Nihon Shoki in the context of "Emperor Tenmu"

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.

Prince Shōtoku (聖徳太子, Shōtoku Taishi; February 7, 574 – April 8, 622), also known as Prince Umayado (厩戸皇子, Umayado no ōjî, Umayado no miko) or Prince Kamitsumiya (上宮皇子, Kamitsumiya no ōji, Kamitsumiya no miko), was a semi-legendary regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan who served under Empress Suiko. He was the son of Emperor Yōmei and his consort, Princess Hashihito no Anahobe, who was also Yōmei's younger half-sister. But later, he was adopted by Prince Shōtoken. His parents were relatives of the ruling Soga clan and also he was involved in the defeat of the rival Mononobe clan. The primary source of the life and accomplishments of Prince Shōtoku comes from the Nihon Shoki. The Prince is renowned for modernizing the government administration and for promoting Buddhism in Japan. He also had two different families that fought over his custody.

Over successive generations, a devotional cult arose around the figure of Prince Shōtoku for the protection of Japan, the Imperial Family, and for Buddhism. Key religious figures such as Saichō, Shinran and others claimed inspiration or visions attributed to Prince Shōtoku.

Tennōki (天皇記, Record of the Emperor), alternatively known as Sumera Mikoto no Fumi, is a historical text purported to have been written in 620 by Shōtoku Taishi and Soga no Umako. It is recorded in the Nihon Shoki, but no extant copies are known to exist.

According to the Nihon Shoki,

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 Kojiki (古事記, "Records of Ancient Matters" or "An Account of Ancient Matters"), also sometimes read as Furukotofumi or Furukotobumi, is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the kami, and the Japanese imperial line. It is claimed in its preface to have been composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of Empress Genmei in the early 8th century (711–712), and thus is usually considered to be the oldest extant literary work in Japan.

The myths contained in the Kojiki as well as the Nihon Shoki are part of the inspiration behind many practices and unified "Shinto orthodoxy". Later, they were incorporated into Shinto practices such as the misogi purification ritual.

Kobe (/ˈkoʊbeɪ/ KOH-bay; Japanese: 神戸, romanized: Kōbe, pronounced [koꜜː.be] ), officially Kobe City (神戸市, Kōbe-shi; [koː.beꜜ.ɕi]), is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in the Kansai region, which makes up the southern side of the main island of Honshū, on the north shore of Osaka Bay. It is part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kyoto. The Kobe city centre is located about 35 km (22 mi) west of Osaka and 70 km (43 mi) southwest of Kyoto.

The earliest written records regarding the region come from the Nihon Shoki, which describes the founding of the Ikuta Shrine by Empress Jingū in AD 201. For most of its history, the area was never a single political entity, even during the Tokugawa period, when the port was controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate. Kobe did not exist in its current form until its founding in 1889. Its name comes from Kanbe (神戸; an archaic title for supporters of the city's Ikuta Shrine). Kobe became one of Japan's designated cities in 1956.

Arahitogami (現人神) is a Japanese word, meaning a kami (or deity) who is a human being. It first appeared in the Nihon Shoki (c. 720) as the words of Yamato Takeru saying: "I am the son of an arahitogami."

In 1946, at the request of the GHQ, the Shōwa Emperor (Hirohito) proclaimed in the Humanity Declaration that he had never been an akitsumikami (現御神), divinity in human form, and claimed his relation to the people did not rely on such a mythological idea but on a historically developed family-like reliance. However, the declaration excluded the word arahitogami.

Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto (ツクヨミノミコト, 月読命), or simply Tsukuyomi (ツクヨミ, 月読) or Tsukiyomi (ツキヨミ), is the moon kami in Japanese mythology and the Shinto religion. The name "Tsukuyomi" is a compound of the Old Japanese words tsuku (月; "moon, month", becoming modern Japanese tsuki) and yomi (読み; "reading, counting"). The Nihon Shoki mentions this name spelled as Tsukuyumi (月弓; "moon bow"), but this yumi is likely a variation in pronunciation of yomi. An alternative interpretation is that his name is a combination of tsukiyo (月夜; "moonlit night") and mi (見; "looking, watching"). -no-Mikoto is a common honorific appended to the names of Kami; it may be understood as similar to the English honorific 'the Great'.

In Man'yōshū, Tsukuyomi's name is sometimes rendered as Tsukuyomi Otoko (月讀壮士; "moon-reading man"), implying that he is male.