, or , is a historical Japanese text. It was generally believed to have been one of the earliest Japanese histories until the middle of 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 ...
, when scholars such as
Tokugawa Mitsukuni
, also known as , was a Japanese daimyo who was known for his influence in the politics of the early Edo period. He was the third son of Tokugawa Yorifusa (who in turn was the eleventh son of Tokugawa Ieyasu) and succeeded him, becoming the sec ...
and
Tada Yoshitoshi successfully contended that it was an imitation based on the ''
Nihon Shoki'', the ''
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 ...
'' and the ''
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.
Background
...
''. Scholarship on the ''Kujiki'' generally considers it to contain some genuine elements, specifically that Book 5 preserves traditions of the
Mononobe and
Owari clans, and that Book 10 preserves the earlier historical record the ''
Kokuzō Hongi''.
Ten volumes in length, it covers the history of ancient Japan through
Empress Suiko
(554 – 15 April 628) was the 33rd monarch of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 推古天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.
Suiko reigned from 593 until her death in 628.
In the history of Japa ...
, third daughter of
Emperor Kinmei
was the 29th Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 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) ''Gukanshō,'' pp. 261– ...
. The preface is supposedly written by
Soga no Umako
was the son of Soga no Iname and a member of the powerful Soga clan of Japan.
Umako conducted political reforms with Prince Shōtoku during the rules of Emperor Bidatsu and Empress Suiko and established the Soga clan's stronghold in the g ...
(+626). While it includes many quotes from ''
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 ...
'' (712) and ''
Nihon Shoki'' (720), volumes five and ten contain unique materials. The overall composition is considered as having been compiled between 807 and 936.
The ''Kujiki'' contains 10 volumes, but there are 3 false documents also called ''Kujiki'', produced in the Edo period: the 30 volumes Shirakawa edition, ''Shirakawahon Kujiki'' (白河本旧事紀) (kept by the Shirakawa Hakuou family), the 72 volumes Enpō edition, ''Enpōhon Sendai Kuji Hongi Taiseikyō'' (延宝本先代旧事本紀大成経) (discovered in 1679), and the 31 volumes Sazaki succession edition, ''Sazaki Denhon Sendai Kuji Hongi Taiseikyō'' (鷦鷯伝本先代旧事本紀大成経).
The only complete English translation of the ''Kujiki'' was made in 2006 by
John R. Bentley, who argued based on his examinations of extant manuscripts that the ''Kujiki'' was indeed written in the early eighth century CE, before the ''
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.
Background
...
'', and as part of the same historiographical movement that produced the ''
Nihon Shoki'' and the ''
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 ...
''. Bentley took the preface, which attributes the work to the early-7th century statesman
Prince Shōtoku
, also known as or , was a semi-legendary regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan who served under Empress Suiko. He was the son of Emperor Yōmei and his consort, Princess Anahobe no Hashihito, who was also Yōmei's younger half- ...
, to be a later interpolation. In a review for ''
Monumenta Nipponica
''Monumenta Nipponica'' is a semi-annual academic journal of Japanese studies. Published by Sophia University (Tokyo), it is one of the oldest English-language academic journals in the field of Asian studies, being founded in 1938. Although the jo ...
'', Mark Teeuwen criticized Bentley's methodology.
[Mark Teeuwen, “Sendai Kuji Hongi: Authentic Myths or Forged History?”, ''Monumenta Nipponica'' 62.1 (2007), 87-96]
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Notes
References
*
*
Further reading
* John R. Bentley. ''The Authenticity of Sendai Kuji Hongi: A New Examination of Texts, With a Translation and Commentary''.
* 三重貞亮.『舊事紀訓解』上・下. 明世堂 1944
* 飯田季治.『標註 舊事紀校本』. 瑞穂出版 1947
* 鎌田純一.『先代舊事本紀の研究』 <校本の部>・<研究の部>. 吉川弘文館 1960
* 大野七三.『先代舊事本紀 訓註』. 意富之舎、新人物往来社. 1989.
* 大野七三.『先代旧事本紀 訓註』. 批評社. 2001.
* 三重貞亮.「旧事紀訓解」
* 東宮孝行.『先代旧事紀大成経（一）鷦鷯本』. 新日本研究所. 昭和51年(1977)
* 宮東斎臣.『鷦鷯伝先代旧事本紀大成経』、先代旧事本紀刊行会、昭和56年(1981)）
* 松下松平.「旧事紀白河家三十巻本・解題」
* 望月古亶. 「異伝聖徳太子 -日本書紀の稿本か-」. 日本図書刊行会.
* 望月古亶. 「記紀漏文I」. 近代文芸社.
* 望月古亶. 「記紀漏文II」. 近代文芸社.
* 須藤太幹. 『先代舊事本紀大成経』全９巻. 先代舊事本紀研究会. 平成13年(2001)
External links
私本 先代舊事本紀(Big5 Chinese) Online text of Kujiki.
Online text of Kujiki in modern Japanese.
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Late Old Japanese texts
10th-century books
Shinto texts
Japanese false documents
History books of the Heian Period