The shikyō (四鏡, しきょう "four mirrors") are four Japanese histories in the ''
rekishi monogatari ''Rekishi monogatari'' (歴史物語) is a category of Japanese literature defined as extended prose narrative. Structurally, the name is composed of the Japanese words ''rekishi'' (歴史), meaning history, and ''monogatari'' (物語), meaning tale ...
'' genre from the late
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 Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
to the early
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...
. They are also known as ''kagami mono'' (鏡物, かがみもの).
[Jeffrey P. Mass ''The Origins of Japan's Medieval World'' 1997 Page 441 "The "historical tale", for example, is typically represented by the "four mirrors" (''shikyō'') of history that begin to appear in the late Heian with the Ōkagami and continue into the Muromachi. "Military tales" begin with accounts of the Hogen and .."]
The four histories are:
*''
Ōkagami ''Ōkagami'' () is a Japanese historical tale written in around 1119 by an unknown author. It covers the period 850 to 1025, the golden days of the Fujiwara family's rule. It is said to be a successor (世継物語, ''yotsugi monogatari'') with the ...
(The Great Mirror)''
『大鏡』
*''
Imakagami
The is a Japanese ''rekishi-monogatari'' ( historical tale) written in the late Heian period.''Britannica Kokusai Dai-hyakkajiten'' article "Imakagami". 2007. Britannica Japan Co.'' MyPedia'' article "Imakagami". 2007. Hitachi Systems & Services.' ...
(Today's Mirror)''
『今鏡』
*''
Mizukagami
is a Japanese '' rekishi monogatari''. It is believed to have been written in the early Kamakura period around 1195. It is widely credited to Nakayama Tadachika but the actual writer is unknown. It is the third book of the four mirror series.
...
(The Water Mirror)''
『水鏡』
*''
Masukagami
is a Japanese historical tale written in the early Muromachi period believed to be between 1368 and 1376. The author is not known but is believed to be Nijō Yoshimoto.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric ''et al.'' (2005). "''Masu-kagami''" i ''Japan Enc ...
(The Clear Mirror)''
『増鏡』
References
Japanese chronicles
Monogatari
{{Japan-hist-stub