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

archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

as it includes the most complete extant historical record of ancient Japan. The was finished in 720 under the editorial supervision of Prince Toneri with the assistance of Ō no Yasumaro and presented to Empress Genshō. The book is also a reflection of Chinese influence on Japanese civilization. In Japan, the Sinicized court wanted written history that could be compared with the annals of the Chinese. The begins with the Japanese creation myth, explaining the origin of the world and the first seven generations of divine beings (starting with Kuninotokotachi), and goes on with a number of myths as does the , but continues its account through to events of the 8th century. It is believed to record accurately the latter reigns of Emperor Tenji,

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 ...

and Empress Jitō. The focuses on the merits of the virtuous rulers as well as the errors of the bad rulers. It describes episodes from mythological eras and diplomatic contacts with other countries. The was written in

classical Chinese Classical Chinese is the language in which the classics of Chinese literature were written, from . For millennia thereafter, the written Chinese used in these works was imitated and iterated upon by scholars in a form now called Literary ...

, as was common for official documents at that time. The , on the other hand, is written in a combination of Chinese and phonetic transcription of Japanese (primarily for names and songs). The also contains numerous

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → and → the digraph , Cyrillic → , Armenian → or L ...

notes telling the reader how words were pronounced in Japanese. Collectively, the stories in this book and the are referred to as the Kiki stories. The tale of Urashima Tarō is developed from the brief mention in ( Emperor Yūryaku Year 22) that a certain child of Urashima visited Horaisan and saw wonders. The later tale has plainly incorporated elements from the famous anecdote of "Luck of the Sea and Luck of the Mountains" ( Hoderi and Hoori) found in . The later developed Urashima tale contains the Rip Van Winkle motif, so some may consider it an early example of fictional time travel. The first translation was completed by William George Aston in 1896 (English).

Chapters

*Chapter 01: (First chapter of myths) ''Kami no Yo no Kami no maki.'' *Chapter 02: (Second chapter of myths) ''Kami no Yo no Shimo no maki.'' *Chapter 03: ( Emperor Jimmu) ''Kan'yamato Iwarebiko no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 04: **( Emperor Suizei) ''Kamu Nunakawamimi no Sumeramikoto.'' **( Emperor Annei) ''Shikitsuhiko Tamatemi no Sumeramikoto.'' **( Emperor Itoku) ''Ōyamato Hikosukitomo no Sumeramikoto.'' **( Emperor Kōshō) ''Mimatsuhiko Sukitomo no Sumeramikoto.'' **( Emperor Kōan) ''Yamato Tarashihiko Kuni Oshihito no Sumeramikoto.'' **( Emperor Kōrei) ''Ōyamato Nekohiko Futoni no Sumeramikoto.'' **( Emperor Kōgen) ''Ōyamato Nekohiko Kunikuru no Sumeramikoto.'' **( Emperor Kaika) ''Wakayamato Nekohiko Ōbibi no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 05: ( Emperor Sujin) ''Mimaki Iribiko Iniye no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 06: ( Emperor Suinin) ''Ikume Iribiko Isachi no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 07: **( Emperor Keikō) ''Ōtarashihiko Oshirowake no Sumeramikoto.'' **( Emperor Seimu) ''Waka Tarashihiko no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 08: ( Emperor Chūai) ''Tarashi Nakatsuhiko no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 09: ( Empress Jingū) ''Okinaga Tarashihime no Mikoto.'' *Chapter 10: ( Emperor Ōjin) ''Homuda no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 11: ( Emperor Nintoku) ''Ōsasagi no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 12: **( Emperor Richū) ''Izahowake no Sumeramikoto.'' **( Emperor Hanzei) ''Mitsuhawake no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 13: **( Emperor Ingyō) ''Oasazuma Wakugo no Sukune no Sumeramikoto.'' **( Emperor Ankō) ''Anaho no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 14: ( Emperor Yūryaku) ''Ōhatsuse no Waka Takeru no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 15: **( Emperor Seinei) ''Shiraka no Take Hirokuni Oshi Waka Yamato Neko no Sumeramikoto.'' **( Emperor Kenzō) ''Woke no Sumeramikoto.'' **( Emperor Ninken) ''Oke no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 16: ( Emperor Buretsu) ''Ohatsuse no Waka Sasagi no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 17: ( Emperor Keitai) ''Ōdo no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 18: **( Emperor Ankan) ''Hirokuni Oshi Take Kanahi no Sumeramikoto.'' **(

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 ...

) ''Take Ohirokuni Oshi Tate no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 19: ( Emperor Kinmei) ''Amekuni Oshiharaki Hironiwa no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 20: ( Emperor Bidatsu) ''Nunakakura no Futo Tamashiki no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 21: **( Emperor Yōmei) ''Tachibana no Toyohi no Sumeramikoto.'' **( Emperor Sushun) ''Hatsusebe no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 22: ( Empress Suiko) ''Toyomike Kashikiya Hime no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 23: ( Emperor Jomei) ''Okinaga Tarashi Hihironuka no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 24: ( Empress Kōgyoku) ''Ame Toyotakara Ikashi Hitarashi no Hime no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 25: ( Emperor Kōtoku) ''Ame Yorozu Toyohi no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 26: ( Empress Saimei) ''Ame Toyotakara Ikashi Hitarashi no Hime no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 27: ( Emperor Tenji) ''Ame Mikoto Hirakasuwake no Sumeramikoto.'' *Chapter 28: (

, first chapter) ''Ama no Nunakahara Oki no Mahito no Sumeramikoto, Kami no maki.'' *Chapter 29: (

, second chapter) ''Ama no Nunakahara Oki no Mahito no Sumeramikoto, Shimo no maki.'' *Chapter 30: ( Empress Jitō) ''Takamanohara Hirono Hime no Sumeramikoto.''

Process of compilation

Background

The background of the compilation of the is that Emperor Tenmu ordered 12 people, including Prince Kawashima, to edit the old history of the empire. '' Shoku Nihongi'' notes that "" in the part of May 720. It means "Up to that time, Prince Toneri had been compiling ''Nihongi'' on the orders of the emperor; he completed it, submitting 30 volumes of history and one volume of genealogy".

Sources

The is a synthesis of older documents, specifically on the records that had been continuously kept in the Yamato court since the sixth century. It also includes documents and folklore submitted by clans serving the court. Prior to , there were ''

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 ...

'' and '' Kokki'' compiled by Prince Shōtoku 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 ...

, but as they were stored in Soga's residence, they were burned at the time of 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 ...

in July 645. The work's contributors refer to various sources which do not exist today. Among those sources, three

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 ...

documents (''Kudara-ki'', etc.) are cited mainly for the purpose of recording diplomatic affairs. Textual criticism shows that scholars fleeing the destruction of the Baekje to Yamato wrote these histories and the authors of the heavily relied upon those sources. This must be taken into account in relation to statements referring to old historic rivalries between the ancient

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

n kingdoms of

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 ...

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

, and

. Some other sources are cited anonymously as ''aru fumi'' (; "some document"), in order to keep alternative records for specific incidents.

Exaggeration of reign lengths

Most scholars agree that the purported founding date of Japan (660 BCE) and the earliest emperors of Japan are mythical. This does not necessarily imply that the persons referred to did not exist, merely that there is insufficient material available for further verification and study.Kelly, Charles F
"Kofun Culture,"
April 27, 2009. Dates in the before the late 7th century were likely recorded using the Genka calendar system. For those monarchs, and also for the Emperors Ōjin and Nintoku, the lengths of reign are likely to have been exaggerated in order to make the origins of the imperial family sufficiently ancient to satisfy numerological expectations. It is widely believed that the

epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided b ...

of 660 BCE was chosen because it is a "xīn-yǒu" year in the sexagenary cycle, which according to Taoist beliefs was an appropriate year for a revolution to take place. As Taoist theory also groups together 21 sexagenary cycles into one unit of time, it is assumed that the compilers of assigned the year 601 (a "xīn-yǒu" year in which Prince Shotoku's reformation took place) as a "modern revolution" year, and consequently recorded 660 BCE, 1260 years prior to that year, as the founding epoch.

''Kesshi Hachidai''

For the eight emperors of Chapter 4, only the years of birth and reign, year of naming as Crown Prince, names of consorts, and locations of tomb are recorded. They are called the ''Kesshi Hachidai'' (", "eight generations lacking history") because no legends (or a few, as quoted in '' Nihon Ōdai Ichiran'') are associated with them. Some studies support the view that these emperors were invented to push Jimmu's reign further back to the year 660 BCE. itself somewhat elevates the "tenth" emperor Sujin, recording that he was called the ''Hatsu-Kuni-Shirasu'' (": first nation-ruling) emperor.

Influences

The tale of Urashima Tarō is developed from the brief mention in ( Emperor Yūryaku Year 22) that a certain child of Urashima visited Horaisan and saw wonders. The later tale has plainly incorporated elements from the famous anecdote of "Luck of the Sea and Luck of the Mountains" ( Hoderi and Hoori) found in . The later developed Urashima tale contains the Rip Van Winkle motif, so some may consider it an early example of fictional time travel.

Editions

English translations

vol. 1vol. 2

Manuscripts

Prints

Publication date unknown. Preface dated Keichō 15 (1610). Waseda University Library collection
Nihon Shoki volume 1-2
Publication date unknown. Waseda University Library collection

Typed prints

* *; vol.2

Modern Japanese translations

*; Vol.下:

References

External links

Nihongi / Nihon Shoki texts

*Based on Aston's translation: ** Searchable version of Aston's translation ** : kanbun text vs. English translation (Aston's 1896 edition) in blocks. Search mode and browse mode. Images are from a 1785 printed edition. **Excerpts at sacred-texts.com
The Nihongi Part 1

The Nihon Shoki Wiki
Online English translations by Matthieu Felt *