The is a historical text purported to have been compiled in 681. The text is no longer extant.
Background
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 ...
'':
On the seventeenth day, the emperor, residing in his place in the Daigokuden, commanded Prince Kawashima, Prince Osakabe tc...to record a definitive edition of the ''Teiki'' and ''Jōko Shoji''.
According to the
Kojiki
The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...
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 ...
said:
What I hear is that the ''Teiki'' and ''Honji'' brought about by the many houses already differ from the truth and contain many inaccuracies. Should those mistakes not be corrected now, the original meaning will be lost within but a few years. They are the basis of the national system and are the foundation of the imperial government. Thus, I would like to carefully examine the ''Teiki'' and ''Kyūji'', remove the errors, and establish the truth for future generations.
He then had
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 ...
memorize the contents of the ''Teiki'' and ''
Kyūji'', both of which were later used as historical sources for composing the ''
Kojiki
The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...
''.
Title
The actual title of the text is unknown due to orthographic difficulties of old Japanese texts. The reading ''Teiki'' is taken from the
on'yomi
, or the Sino-Japanese vocabulary, Sino-Japanese reading, is the reading of a kanji based on the historical Chinese pronunciation of the character. A single kanji might have multiple ''on'yomi'' pronunciations, reflecting the Chinese pronuncia ...
reading. In addition, traditional Japanese readings include ''Sumera Mikoto no Fumi'' and ''Sumerogi no Fumi''. All literally mean "Imperial Chronicle".
The ''Kojiki'' preface makes reference to two other titles: and . Both are alternative names for the ''Teiki''.
Contents
As the text no longer exists, very little is actually known about it. The general view is that the ''Teiki'' described the imperial line. One theory claims that was a genealogy of the imperial line recording the reigns of each emperor. Another theory, based on the literal title, claims that it was a record of imperial accomplishments, but that it would not have been appropriate as a genealogy.
A competing theory identifies the second and third volume of the ''Kojiki'' as the actual contents of the ''Teiki''. And yet another speculates that the ''Teiki'' and ''Kyūji'' were not two separate texts, but was rather a single unified text.
See also
*
Historiography of Japan
The historiography of Japan ( ') is the study of methods and hypotheses formulated in the study and literature of the history of Japan.
The earliest work of Japanese history is attributed to Prince Shōtoku, who is said to have written the ''Ten ...
Notes
References
*
*
* {{cite book , last1=Yamaguchi , first1=Yoshinori , authorlink1=
, last2=Kōnoshi , first2=Takamitsu , authorlink2=
, title=Nihon Koten Bungaku Zenshū: Kojiki
, location=
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, publisher=
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan.
Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...
, date=1997
, pages=
, url=
, doi=
, isbn=4-09-658001-5
Asuka period
7th-century history books
Old Japanese texts
7th-century Japanese books