is an officially 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 869, it is the fourth volume in 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. ...

. It covers the years 833–850.

Background

Following the earlier national history ''

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 ...

'' (840), in 855

Emperor Montoku (August 826 – 7 October 858) was the 55th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 文徳天皇 (55)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Montoku's reign lasted from 850 to 858. Traditional narrative Before ...

ordered the compilation of the years since then. Primarily edited by

Fujiwara no Yoshifusa , also known as ''Somedono no Daijin'' or ''Shirakawa-dono'', was a Japanese people, Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Heian period.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fujiwara no Nakahira" in ; Brinkley, Frank ''et al.'' (1 ...

and Haruzumi no Yoshitsuna, the text was completed in 869.

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. ...

-style and contained within 20 volumes, the contents covered 18 years spanning 833 and 850. As opposed to the previous national histories, it is the first to cover a single reign, that of

Emperor Ninmyō was the 54th emperor of Japan, Emperor Ninmyō, Fukakusa Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Ninmyō's reign lasted from 833 to 850, during the Heian period. Traditional narrative Nin ...

setting the model for future national histories.

References

* *

External links

Text of the ''Shoku Nihon Kōki''
(Japanese) *Manuscript scans,

Waseda University Library The collections of Waseda University Library (早稲田大学図書館; ''Waseda Daigaku Toshokan'') form one of the largest libraries in Japan. Established in 1882, they currently hold some 5.6 million volumes and 46,000 serials. History The W ...

: manuscrip
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoku Nihon Koki Late Old Japanese texts 9th-century history books History books about Japan Heian period in literature 9th-century Japanese books History books of the Heian Period

Background

Contents

See also

References

External links