Kojiki

Kojiki or Furukotofumi (古事記) is the oldest known historical book about the ancient history of Japan. Literally, it means "record of ancient things".

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According to the preface, the book was presented by O no Yasumaro based on the story memorized by Hieda no Are in 712 under the order of the Imperial Court. Nihonshoki followed the book.

Related Topics:
O no Yasumaro - Hieda no Are - 712 - Imperial Court - Nihonshoki

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Kojiki does not recount official history like the Nihonshoki. Except for the Kojiki, no other book has claimed that it had been organized following an official order. This had led some people to claim that Kojiki was forged much later from the Nihonshoki but this claim has little support. The name Kojiki is likely to be just a name pointing to old books.

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Kojiki begins with the very beginning of the world as it was constructed by the kami (deities) Izanagi and Izanami and ends with the era of Empress Suiko. It contains various myths and legends of Japan. It also contains various songs. While historical records and myths are written in unique Chinese, songs are written with Chinese characters used only to convey sounds of songs. This special use of Chinese characters is called Manyogana and knowledge of this is critical to understanding these songs. These songs are in the dialect of the Yamato area from about 7th century to 8th century CE and is called Joudai Nihongo (lit. "the upper age's Japanese").

Related Topics:
Kami - Deities - Izanagi - Izanami - Empress Suiko - Myth - Legend - Japan - Chinese - Chinese character - Manyogana - 7th century - 8th century - Japanese

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Kojiki is divided into three parts, Kamitsumaki (lit. upper roll), Nakatsumaki (lit. middle roll), and Shimotsumaki (lit. lower roll).

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The Kamitsumaki includes the preface and is focused on the deities that made Japan and the births of various deities.

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The Nakatsumaki begins with the story of Emperor Jimmu, the first Emperor, and his conquest of Japan, and ends with the 15th Emperor, Emperor ?jin. Many of the stories it includes are mythological, and the allegedly historical information in them is highly suspect. For unknown reasons, the 2nd to 9th Emperors are listed but their achievements are largely missing.

Related Topics:
Emperor Jimmu - Emperor - Emperor ?jin

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The Shimotsumaki includes reference to the 16th to 33rd Emperors, and, unlike previous volumes, has very limited interaction with deities that had been so prominent in the first and second volumes. The 24th to 33rd Emperors are largely missing as well.

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In the Edo period, Motoori Norinaga studied Kojiki and published a book, Kojiki-den (Kojiki Commentary). Also, it was first claimed in the same era that Kojiki may have been forged later than it was supposed to have been written.

Related Topics:
Edo period - Motoori Norinaga

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A well-regarded English translation of Kojiki was written by Donald L. Philippi from Columbia University Press, October 1982 (ISBN 0-86008-320-9}.

Related Topics:
English - Donald L. Philippi - Columbia University Press

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