Kojiki-den
The Kojiki-den is a 44-volume commentary on the Kojiki written by the kokugaku scholar Motoori Norinaga.
Overview
The Kojiki-den is a commentary on the Kojiki, an eighth-century work of Shinto historiography and mythology, by the Edo period kokugaku scholar Motoori Norinaga.Background
Motoori Norinaga was attracted to Shinto, as well as waka and monogatari, from a young age. While studying in Kyoto in the seventh month of the sixth year of Hōreki, he purchased a copy of the Kan'ei edition of the Kojiki, so it is thought that he read the work shortly after this point. His early writings following this date, such as the 1758 Aware Ben and Ashiwake Obune were more focused on the Nihon Shoki. In the 1761 Ame Tsuchi no Ben, he had moved toward placing more value on linguistic scholarship and attacked the Nihon Shokis Chinese for being a barrier to research into the ancient Japanese language.Publication
The Kojiki-den was completed in Kansei 10. It is in 44 books, first published in 44 volumes. The first five books were first printed in 1790, with books 6 through 11 following in 1792. Books 12 through 17 were printed in 1797. The rest of the work was not published until Bunsei 5, after Norinaga's death. The first editions were printed in Nagoya by Eirakuya Tōshirō and others.Textual tradition
According to the 1983 Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijitens article on the Kojiki-den, written by , Norinaga's original manuscripts for books 17, 18, 19, and 21 through 44, and secondary manuscripts for all 44 books, are in the holdings of the Museum of Motoori Norinaga. The secondary manuscript for book 3 is in the holdings of the Tenri Central Library.Works cited
Category:1790 introductions
Category:Book series introduced in the 1790s
Category:1790 non-fiction books
Category:1792 non-fiction books
Category:1797 non-fiction books
Category:1798 non-fiction books
Category:1822 non-fiction books
Category:Kojiki
Category:Edo-period works
Category:Shinto texts
Category:Kokugaku
Category:Literature first published in serial form