SHINTOtranslated by W.G. Ashton
The Nihongi continues where the Kojiki finishes, cataloguing the descent of the Yamato rulers of Japan from the Gods, to the date of 697 AD. In this sense, the Nihongi, as with the Kojiki, represents a mixture of an open political agenda with a sometimes mixed groups of folkloric tales and mythological happenings.
The Nihongi itself was completed around 720 AD, and played an important role in the reshaping of Japan by the Yamato rulers, not least in the naming of the country as Nippon. And although the Nihongi itself is neither held to be a canon of any kind, it’s subsequent effect on Japanese identity, in conjunction with the Kojiki, has been extremely powerful.
PLEASE NOTE: No extensive English translation of these texts appears on the internet. Only the following excerpts are available for online reproduction: