The is an imperially-commissioned

Japanese history The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new invent ...

text. Completed in 797, it is the second of the ''

Six National Histories is a general term for Japan's Six National Histories chronicling the mythology and history of Japan from the earliest times to 887. The six histories were written at the imperial court during the 8th and 9th centuries, under order of the Emperors. ...

'', coming directly after the '' Nihon Shoki'' and followed by ''

Nihon Kōki is an officially commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 840, it is the third volume in the Six National Histories. It covers the years 792–833. Background Following the earlier national history ''Shoku Nihongi'' (797), in 819 Empero ...

''.

Fujiwara no Tsugutada , also known as Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Monozomo no Udajin, was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Nara period.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fujiwara no Tsuginawa" in ; Brinkley, Frank ''et al.'' (1915). Career ...

and

Sugano no Mamichi , originally known as , was a Japanese noble of the early Heian period. He reached the Ritsuryō#Establishment of court rank, court rank of and the position of ''Sangi (Japan), sangi''. Life In 778, Mamichi was appointed as an in the Ministr ...

served as the primary editors. It is one of the most important primary historical sources for information about Japan's

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...

. The work covers the 95-year period from the beginning of

Emperor Monmu was the 42nd emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 文武天皇 (42) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Monmu's reign spanned the years from 697 through 707. Traditional narrative Befor ...

's reign in 697 until the 10th year of

Emperor Kanmu , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the sco ...

's reign in 791, spanning nine imperial reigns. It was completed in 797 AD. The text is forty volumes in length. It is primarily written in

kanbun A is a form of Classical Chinese used in Japan from the Nara period to the mid-20th century. Much of Japanese literature was written in this style and it was the general writing style for official and intellectual works throughout the period. ...

, a Japanese form of

Classical Chinese Classical Chinese, also known as Literary Chinese (古文 ''gǔwén'' "ancient text", or 文言 ''wényán'' "text speak", meaning "literary language/speech"; modern vernacular: 文言文 ''wényánwén'' "text speak text", meaning "literar ...

, as was normal for formal Japanese texts at the time. However, a number of "senmyō" 宣命 or "imperial edicts" contained within the text are written in a script known as "senmyō-gaki", which preserves particles and verb endings phonographically.

References

External links

* *
Text of the ''Shoku Nihongi''
(Japanese)

at

Japanese Historical Text Initiative 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. History Delmer M. Brow ...

manuscript scans at Waseda University Library
8th century in Japan 8th-century history books Late Old Japanese texts Heian period in literature History books about Japan 797 Emperor Kanmu 8th-century Japanese books History books of the Heian Period {{japan-hist-book-stub