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 inventi ...

text. Completed in 840, it is the third 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 792–833.

Background

Following the earlier national history ''

Shoku Nihongi The is an imperially-commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 797, it is the second of the '' Six National Histories'', coming directly after the '' Nihon Shoki'' and followed by '' Nihon Kōki''. Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Sugano no Ma ...

'' (797), in 819

Emperor Saga was the 52nd emperor of Japan, Emperor Saga, Saganoyamanoe Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Saga's reign spanned the years from 809 through 823. Traditional narrative Saga was the ...

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

Fujiwara no Otsugu was a Japanese statesman, courtier, politician and editor during the Heian period.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fujiwara no Otsugu" in . He is credited as one of the collaborative compilers of the '' Nihon Kōki''.Nussbaum, "Nihon Kōki" ...

Minamoto no Tokiwa was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during th ...

, Fujiwara no Yoshino and

Fujiwara no Yoshifusa , also known as ''Somedono no Daijin'' or ''Shirakawa-dono'', was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Heian period.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fujiwara no Nakahira" in ; Brinkley, Frank ''et al.'' (1915). When Yosh ...

, the text was completed in 840. Much of the text was lost during the Ōnin and Bunmei Wars in the late 15th century. Of the original 40 volumes, only ten currently exist: 5, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 20–22, and 24.

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, the contents covered the years 792 through 833. It spans four imperial reigns: Kanmu,

Heizei , also known as ''Heijō-tennō'', was the 51st emperor of Japan, Emperor Heizei, Yamamomo Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Heizei's reign lasted from 806 to 809. Traditional nar ...

Saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to th ...

Junna Junna Sakai (境純菜 ''Sakai Junna,'' born November 2, 2000), better known by her stage name JUNNA (じゅんな), is a Japanese singer managed by Cube Inc. and signed to FlyingDog. Career JUNNA made her singing career debut as the singin ...

. The text is characteristic in that it contains criticism of emperors and officials as well as poetry.

References

* *

External links

Text of the ''Nihon Kōki''
(Japanese) *Manuscrip
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 ...

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

Background

Contents

See also

References

External links