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22-672: Hirota Shrine is near the bus stop for Hankyu Bus Co., Ltd. and Hanshin Bus Co., Ltd. "Hirota-Jinja-mae". Hirota Shrine is one of three shrines which, according to Nihon Shoki , a historical epic chronicle, were established by the Empress Jingū in the 3rd century. According to legend, Amaterasu , Goddess of the Sun, and arguably the most important kami in Shinto, spoke to the Empress and declared that she and

44-566: A fictitious figure of Empress Jingū to replace her. Many records in the Nihon Shoki show clear signs of taking records from other sources but shifting the dates. An example is the records of events during Jingū and Ōjin's reigns, where most seem to have a calendrical shift of exactly two cycles of the sexagenary cycle, or 120 years. Not all records in the Nihon Shoki are consistently shifted according to this pattern, making it difficult to know which dates are accurate. For example, according to

66-557: 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 Nihon Shoki 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

88-558: Is also called the Nihongi ( 日本紀 , "Japanese Chronicles") . It is more elaborate and detailed than the Kojiki , the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeologists as it includes the most complete extant historical record of ancient Japan . The Nihon Shoki 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

110-415: The Kojiki , 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 and Empress Jitō . The Nihon Shoki 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 Nihon Shoki

132-611: The Kojiki are referred to as the Kiki stories. The first translation was completed by William George Aston in 1896 (English). The background of the compilation of the Nihon Shoki is that Emperor Tenmu ordered 12 people, including Prince Kawashima, to edit the old history of the empire. Shoku Nihongi notes that " 先是一品舍人親王奉勅修日本紀。至是功成奏上。紀卅卷系圖一卷 " in the part of May 720. It means "Up to that time, Prince Toneri had been compiling Nihongi on

154-476: The Kanpei-taisha ( 官幣大社 ) , meaning that it stood in the first rank of government supported shrines. The shrine is famous for its kobanomitsuba tsutsuji , azaleas with three small leaves. Hirota Shinto shrine hosts these events: Nihon Shoki The Nihon Shoki ( 日本書紀 ) , sometimes translated as The Chronicles of Japan , is the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history . The book

176-583: The Six National Histories , coming directly after the Nihon Shoki and followed by Nihon Kōki . Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Sugano no Mamichi served as the primary editors. It is one of the most important primary historical sources for information about Japan's Nara period . The work covers the 95-year period from the beginning of Emperor Monmu 's reign in 697 until the 10th year of Emperor Kanmu 's reign in 791, spanning nine imperial reigns. It

198-561: The Song Shu, the Wa paid tribute to Liu Song dynasty in 421, and until 502 (Liu Song ended in 479), five monarchs sought to be recognized as Kings of Wa . However, the Nihon Shoki only shows three successive emperors in this time period; Emperor Ingyō , Ankō , and Yūryaku . Nihon Shoki 's records of events regarding Baekje after Emperor Yūryaku start matching with Baekje records, however. The lifetimes of those monarchs themselves, especially for

220-521: The 11th century, under Emperor Shirakawa , Hirota Shrine was designated as "one of the twenty-two honorable shrines in the nation" and given the title "Hirota Grand Shrine". Today it is the only grand shrine in Hyōgo . Others may use the term "taisha" (grand shrine), but they are without the Imperial distinction that sets Hirota Shrine apart. From 1871 through 1946, Hirota Shrine was officially designated one of

242-560: The Buddhist monk Gwalleuk of Baekje . 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 , "eight generations lacking history") because no legends (or a few, as quoted in Nihon Ōdai Ichiran ) are associated with them. Some studies support

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264-482: The Emperors Jingū , Ōjin , and Nintoku , have been exaggerated. Their lengths of reign are likely to have been extended or synthesized with others' reigns, 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

286-411: The ancient Korean kingdoms of Silla , Goguryeo , and Baekje . Some other sources are cited anonymously as aru fumi ( 一書 ; "some document"), in order to keep alternative records for specific incidents. Most emperors reigning between the 1st and 4th century have reigns longer than 70 years, and aged 100. This could be due to the writers' attempt to overwrite the history of Himiko , and fabricate

308-562: The famous anecdote of "Luck of the Sea and Luck of the Mountains" ( Hoderi and Hoori ) found in Nihon Shoki . The later developed Urashima tale contains the Rip Van Winkle motif, so some may consider it an early example of fictional time travel . Shoku Nihongi The Shoku Nihongi ( 続日本紀 ) is an imperially-commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 797, it is the second of

330-623: The orders of the emperor; he completed it, submitting 30 volumes of history and one volume of genealogy". The Nihon Shoki 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 Nihon Shoki , there were Tennōki and Kokki compiled by Prince Shōtoku and Soga no Umako , but as they were stored in Soga's residence, they were burned at

352-597: The other gods of Japan must be enshrined in Hirota, Nagata , Ikuta , and Sumiyoshi . The Empress Consort did as commanded, and then achieved her political ambitions. The shrine became the object of Imperial patronage during the early Heian period . In 965, Emperor Murakami ordered that Imperial messengers were sent to report important events to the guardian kami of Japan. These heihaku were initially presented to 16 shrines; and in 991, Emperor Ichijō added three more shrines to Murakami's list — including Hirota. In

374-634: The time of the Isshi Incident . The work's contributors refer to various sources which do not exist today. Among those sources, three Baekje 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 Nihon Shoki heavily relied upon those sources. This must be taken into account in relation to statements referring to old historic rivalries between

396-457: The traditional founding of the imperial dynasty in 660 BCE is a myth and that the first nine emperors are legendary. 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. Dates in the Nihon Shoki before the late 7th century were likely recorded using the Genka calendar system brought by

418-559: 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. The tale of Urashima Tarō is developed from the brief mention in Nihon Shoki ( Emperor Yūryaku Year 22) that a certain child of Urashima visited Horaisan and saw wonders. The later tale has plainly incorporated elements from

440-434: 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. Most modern scholars agree that

462-427: Was completed in 797 AD. The text is forty volumes in length. It is primarily written in kanbun , a Japanese form of Classical Chinese , as was normal for formal Japanese texts at the time. However, a number of senmyō ( 宣命 ) or "imperial edicts" contained within the text are written in a script known as "senmyō-gaki", which preserves particles and verb endings phonographically. This article about

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484-453: Was written in classical Chinese , as was common for official documents at that time. The Kojiki , on the other hand, is written in a combination of Chinese and phonetic transcription of Japanese (primarily for names and songs). The Nihon Shoki also contains numerous transliteration notes telling the reader how words were pronounced in Japanese. Collectively, the stories in this book and

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