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| *''Japanese'': 大日本史 ''(Dai Nihon Shi)'' | | *''Japanese'': 大日本史 ''(Dai Nihon Shi)'' |
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− | The ''Dai Nihon Shi'' ("Great History of Japan" or "History of Great Japan") is a history of Japan written over a period of nearly 250 years by scholars of the [[Mitogaku]] school based in [[Mito han|Mito domain]]. It is characterized chiefly by its organization around a narrative of the [[Emperor|Japanese imperial line]], in emulation of Chinese dynastic histories. | + | The ''Dai Nihon Shi'' ("Great History of Japan" or "History of Great Japan") is a history of early Japan written over a period of nearly 250 years by scholars of the [[Mitogaku]] school based in [[Mito han|Mito domain]]. It is characterized chiefly by its organization around a narrative of the [[Emperor|Japanese imperial line]], in emulation of Chinese dynastic histories, beginning with the ancient origins of the imperial line, and ending with the end of the [[Southern Court]] in [[1392]]. |
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| The ''Dai Nihon Shi'' "was not created with any revolutionary intent,"<ref>Roberts, 167.</ref> but was coopted or appropriated by revolutionaries in the [[Bakumatsu period]], to support a pro-imperial (anti-[[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa]]) vision of Japanese history. In particular, such movements used the ''Dai Nihon Shi'' as the basis of an understanding of Japanese history centered around the emperor as the chief ever-present element, and the samurai as only temporary; this was later used to justify an expansionist, imperial(ist) Japan. | | The ''Dai Nihon Shi'' "was not created with any revolutionary intent,"<ref>Roberts, 167.</ref> but was coopted or appropriated by revolutionaries in the [[Bakumatsu period]], to support a pro-imperial (anti-[[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa]]) vision of Japanese history. In particular, such movements used the ''Dai Nihon Shi'' as the basis of an understanding of Japanese history centered around the emperor as the chief ever-present element, and the samurai as only temporary; this was later used to justify an expansionist, imperial(ist) Japan. |
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− | The project was first begun at the orders of [[Tokugawa Mitsukuni]], lord of Mito, in [[1657]]. [[Zhu Shunsui]] was among the prominent contributors in the earliest stages. | + | The project was first begun at the orders of [[Tokugawa Mitsukuni]], lord of Mito, in [[1657]], with the compilation supervised or directed by [[Zhu Shunsui]]. A tentatively completed version was presented to the Tokugawa shogun in [[1720]], though editing continued for nearly another 200 years after that. A woodblock-printed edition was presented to the emperor in [[1851]], and then to numerous [[Shinto shrines]], ''[[daimyo]]'', and [[kuge|court nobles]] in [[1856]].<ref>Ishin Shiryô Kôyô 維新史料綱要, vol 2 (1937), 200.</ref> |
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| + | The content of the ''Dai Nihon Shi'' is a narrative history organized around the successive emperors, with sub-chapters devoted to discussions of imperial relatives and notable imperial subjects (both loyal and traitorous). The text ends with the reign of [[Emperor Go-Kameyama]] (r. [[1383]]-1392), a product of the attitude that the Southern Court was the legitimate branch of the imperial line, and that its end is thus a rightful place to end such an imperial history. |
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| + | The work also spun off branch works, such as the ''Dai Nihon shi sansô'' (also known as ''Dai Nihon shi ronsan''), written by [[Asaka Tanpaku]], who played a key role in the compilation of the 1720 version. Though excised from the ''Dai Nihon shi'' by a later editor, Tanpaku's section circulated in manuscript form and had a notable influence upon other writers of the time, including [[Rai Sanyo|Rai San'yô]]. |
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| {{stub}} | | {{stub}} |
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| ==References== | | ==References== |
| *Schirokauer, et al., ''A Brief History of Japanese Civilization'', Wadsworth Cengage (2013), 146. | | *Schirokauer, et al., ''A Brief History of Japanese Civilization'', Wadsworth Cengage (2013), 146. |
− | *[[Luke Roberts]], ''Performing the Great Peace'', University of Hawaii Press (2012), 167-168. | + | *[[Luke Roberts]], ''Performing the Great Peace'', University of Hawaii Press (2012), 167-168, 173. |
| <references/> | | <references/> |
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− | [[Category:Historic Documents]] | + | [[Category:Historical Documents]] |
| [[Category:Edo Period]] | | [[Category:Edo Period]] |