's son and queen ** Yamato-Takeru-no-Mikoto's () conquest of the Kumaso people () **Izumo-Takeru's () Subjugation **Yamato Takeru's conquest of the eastern regions **Miyazuhime () **The Kunishinobiuta (), or country song **Yahiroshiro Chidori () **Yamato-Takeru's Posterity *Wakatarashihiko-no-Sumeramikoto (), or Emperor Seimu () *Tarashi-Nakatsuhiko-no-Sumeramikoto (), or Emperor Chūai () **The emperor's son and queen **The divine possession of Price Jingū () **The prince's expedition to
Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of ...
() **Kagosaka no Miko () and Oshikuma no Miko's () rebellion **The great god Kehi () **The Sakekura song () *Homudawake-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor ÅŒjin () **The emperor's son and queen **Price ÅŒyamamori no Mikoto () and Emperor ÅŒsazaki no Mikoto () **Yakahaehime () **Kaminagahime () **The Kuzu song () **The tribute of
Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo of Baekje, Onjo, the third son of Gogurye ...
() **The rebellion of Price ÅŒyamamori no Mikoto () **Visit of
Amenohiboko was a legendary prince of Silla who settled in Japan during the era of Emperor Suinin, around the 3rd or 4th century and was said to have lived in Tajima Province. His descendants are the Tajima clan. Amenohiboko is the ancestral god of Tajima Pro ...
() **Akiyama Shitahiotoko () and Haruyama Kasumiotoko () **The emperor's posterity


The Shimotsumaki (), or final volume

*ÅŒsazaki no mikoto (), or Emperor Nintoku () **The emperor's son and queen **Kibi Kurohime () **Yatanowakiiratsume () and Iha no hime () **Hayabusawake no kimi () and Medori no kimi () **Wild goose eggs **A boat called Kareno (), or desolate field *Izahowake no miko (), or Emperor RichÅ« () **The rebellion of Suminoenonakatsu no kimi () **Mizuhawake no kimi () and Sobakari () *Mizuhawake no mikoto (), or Emperor Hanzei () *Osatsumawakugonosukune no miko (), or Emperor IngyÅ () **The emperor's son and queen **Uji kabane system () **Karunohitsugi no miko () and KarunÅhoiratsume () *Anaho no miko (), or Emperor AnkÅ () **ÅŒkusaka no kimi () and NenÅmi () **The incident of Mayowa no kimi () and Mayowa no Åkimi () **IchinobenÅshiwa no kimi () *ÅŒhatsusewakatake no mikoto (), or Emperor YÅ«ryaku () **The emperor's son and queen **Wakakusakabe no kimi () **Akaiko () **Yoshinomiya () **Kazuraki () Hitokotonushi no Åkami () **Odohime (), Mie Uneme () *Shiraka no Åyamato (), or Emperor Seinei () **Shijimu NihimurÅtage () ** Utagaki () *Iwasuwake no mikoto (), or Emperor KenzÅ () **Okeme Roujo () **Misasagi no Tsuchi () *ÅŒke no miko (), or Emperor Ninken () *Ohatsuse no wakasazaki no mikoto (), or Emperor Buretsu () *Ohodo no mikoto (), or Emperor Keitai () *Hirokunioshitakekanahi no miko (), or Emperor Ankan () *Takeohirokunioshitate no mikoto (), or Emperor Senka () *Amekunioshiharukihironiwa no sumeramiko (), or
Emperor Kinmei was the 29th Emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''KunaichÅ'') 欽明天皇 (29) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834)pp. 34–36 Brown, Delmer. (1979) ''GukanshÅ,'' pp. 261– ...
() *Nunakurafutotamashiki no mikoto (), or Emperor Bidatsu () *Tachibananotoyohi no miko (), or Emperor YÅmei () *Hatsusebenowakasazaki no sumeramikoto (), or Emperor Sushun () *Toyomikekashikiyahime no mikoto (), or Empress Suiko ()


English-language translations

* Chamberlain, Basil Hall. 1882. ''A translation of the "Ko-ji-ki" or Records of ancient matters''. Yokohama, Japan: R. Meiklejohn and Co., Printers
(www.sacred-texts.com)
* Philippi, Donald L. 1968/1969. ''Kojiki''. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press and Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press. () * Heldt, Gustav. 2014. ''The Kojiki: An Account of Ancient Matters.'' New York: Columbia University Press. ()


See also

* Atsuta Shrine * Historiography of Japan * Japanese Historical Text Initiative *
Kokki , alternatively known as ''Kuni tsu Fumi'' meaning "National Record", is a Japanese historical text purported to have been written in 620 by ShÅtoku Taishi and Soga no Umako. It is recorded in the '' Nihon Shoki'', but there are no known extant c ...
* '' Kujiki'' * Kyūji *
Mahoroba ''Mahoroba'' is an ancient Japanese word describing a far-off land full of bliss and peace. It is roughly comparable to the western concepts of arcadia, a place surrounded by mountains full of harmony and quiet. ''Mahoroba'' is now written only ...
* '' Nihon Shoki'' * Philosophy of history * Teiki * TennÅki * The White Hare of Inaba


Notes


References

* Bentley, John R. ''The Authenticity of Sendai Kuji Hongi: A New Examination of Texts, With a Translation And Commentary''. () * Brownlee, John S. (1997) ''Japanese historians and the national myths, 1600-1945: The Age of the Gods and Emperor Jimmu''. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. () Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press. () * Brownlee, John S. (1991). ''Political Thought in Japanese Historical Writing: From ''Kojiki'' (712) to Tokushi Yoron (1712)''. Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. () * * Ono, Motonori ''Shinto: The Kami Way'' * Starrs, Roy (2005). "The ''Kojiki'' as Japan's National Narrative", in ''Asian Futures, Asian Traditions'', edited by Edwina Palmer. Folkestone, Kent: Global Oriental, *Wittkamp, Robert F. (2018). "The Body as a Mode of Conceptualization in the ''Kojiki'' Cosmogony" in「æ±è¥¿å­¦è¡“研究所紀è¦ã€ç¬¬51輯 (''TÅzai gakujutsu kenkyÅ«sho kiyÅ'' 51, pp. 47–64, PDF online available). *Wittkamp, Robert F. (2020): "Re-Examining Japanese Mythologies: Why the ''Nihon Shoki'' has two books of myths but the ''Kojiki'' only one" in「æ±è¥¿å­¦è¡“研究所紀è¦ã€ç¬¬53輯 (''TÅzai gakujutsu kenkyÅ«sho kiyÅ'' 53, pp. 13–39, PDF online available). *


External links

* Original Text of the Kojiki. * Chamberlain's translation of ''Kojiki'': *
full text at the Internet Sacred Text Archive
*
scan from ''The sacred books and early literature of the East'', edited by Charles Horne
*
''Encyclopedia of Shinto''
€€Kokugakuin University *
Basic Terms of Shinto
€€Kokugakuin University *

*
Waseda University , mottoeng = Independence of scholarship , established = 21 October 1882 , type = Private , endowment = , president = Aiji Tanaka , city = Shinjuku , state = Tokyo , country = Japan , students = 47,959 , undergrad = 39,382 , postgrad ...
Library
1644 manuscript, three volumes
{{Authority control Old Japanese texts 8th-century history books History books about Japan Nara-period works 8th century in Japan Japanese mythology Shinto texts 8th-century works East Asian religious texts Asuka period Japanese literature in Classical Chinese 711 712