Japan's oldest surviving narrative, the eighth-century Kojiki, chronicles the mythical origins of its islands and their ruling dynasty through a diverse array of genealogies, tales, and songs that have helped to shape the modern nation's views of its ancient past. Gustav Heldt's engaging new translation of this revered classic aims to make the Kojiki accessible to contemporary readers while staying true to the distinctively dramatic and evocative appeal of the original's language. It conveys the rhythms that structure the Kojiki's animated style of storytelling and translates the names of its many people and places to clarify their significance within the narrative. An introduction, glossaries, maps, and bibliographies offer a wealth of additional information about Japan's earliest extant record of its history, literature, and religion.
ISBN-13: 9780231163897
Media Type: Paperback
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication Date: 09-09-2014
Pages: 312
Product Dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range: 18 Years
Series: Translations from the Asian Classics
O no Yasumaro (d. 723) was a nobleman of the Japanese court whose O clan ruled over an area bearing the same name near the eighth-century capital of Nara.
Gustav Heldt is an associate professor of Japanese literature at the University of Virginia and the author of The Pursuit of Harmony: Poetry and Power in Early Heian Japan.
What People are Saying About This
Joan Piggott
Heldt's new translation of the Kojiki offers readers a powerful and beautifully written rendition of this critically important Japanese classic. General readers will find it an accessible and fascinating look into Japanese folklore. Specialists will find Heldt's interpretation of Kojiki's magic words, rich in wordplay and metaphor, deeply insightful and provocative.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Preface
Book One
The First Generations of Spirits
Izanagi and Izanami
Amaterasu and Susa-no-o
Okuni-nushi
Hiko-ho-no-ninigi
Ho-deri and Hoho-demi
Book Two
Sovereign Jinmu
Sovereign Suisei
Sovereign Annei
Sovereign Itoku
Sovereign Kosho
Sovereign Koan
Sovereign Korei
Sovereign Kogen
Sovereign Kaika
Sovereign Sujin
Sovereign Suinin
Sovereign Keiko
Sovereign Seimu
Sovereign Chuai
Sovereign Ojin
Book Three
Sovereign Nintoku
Sovereign Richu
Sovereign Hanzei
Sovereign Ingyo
Sovereign Anko
Sovereign Yuryaku
Sovereign Seinei
Sovereign Kenzo
Sovereign Ninken
Sovereign Buretsu
Sovereign Keitai
Sovereign Ankan
Sovereign Senka
Sovereign Kinmei
Sovereign Bidatsu
Sovereign Yomei
Sovereign Sushun
Sovereign Suiko
Glossary of General Terms
Glossary of Personal Names
Glossary of Place Names
Map 1. Ancient Lands of Yamato Japan
Map 2. Central Yamato
Bibliography
Show More
