Shinto texts

The , also sometimes read as ' or ', is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts dating as far back as 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.

8th century book of classical Japanese history

The is a Japanese book of laws and customs. The major part of the writing was completed in 927.

are ancient reports on provincial culture, geography, and oral tradition presented to the reigning monarchs of Japan, also known as local gazetteers. They contain agricultural, geographical, and historical records as well as mythology and folklore. Fudoki manuscripts also document local myths, rituals, and poems that are not mentioned in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki chronicles, which are the most important literature of the ancient national mythology and history. In the course of national unification, the imperial court enacted a series of criminal and administrative codes called ritsuryō an

, or , is a historical Japanese text. It was generally believed to have been one of the earliest Japanese histories until the middle of the Edo period, when scholars such as Tokugawa Mitsukuni and Tada Yoshitoshi successfully contended that it was an imitation based on the , the and the Kogo Shūi. Scholarship on the generally considers it to contain some genuine elements, specifically that Book 5 preserves traditions of the Mononobe and Owari clans, and that Book 10 preserves the earlier historical record the Kokuzō Hongi.

is a general term for Japan's Six National Histories chronicling the mythology and history of Japan from the earliest times to 887. The six histories were written at the imperial court during the 8th and 9th centuries, under order of the Emperors. The basic sources were the court records kept by the Ministry of Central Imperial Affairs, and the biographies of meritorious officials composed in the Ministry of Ceremonial Affairs.

Historical record of the Inbe clan of Japan

Japanese historical book written by Kitabatake Chikafusa

The '''' (古事記伝) is a 44-volume commentary on the written by the kokugaku'' scholar Motoori Norinaga.

, also known as and , is an ancient Japanese historical text. Its existence is recorded in the Kojiki which claims to have been composed based on its contents. No extant copies are known to exist anymore.

The is a Japanese setsuwa collection in ten volumes, believed to date from the Nanboku-chō period (1336–1392). It illustrates with tales about various shrines the Buddhist honji suijaku theory, according to which Japanese kami were simply local manifestations of the Indian gods of Buddhism. This theory, created and developed mostly by Tendai monks, was never systematized but was nonetheless very pervasive and influential. The book had thereafter great influence over literature and the arts.

Japanese clan record

five-volume treatise of c. 1605/6 by Taichū Ryōtei (袋中良定, 1552–1639) about religions in Ryukyu