The , also sometimes read as or , is an early

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese chronicle of

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

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 ...

s, genealogies,

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and Culture, cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Traditio ...

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, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...

, the , and the Japanese imperial line. It is claimed in its preface to have been composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of Empress Genmei 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. Later, they were incorporated into

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shint ...

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 A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

and

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 ...

. According to the '' Nihon Shoki'', 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 the ...

'' (, 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's estate (where these documents were kept) during the Isshi incident 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. Tenmu's rei ...

(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 to memorize records and

s concerning the imperial lineage. Beyond this memorization, nothing occurred until the reign of Empress Genmei (reigned 707–715), who on the 18th of the 9th month of 711 ( Wadō 4) ordered the courtier Ō no Yasumaro 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 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 The ''Twenty-Four Histories'' (), also known as the ''Orthodox Histories'' (), are the Chinese official dynastic histories covering from the earliest dynasty in 3000 BC to the Ming dynasty in the 17th century. The Han dynasty official Sima Qian ...

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 Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japan ...

(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 Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle b ...

(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 empress were , and .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834) ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 411./ref> Chan ...

21). A second edition, the ''Gōtō Kojiki'' (, "''Kojiki'' with Marginal Notes") was printed by Deguchi (Watarai) Nobuyoshi, a priest at Ise Shrine, in 1687 ( Jōkyō 4). Kojiki den

The birth of nativist studies (''

kokugaku ''Kokugaku'' ( ja, 國學, label= Kyūjitai, ja, 国学, label= Shinjitai; literally "national study") was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Tokugawa period. Kokugaku scholars worked t ...

'') and nationalist sentiment during 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 ...

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 was a poet and philologist of the early Edo period. His ideas had a germinal impact on the nativist school of National Learning in Japan. Life Azumamaro was born the second son of Hakura Nobuaki (1625-1696), father of a scholarly family that ...

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, 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 (1781–1849) and Tachibana Moribe (1768–1823), 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 is 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 colonization ...

with the introduction of Western academic disciplines such as

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...

and comparative mythology. 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 ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

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. 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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 An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

and regarded as a national epic like ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. ...

'' is in the English-speaking world. During the 1920s and 30s, linguist Hashimoto Shinkichi studied the phonology of the

Old Japanese language 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 ...

, 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 Chinese with a heavy mixture of Japanese elements, the songs are written with

Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

s, though only used phonetically. This special use of Chinese characters is called ''

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 thi ...

'', a knowledge of which is critical to understanding these songs, which are written in Old Japanese.

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 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 often close ...

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. Grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu, Ninigi is regarded according to Japanese mythology as the great-grandfather of Japan’s first emperor, Emperor Jimmu. The three sacred treasures brought with Ninigi fro ...

, grandson of

Amaterasu Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu Ōmikami () or Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami (), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. One of the major deities (''kami'') of Shinto, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the '' K ...

and great-grandfather of Emperor Jimmu, descended from

heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

to Takachihonomine in

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

and became the

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

of the Japanese Imperial line. *The ''Nakatsumaki'' begins with the conquests of

Jimmu was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the '' Nihon Shoki'' and '' Kojiki''. His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture"Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the ...

; and ends with the 15th Emperor, Ōjin. The second through ninth 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 ()

Ō no Yasumaro's preface, in the form of a dedicatory address to Empress Genmei, begins with a poem summarizing the main contents of the work. He then relates how

commissioned Hieda no Are 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 logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji ...

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 () ** Emperor Jimmu conquers Yamato **The sword from heaven, or Futsu no mitama () and the three legged crow, or Yatagarasu () **The emperor's brother Hikoitsuse no Mikoto () **From Kumano () to Yamato () **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 () *Shikitsuhiko-Tamatemi-no-Mikoto (), or Emperor Annei () *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 Ōmononushi ( ja, 大物主神, Ōmononushi-no-Kami; historical orthography: ''Ohomononushi'') is a ''kami'' in Japanese mythology associated with Mount Miwa (also known as Mount Mimoro) in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture. He is closely linked in the ...

() **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 , also known as was the 14th legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Chūai's alleged l ...

() **The emperor's son and queen **The divine possession of Price Jingū () **The prince's expedition to

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms o ...

() **Kagosaka no Miko () and Oshikuma no Miko's () rebellion **The great god Kehi () **The Sakekura song () *Homudawake-no-Mikoto (), or

Emperor Ōjin , also known as (alternatively spelled 譽田別命, 誉田別命, 品陀和気命, 譽田分命, 誉田別尊, 品陀別命) or , was the 15th (possibly legendary) Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. No firm da ...

() **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 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder J ...

() **The rebellion of Price Ōyamamori no Mikoto () **Visit of

Amenohiboko was a legendary prince of Silla who settled in Japan during the era of Emperor Suinin, around the 3rd or 4th century and was said to have lived in Tajima Province. His descendants are the Tajima clan. Amenohiboko is the ancestral god of Tajima Pr ...

() **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 was the 19th legendary Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 允恭天皇 (19) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this Emperor's life or reign, but he i ...

() **The emperor's son and queen **Uji kabane 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 Utagaki (歌垣), also read kagai (嬥歌), was an ancient Japanese Shinto ritual gathering. Villagers would meet on a mountaintop, where singing, dancing, eating, having free sexual intercourse and the reciting of poetry would occur, in celebratio ...

() *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 (489 — 7 January 507) was the 25th legendary Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 武烈天皇 (25)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this Emperor's life or reign, bu ...

() *Ohodo no mikoto (), or Emperor Keitai () *Hirokunioshitakekanahi no miko (), or

Emperor Ankan (466 — 25 January 536) was the 27th legendary Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 安閑天皇 (27)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this Emperor's life or reign, bu ...

() *Takeohirokunioshitate no mikoto (), or Emperor Senka () *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– ...

() *Nunakurafutotamashiki no mikoto (), or Emperor Bidatsu () *Tachibananotoyohi no miko (), or Emperor Yōmei () *Hatsusebenowakasazaki no sumeramikoto (), or Emperor Sushun () *Toyomikekashikiyahime no mikoto (), or

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 ...

()

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. () Tokyo:

University of Tokyo Press The is a university press affiliated with the University of Tokyo in Japan. It was founded in 1951, following the post-World War II reorganization of the university. Honors * Japan Foundation: Special Prize, 1990. Location The headquarters o ...

. () * 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 Library
1644 manuscript, three volumes
{{Authority control Old Japanese texts 8th-century history books History books about Japan Nara-period works 8th century in Japan Japanese mythology Shinto texts 8th-century works East Asian religious texts Asuka period Japanese literature in Classical Chinese 711 712