is an officially commissioned Japanese history

History of Japan

The history of Japan encompasses the history of the islands of Japan and the Japanese people, spanning the ancient history of the region to the modern history of Japan as a nation state. Following the last ice age, around 12,000 BC, the rich ecosystem of the Japanese Archipelago fostered human...

 text. Completed in 869, it is the fourth volume in the Six National Histories

Rikkokushi

is a general term for Japan's six national histories chronicling the mythology and history of Japan from the earliest times to AD 887. The six histories were written at the imperial court during the eighth and ninth centuries, under order of the Emperors...

. It covers the years 833-850.

Background

Following the earlier national history Nihon Kōki

Nihon Koki

is an officially commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 840, it is the third volume in the Six National Histories. It covers the years 792-833.-Background:...

(840), in 855 Emperor Saga

Emperor Saga

was the 52nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Saga's reign spanned the years from 809 through 823.-Traditional narrative:...

 ordered the compilation of the years since then. Primarily edited by Fujiwara no Yoshifusa

Fujiwara no Yoshifusa

, also known as Somedono no Daijin or Shirakawa-dono, was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Heian period.When Yoshifusa's grandson was enthroned as Emperor Seiwa, Yoshifusa was assumed the role of regent for the young monarch...

 and Haruzumi no Yoshitsuna, the text was completed in 869.

Contents

Written in Kanbun

Kanbun

The Japanese word originally meant "Classical Chinese writings, Chinese classic texts, Classical Chinese literature". This evolved into a Japanese method of reading annotated Classical Chinese in translation . Much Japanese literature was written in literary Chinese using this annotated style...

-style and contained within 20 volumes, the contents covered 18 years spanning 833 and 850. As opposed to the previous national histories, it is the first to cover a single reign, that of Emperor Ninmyō setting the model for future national histories.

See also

• Ruijū Kokushi
  Ruiju Kokushi
  is a historical text that categorizes and chronologizes the events listed in the Six National Histories. It was compiled by Sugawara no Michizane and completed in 892. The text was commissioned by Emperor Uda.-Contents:...
  
  , a categorized and chronological history text of the Six National Histories; valuable resource in recreating lost contents of the Shoku Nihon Kōki

External links

• Manuscript scans, Waseda University Library
  Waseda University Library
  The library of Waseda University is one of the largest libraries in Japan. It was established in 1882, and currently holds some 4.5 million volumes and 46,000 serials.-History:...
  
  : manuscript 1, 2