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Nihon Shoki

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Part of the series on
Japanese
Mythology

Religions  · Divinities
Creatures & Spirits
[[Japanese mythology>Stories and Myths]]
Kojiki  · [[Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things>Kwaidan]]
Nihon Shoki  · Otogizoshi
Yotsuya Kaidan
Legendary Figures
Abe no Seimei  · Hidari Jingoro
Kintarō  · Momotarō
Nezumi Kozo  · Tamamo no Mae
Tomoe Gozen  · Urashima Tarō
[[List of sacred objects in Japanese mythology>Sacred Objects]]
Amenonuhoko  · Kusanagi
Sessho-seki  · Tonbogiri
Three Sacred Treasures
Mythical & Sacred Locations
Horai  · Mt. Hiei
Mt. Fuji  · Rashomon Gate>Rashōmon
Ryugu-jo  · Suzakumon Gate>Suzakumon
Takamagahara  · Yomi
Japanese Mythology
The , sometimes translated as The Chronicles of Japan, is the second oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate than Kojiki, the oldest, and has proven invaluable to historians as it includes the most complete extant historical record of ancient Japan. Nihon Shoki was finished in 720 under the editorial supervision of Prince Toneri and with the assistance of Ōno Yasumaro. The book is also called the Nihongi (日本紀).

Like Kojiki, the Nihon Shoki begins with mythological tales, but continues its account through to contemporary events. It is believed to record accurately the latter reigns of Emperor Tenji, Emperor Temmu, and Empress Jitō, and focuses on the merits of the virtuous rulers and the mistakes of the bad ones. It describes episodes from mythological eras, diplomatic contacts with China and Korea, and numerous events close to the time of compilation. Though Kojiki was written in transliterated Japanese with Chinese characters, Nihon Shoki was written in classical Chinese, as was common for official documents at that time.

Contents

Process of Compilation

Shoku Nihongi notes that "先是一品舎人親王奉勅修日本紀。至是功成奏上。紀三十巻系図一巻" 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." The volume of genealogy is no longer extant.

Contributors

The process of compilation is usually studied by stylistic analysis of each chapter. Although written in classical Chinese, some sections use styles characteristic of Japanese editors, while others seem to be written by native speakers of Chinese. According to recent studies, most of the chapters after #14 (Emperor Yuryaku chronicle) were contributed by native Chinese, except for Chapters 22 and 23 (the Suiko and Jomei chronicle). Also, as Chapter 13 ends with the phrase "see details of the incident in the chronicle of Ōhastuse(Yūryaku) Emperor" referring to the assassination of Emperor Ankō, it is assumed that this chapter was written after the compilation of subsequent chapters. Some believe Chapter 14 was the first to be completed.

References

The Nihon Shoki is said to be based on 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 Nihon Shoki, there were Tennoki (Chronicle of the Emperors), and Kokki (Chronicle of the State) compiled by Prince Shotoku and Soga no Umako, but as they were stored in Soga's residence, they were burned at the time of the Itsushi Incident.

The work's contributors refer to various sources which do not exist today. Among those sources, three Baekje documents are cited mainly for the purpose of recording diplomatic affairs.

Korean sources used in the Nihon Shoki are the Baekje-gi (Record of Baekje), Baekje Sinch'an (New Record of Baekje), and Baekje Pon'gi (Original Record of Baekje). Records written in Baekje may have been the basis for the quotations in the Nihon Shoki but textual criticism shows that scholars fleeing the destruction of the Baekje Kingdom to Yamato wrote these histories and the authors of the Nihon Shoki heavily relied upon those sources. The use of Korean place names in Nihon Shoki is another piece of evidence that the history used Korean sources.

Some other sources are cited anonymously as aru fumi (一書; other document), in order to keep alternative records for specific incidents.

Rhetoric

Many observers describe Nihon Shoki's outlook as highly Japan-centric. For instance, it claims Korean embassies "gave tribute to Japan", but does not mention the fact that Japan regularly sent tribute to China. Instead, it simply records that Japan "sent envoys to China."

Exaggeration of Lengths of Reign

Most scholars agree that the purported founding date of Japan (660 BCE) and the first thirteen emperors of Japan are mythical. This does not necessarily imply that the persons referred to did not exist, merely that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that they existed or can be assigned to a particular period of history. Even if a certain emperor did exist, it cannot be concluded that the title Tennō was used of him during his lifetime. It is much more likely that he was a chieftain, or local king, and that the polity he ruled would not have encompassed all, or even most, of Japan.

For those monarchs, and also for the Emperors Ojin 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 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 Nihon Shoki 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 (Eight undocumented monarchs)

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 (欠史八代) because no legends are associated with them. Recent studies support the view that these emperors were invented to push Jimmu's reign further back to the year 660 BCE. Nihon Shoki itself somewhat elevates the "tenth" emperor Sujin, recording that he was called the Hatsu-Kuni-Shirasu (御肇国: first nation-ruling) emperor.

Chapters

See also

References

External links

 

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