黑料传送门

This book is the latest annotated edition of the Nihon shoki, a historical work completed in 720 at the beginning of the Nara period.
 
The decades leading up to the completion of the Nihon shoki marked the period when ancient “Japan” took shape. The state at that time was fundamentally governed by a codified legal system known as the 谤颈迟蝉耻谤测ō codes. The Taihō Code, the oldest 谤颈迟蝉耻谤测ō code whose provisions can be reconstructed today, was enacted in 701. From around 718, compilation progressed on the Yōrō Code, a revised version of the Taihō Code. Meanwhile, the first full-scale Chinese-style capital, Fujiwara-kyō, was built in 694, followed by Heijō-kyō in 710. This established an administrative structure centered on the imperial court and the government offices surrounding it. The very name “Japan” itself was formally established in the Taihō Code; as is well known, it had previously been called “Wa.” It was during this period of the ancient state's completion that the Nihon shoki was written, chronicling the history that had shaped the world in its present form.
 
At that time, neither hiragana nor katakana had yet been invented, and writing meant writing in Chinese characters. The Nihon shoki, in particular, is composed in classical Chinese prose, the common language of the East Asian world at the time. Classical Chinese is a highly intertextual mode of expression where each word and phrase has its roots in the Chinese classics that have been read and passed down through generations. Only by understanding the context of these classical sources can the true meaning become clear. Therefore, to fully grasp what the Nihon shoki conveys, annotations addressing this classical Chinese mode of expression are essential. This book aims to understand the Nihon shoki as classical Chinese, building upon the accumulated annotations by predecessors from the Heian period through modern times. This is the first defining feature of this book.
 
At the same time, this book emphasizes reading the Nihon shoki as a literary work. Traditionally, the Nihon shoki has often been approached as a source for historical studies, Japanese linguistics, phonology, etc., focusing on individual entries or passages. Consequently, a literary understanding of the work as a whole—what stance it takes and what kind of “history” it narrates—has remained underdeveloped. Building upon the accumulated understanding of individual expressions, this book attempts to grasp an overall picture of the “history” narrated by the Nihon shoki. This is the second distinctive feature of this book.
 
Furthermore, this edition does not include the traditional Japanese reading of the original Chinese text (yomikudashi-bun) commonly found in commentaries of this type. Based on the view that such a reading is itself a form of translation, this edition instead provides a complete modern Japanese translation. This approach aims to facilitate a direct understanding of the Nihon shoki's classical Chinese text and to complement the annotations. This constitutes the third distinctive feature of this edition.
 
Overall, it is planned to publish the entire annotations for the 30-volume Nihon shoki in three volumes. The first volume contains volumes one through seven, covering the myths beginning with the creation of heaven and earth, the completion of the earthly world, and the establishment of its first ruler. It will then proceed through the reigns of subsequent emperors—from the accession of the first emperor Jimmu, through the reigns of Sujin, Suinin, and Keikō and the exploits of Prince Yamato Takeru—up to the thirteenth emperor, Seimu, chronicling the development and expansion of domestic governance.
 

(Written by KANAZAWA Hideyuki, Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology / 2026)