Kojiki-den

{{Short description|1790 literary commentary by Motoori Norinaga}}

The {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki-den}} (古事記伝) is a 44-volume commentary on the {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki}} written by the kokugaku scholar Motoori Norinaga.

Overview

The {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki-den}} is a commentary on the {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki}}, an eighth-century work of Shinto historiography and mythology,{{sfnm|1a1=Ōkubo|1y=1983|1p=603}} by the Edo period kokugaku scholar Motoori Norinaga.{{sfnm|1a1=Ōkubo|1y=1983|1p=603}}

Background

Motoori Norinaga was attracted to Shinto, as well as waka and monogatari, from a young age.{{sfnm|1a1=Ōkubo|1y=1983|1p=603}} While studying in Kyoto in the seventh month of the sixth year of Hōreki (1756),{{sfnm|1a1=Ōkubo|1y=1983|1p=603}} he purchased a copy of the Kan'ei edition of the Kojiki,{{sfnm|1a1=Ōkubo|1y=1983|1pp=603–604}} so it is thought that he read the work shortly after this point.{{sfnm|1a1=Ōkubo|1y=1983|1p=604}} His early writings following this date, such as the 1758 Aware Ben (安波礼弁) and Ashiwake Obune (排蘆小船) were more focused on the Nihon Shoki.{{sfnm|1a1=Ōkubo|1y=1983|1p=604}} In the 1761 Ame Tsuchi no Ben (阿毎菟知弁), he had moved toward placing more value on linguistic scholarship and attacked the Nihon Shoki{{'}}s Chinese for being a barrier to research into the ancient Japanese language.{{sfnm|1a1=Ōkubo|1y=1983|1p=604}}

Publication

The {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki-den}} was completed in Kansei 10 (1798).{{sfnm|1a1=Ōkubo|1y=1983|1p=603}} It is in 44 books, first published in 44 volumes.{{sfnm|1a1=Ōkubo|1y=1983|1p=603}} The first five books were first printed in 1790,{{sfnm|1a1=Ōkubo|1y=1983|1p=603}} with books 6 through 11 following in 1792.{{sfnm|1a1=Ōkubo|1y=1983|1p=603}} Books 12 through 17 were printed in 1797.{{sfnm|1a1=Ōkubo|1y=1983|1p=603}} The rest of the work was not published until Bunsei 5 (1822), after Norinaga's death.{{sfnm|1a1=Ōkubo|1y=1983|1p=603}} The first editions were printed in Nagoya by Eirakuya Tōshirō (永楽屋東四郎) and others.{{sfnm|1a1=Ōkubo|1y=1983|1p=603}}

Textual tradition

According to the 1983 Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten{{'}}s article on the {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki-den}}, written by {{illm|Tadashi Ōkubo|ja|大久保正}} (1919–1980), Norinaga's original manuscripts for books 17, 18, 19, and 21 through 44 (27 books, 22 volumes), and secondary manuscripts for all 44 books (except for book 3, which is represented by a tertiary manuscript), are in the holdings of the Museum of Motoori Norinaga (本居宣長記念館 Motoori Norinaga Kinenkan).{{sfnm|1a1=Ōkubo|1y=1983|1p=605}} The secondary manuscript for book 3 is in the holdings of the Tenri Central Library.{{sfnm|1a1=Ōkubo|1y=1983|1p=605}}