Kojiki in the context of "Shinto"

The historiography of Japan (日本史学史 Nihon shigakushi) is the study of methods and hypotheses formulated in the study and literature of the history of Japan.

The earliest work of Japanese history is attributed to Prince Shōtoku, who is said to have written the Tennōki and the Kokki in 620 CE. The earliest extant work is the Kojiki of 712. The Nihon Shoki followed by 720. These two works formed the base of a history of the nation based in great part on Japanese mythology, in particular that of the Shinto religion. The works were inspired by Chinese historiography and were compiled with the support of the Japanese state. Five more works between 797 and 901 completed what had begun with the Nihon Shoki; the six are known as the Rikkokushi ("six national histories").

Amaterasu Ōmikami (天照大（御）神; Japanese pronunciation: [aꜜ.ma.te.ɾa.sɯ | oː.mʲiꜜ.ka.mʲi]), often called Amaterasu ([aꜜ.ma.te.ɾa.sɯ]) for short, also known as Amateru Kami (天照神) and Ōhirume no Muchi (大日孁貴), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. Often considered the chief deity (kami) of the Shinto pantheon, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the Kojiki (c. 712 CE) and the Nihon Shoki (720 CE), as the ruler (or one of the rulers) of the heavenly realm Takamagahara and as the mythical ancestress of the Imperial House of Japan via her grandson Ninigi. Along with two of her siblings (the moon deity Tsukuyomi and the impetuous storm-god Susanoo) she ranks as one of the "Three Precious Children" (三貴子, mihashira no uzu no miko / sankishi), the three most important offspring of the creator god Izanagi.

Amaterasu's chief place of worship, the Grand Shrine of Ise in Ise, Mie Prefecture, is one of Shinto's holiest sites and a major pilgrimage center and tourist spot. As with other Shinto kami, she is also enshrined in a number of Shinto shrines throughout Japan.

Kokki (国記), alternatively known as Kuni tsu Fumi meaning "National Record", is a Japanese historical text purported to have been written in 620 by Shōtoku Taishi and Soga no Umako. It is recorded in the Nihon Shoki, but there are no known extant copies. Assuming that it did in fact exist, it would predate both the Kojiki (712) and the Nihon Shoki (720).

The Nihon Shoki (日本書紀) or Nihongi (日本紀), sometimes translated as The Chronicles of Japan, is the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history. 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 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 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 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 the Kojiki are referred to as the Kiki stories.

Susanoo (スサノオ, Japanese pronunciation: [sɯ̥.sa.noꜜː]; historical orthography: スサノヲ, 'Susanowo'), often referred to by the honorific title Susanoo-no-Mikoto ([sɯ̥.sa.noꜜː no mʲi.ko.to]), is a kami in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line, he is a multifaceted deity with contradictory characteristics (both good and bad), being portrayed in various stories either as a wild, impetuous god associated with the sea and storms, as a heroic figure who killed a monstrous serpent, or as a local deity linked with the harvest and agriculture. Syncretic beliefs of the Gion cult that arose after the introduction of Buddhism to Japan also saw Susanoo becoming conflated with deities of pestilence and disease.

Susanoo, alongside Amaterasu and the earthly kami Ōkuninushi (also Ōnamuchi) – depicted as either Susanoo's son or scion depending on the source – is one of the central deities of the imperial Japanese mythological cycle recorded in the Kojiki (c. 712 CE) and the Nihon Shoki (720 CE). One of the gazetteer reports (Fudoki) commissioned by the imperial court during the same period these texts were written, that of Izumo Province (modern Shimane Prefecture) in western Japan, also contains a number of short legends concerning Susanoo or his children, suggesting a connection between the god and this region.

This is a list of Japanese clans. The old clans (gōzoku) mentioned in the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki lost their political power before the Heian period, during which new aristocracies and families, kuge, emerged in their place. After the Heian period, the samurai warrior clans gradually increased in importance and power until they came to dominate the country after the founding of the first shogunate.

Japan traditionally practiced cognatic primogeniture, or male-line inheritance in regard to passing down titles and estates. By allowing adult adoption, or for men to take their wife's name and be adopted into her family served as a means to pass down an estate to a family without any sons, Japan has managed to retain continuous family leadership for many of the below clans, the royal family, and even ordinary family businesses.

Ō no Yasumaro (太 安万侶; died August 15, 723) was a Japanese nobleman, bureaucrat, and chronicler. He may have been the son of Ō no Honji, a participant in the Jinshin War of 672.

He is most famous for compiling and editing, with the assistance of Hieda no Are, the Kojiki, the oldest extant Japanese history. Empress Genmei (r. 707-721) charged Yasumaro with the duty of writing the Kojiki in 711 using the differing clan chronicles and native myths. It was finished the following year and presented to Empress Genmei in 3 volumes in 712.

In Japanese mythology, the Tenchi-kaibyaku (天地開闢; Literally "Creation of Heaven & Earth") is the story that describes the legendary birth of the celestial and creative world, the birth of the first gods, and the birth of the Japanese archipelago.

This story is described at the beginning of the Kojiki, the first book written in Japan (712), and in the Nihon Shoki (720). Both form the literary basis of Japanese mythology and Shinto; however, the story differs in some aspects between these works.