The , also sometimes read as or , is an early

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese chronicle of

myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

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'' d ...

s, genealogies,

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...

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. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

, the , and the Japanese imperial line. It is claimed in its preface to have been composed by

Ō no Yasumaro was a Japanese nobleman, bureaucrat, and chronicler. He may have been the son of Ō no Honji, a participant in the Jinshin War of 672.Philippi (1968:546) He is most famous for compiling and editing, with the assistance of Hieda no Are, the ...

at the request of

Empress Genmei , also known as Empress Genmyō, was the 43rd monarch of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 元明天皇 (43) retrieved August 22, 2013. according to the traditional order of succession. Genmei's reign spanned the years 707 through ...

in the early 8th century (711–712), and thus is usually considered to be the oldest extant literary work in

. The myths contained in the as well as the are part of the inspiration behind many practices and unified "Shinto orthodoxy". Later, they were incorporated into

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

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 was the son of Soga no Iname and a member of the powerful Soga clan of Japan. Conflicting evidence has suggested that Soga no Umako was actually an emperor during the Asuka period. Umako conducted political reforms with Prince Shōtoku during t ...

. According to the ''

Nihon Shoki The or , sometimes translated as ''The Chronicles of Japan'', is the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the , the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeol ...

'', the documents compiled under their initiative were the ''

Tennōki , alternatively known as ''Sumera Mikoto no Fumi'', is a historical text purported to have been written in 620 by Shōtoku Taishi and Soga no Umako. It is recorded in the '' Nihon Shoki'', but no extant copies are known to exist. According to t ...

'' (, 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 was a statesman of the Yamato imperial court. His alternative names include Emishi () and Toyora no Ōomi (). After the death of his father Soga no Umako, Emishi took over '' Ōomi '', the Minister of State, from his father. According to th ...

's estate (where these documents were kept) during the

Isshi incident The was a successful plot by Nakatomi no Kamatari ( Fujiwara no Kamatari), Prince Naka no Ōe and others who conspired to eliminate the main branch of the Soga clan, beginning with the assassination of Soga no Iruka. It takes its name from th ...

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 was the 40th Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 天武天皇 (40) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 53. He ascended ...

(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 is primarily known for being instrumental to the compilation of the Japanese text '' Kojiki'' in 712. While birth and death are unknown, Are was active during the late 7th and early 8th century. Background Very little is known about Are's backg ...

to memorize records and

s concerning the imperial lineage. Beyond this memorization, nothing occurred until the reign of

(reigned 707–715), who on the 18th of the 9th month of 711 ( Wadō 4) ordered the courtier

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 (Wadō 5).

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 a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of political Institutionalisation, institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any group of people org ...

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 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 Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

(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 Shōtoku 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 History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

(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 was a after '' Genna'' and before ''Shōhō.'' This period spanned the years from February 1624 through December 1644. The reigning emperors and single empress were , and .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834) ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 411./re ...

21). A second edition, the ''Gōtō Kojiki'' (, "''Kojiki'' with Marginal Notes") was printed by Deguchi (Watarai) Nobuyoshi, a priest at

Ise Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the solar goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami and the grain goddess Toyouke-hime (Toyouke Omikami). Also known simply as , Ise Shrine is a shrine complex composed of many Shi ...

, in 1687 ( Jōkyō 4). Kojiki den

The birth of nativist studies (''

kokugaku was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Edo period. scholars worked to refocus Japanese scholarship away from the then-dominant study of Chinese, Confucian, and Buddhist texts in favor of ...

'') and nationalist sentiment during the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

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. Motoori Norinaga self portrait

The ''Kojiki'' received its most serious study and exposition in the hands of

Motoori Norinaga was a Japanese people, Japanese scholar of 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, Mie, Matsusaka in Ise Province ...

, 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 (1768–1823) and Tachibana Moribe (1781–1849), 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 was 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 colonizatio ...

with the introduction of Western academic disciplines such as

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

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 classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

and Roman myths. At the same time, however, the ''Kojiki'' and ''Nihon Shoki'' achieved a sort of scriptural status under State Shintō, 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. Until the

Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, 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 feu ...

, the text's sacred nature was not known to have been questioned. However, the ''Kojiki'' was still widely seen as inferior to the ''Nihon Shoki'' until

wrote the ''

Kojiki-den The (古事記伝) is a 44-volume commentary on the written by the ''kokugaku'' scholar Motoori Norinaga. Overview The is a commentary on the , an eighth-century work of Shinto historiography and mythology, by the Edo period ''kokugaku'' sch ...

''. In 1913, Tsuda Sōkichi 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

scholarship), which amounts largely to development and correction of the line of thought originally proposed by him. In reaction to Tsuda, Watsuji Tetsurō (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'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic 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 translat ...

'' 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 Yūkichi, Saigō Nobutsuna, and Kōnoshi 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 Dōka 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 Ōnakatomi 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 the

Chinese language Chinese ( or ) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and List of ethnic groups in China, many minority ethnic groups in China, as well as by various communities of the Chinese diaspora. Approximately 1.39& ...

, the songs are written in

Old Japanese is the oldest attested stage of the Japanese language, recorded in documents from the Nara period (8th century). It became Early Middle Japanese in the succeeding Heian period, but the precise delimitation of the stages is controversial. Old Ja ...

with the ''

Man'yōgana is an ancient writing system that uses Chinese characters to represent the Japanese language. It was the first known kana system to be developed as a means to represent the Japanese language phonetically. The date of the earliest usage of t ...

'' writing system, which uses

Chinese character Chinese characters are logographs used to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represent the only on ...

s only phonetically.

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 literature, 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 o ...

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 is a deity in Japanese mythology. (-no-Mikoto here is an honorific title applied to the names of Japanese gods; Ninigi is the specific god's name.) Grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu, Ninigi is regarded according to Japanese mythology as the ...

, grandson of

Amaterasu , often called Amaterasu () for short, also known as and , is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. Often considered the chief deity (''kami'') of the Shinto pantheon, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the () ...

and great-grandfather of

Emperor Jimmu was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the and . His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture"heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

to Takachihonomine in

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

and became the

progenitor In genealogy, a progenitor (rarer: primogenitor; or ''Ahnherr'') is the founder (sometimes one that is legendary) of a family, line of descent, gens, clan, tribe, noble house, or ethnic group.. Ebenda''Ahnherr:''"Stammvater eines Geschlec ...

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 hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

; and ends with the 15th Emperor, Ōjin. The

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

through

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

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 ()

's preface, in the form of a dedicatory address to

, begins with a poem summarizing the main contents of the work. He then relates how

commissioned

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 logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represe ...

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 was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the and . His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture"Emperor Jimmu was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the and . His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture"Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai, Nara, Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a Names of Japan, name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial ...

**The sword from heaven, or Futsu no mitama (), and the three-legged crow, or

Yatagarasu is a mythical crowThe Book of Ancient Matters, The Book of Ancient Matters, Gakken, pp. 130, 138, 139. and guiding Kami, god in Shinto mythology. He is generally known for his three-legged figure, and his picture has been handed down since an ...

() **The emperor's brother Hikoitsuse no Mikoto () **From Kumano () to

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai, Nara, Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a Names of Japan, name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial ...

() **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 , also known as , was the second legend, legendary emperor of Japan according to the traditional List of Emperors of Japan, order of succession. Very little is known about this Emperor due to a lack of material available for further verification ...

() *Shikitsuhiko-Tamatemi-no-Mikoto (), or

Emperor Annei , also known as was the third legendary emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Very little is known about this Emperor due to a lack of material available for further verification and study. Annei is known as a "leg ...

() *Ōyamatohiko-Sukitomo-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor Itoku () *Mimatsuhiko-Kaeshine-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor Kōshō () *Ōyamato-Tarashihiko-Kuni-oshihito-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor Kōan () *Ōyamato-Nekohiko-Futoni-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor Kōrei () *Ōyamato-Nekohiko-Kunikuru-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor Kōgen () *Wakayamato-Nekohiko-Ōbibi-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 () **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 Keikō () **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 Empress Consort Jingū () **The empress consort's expedition to

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

() **Kagosaka no Miko () and Oshikuma no Miko's () rebellion **The great god Kehi () **The Sakekura song () *Homudawake-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor Ōjin () **The emperor's son and queen **Price Ōyamamori no Mikoto () and Emperor Ōsazaki no Mikoto () **Yakahaehime () **Kaminagahime () **The Kuzu song () **The tribute of

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

() **The rebellion of Price Ōyamamori no Mikoto () **Visit of Amenohiboko () **Akiyama Shitahiotoko () and Haruyama Kasumiotoko () **The emperor's posterity

The Shimotsumaki (), or final volume

*Ōsazaki 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 Richū () **The rebellion of Suminoenonakatsu no kimi () **Mizuhawake no kimi () and Sobakari () *Mizuhawake no mikoto (), or Emperor Hanzei () *Osatsumawakugonosukune no miko (), or Emperor Ingyō () **The emperor's son and queen **Uji

kabane were Japanese hereditary noble titles. Their use traces back to ancient times when they began to be used as titles signifying a family's political and social status. History At first, the ''kabane'' were administered by individual clans, but ...

system () **Karunohitsugi no miko () and Karunōhoiratsume () *Anaho no miko (), or Emperor Ankō () **Ōkusaka no kimi () and Nenōmi () **The incident of Mayowa no kimi () and Mayowa no ōkimi () **Ichinobenōshiwa no kimi () *Ōhatsusewakatake no mikoto (), or Emperor Yūryaku () **The emperor's son and queen **Wakakusakabe no kimi () **Akaiko () **Yoshinomiya () **Kazuraki () Hitokotonushi no ōkami () **Odohime (), Mie Uneme () *Shiraka no ōyamato (), or Emperor Seinei () **Shijimu Nihimurōtage () ** Utagaki () *Iwasuwake no mikoto (), or Emperor Kenzō () **Okeme Roujo () **Misasagi no Tsuchi () *Ōke no miko (), or Emperor Ninken () *Ohatsuse no wakasazaki no mikoto (), or Emperor Buretsu () *Ohodo no mikoto (), or

Emperor Keitai (died 10 March 531) was the 26th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 継体天皇 (26)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conve ...

() *Hirokunioshitakekanahi no miko (), or Emperor Ankan () *Takeohirokunioshitate no mikoto (), or

Emperor Senka (466 — 15 March 539) was the 28th legendary emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 宣化天皇 (28)/ref> according to the traditional List of Emperors of Japan, order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this e ...

() *Amekunioshiharukihironiwa no sumeramiko (), or

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. 261–2 ...

() *Nunakurafutotamashiki no mikoto (), or Emperor Bidatsu () *Tachibananotoyohi no miko (), or Emperor Yōmei () *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. ()

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 The University of British Columbia Press (UBC Press) is a university press that is part of the University of British Columbia. It is a mid-sized scholarly publisher, and the largest in Western Canada. The press is based in Vancouver, British Col ...

. () 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「東西学術研究所紀要」第51輯 (''Tōzai gakujutsu kenkyūsho kiyō'' 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「東西学術研究所紀要」第53輯 (''Tōzai gakujutsu kenkyūsho kiyō'' 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 Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

Library
1644 manuscript, three volumes
{{Suwa Faith Old Japanese texts 8th-century history books History books about Japan Nara-period works 710s in Japan Japanese mythology Shinto texts Asuka period Japanese literature in Classical Chinese 711 712