Rikkokushi

Shinto
This article is part of a series on Shinto
Practices and beliefs
Kami · Ritual purity · Polytheism · Animism · Japanese festivals · Mythology ·
Shinto shrines
List of Shinto shrines · Twenty-Two Shrines · Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines · Association of Shinto Shrines
Notable Kami
Amaterasu · Sarutahiko · Ame no Uzume · Inari · Izanagi · Izanami · Susanoo · Tsukuyomi
Important literature
Kojiki · Nihon Shoki · Fudoki · Rikkokushi · Shoku Nihongi · Jinnō Shōtōki · Kujiki
See also
Religion in Japan · Glossary of Shinto · List of Shinto divinities · Sacred objects · Japanese Buddhism · Mythical creatures
Shinto Portal v d e

Rikkokushi (六国史^?) (also spelled Rokkokushi)^[1] is a general term for Japan's six national histories chronicling the mythology and history of Japan from the earliest times to AD 887.^[2] The six histories were written at the imperial court during the eighth and ninth centuries, under order of the Emperors.^[3] The basic sources were the court records kept by the Ministry of Central Imperial Affairs, and the biographies of meritorious officials composed in the Ministry of Ceremonial Affairs.^[4]

The collection consists of the following texts:

• Nihon Shoki (Chronicle of Japan; also called Nihongi) – 30 volumes covering the mythological period through 697. Completed by Toneri Shinnō in 720.
• Shoku Nihongi (Chronicle of Japan, Continued; also called Shokki) – 40 volumes covering 697 through 791. Completed by Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Sugano no Mamichi in 797.
• Nihon Kōki (Later Chronicle of Japan) – 40 volumes covering 792 through 833. Completed by Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu and Fujiwara no Otsugu in 840.
• Shoku Nihon Kōki (Later Chronicle of Japan, Continued) – 20 volumes covering 833 through 850. Completed by Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, Fujiwara no Yoshimi, Tomo no Yoshio, and Haruzumi no Yoshitada in 869.
• Nihon Montoku Tennō Jitsuroku (Veritable Record of Emperor Montoku of Japan; also called Montoku jitsuroku) – 10 volumes covering 850 through 858. Completed by Fujiwara no Mototsune and Sugawara no Koreyoshi in 879.
• Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku (Veritable Record of Three Generations [of Emperors] of Japan; also called Sandai jitsuroku) – 50 volumes covering 858 through 887. Completed by Fujiwara no Tokihira and Ōkura no Yoshiyuki in 901.

The national histories were discontinued after the Sandai Jitsuroku; they were followed by the four Mirror books (starting with Ōkagami).

See also

• Ruijū Kokushi, a categorized and chronological history text of the Six National Histories

Notes

1. ^ "The Spiritual Sanctuary celebrates the Shinto Faith". http://thespiritualsanctuary.org/Shinto/Shinto.html. 
2. ^ Kōdansha (1983)
3. ^ Sakamoto (1991)
4. ^ Kōdansha (1983)

References

• Kōdansha, ed. (1983). Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan. Kōdansha. 
• Sakamoto, Tarō; tr. John S. Brownlee (1991). The Six National Histories of Japan. UBC Press, University of Tokyo Press. ISBN 0-7748-0379-7. 

External links

(Japanese)日本古代史料本文データ Downloadable lzh compressed file of text of Rikkokushi.