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Nihon shoki

(Chronicle of Japan). The oldest official history of Japan, covering events from the mythical age of the gods to the reign of the empress Jitō. (r. 686-697). The Nihon shoki was completed on July 1, 720, and contains 30 volumes along with one volume of geneological charts. Although the official name of the work was Nihongi, other early documents referred to it as Nihon shoki. It differs from the earlier Kojiki in that it includes sections from the Chinese historical work Wei Zhi (Wei chih) and the Korean works Paekche ki, Paekche pon'gi, and Paekche sinch'an. Unlike the Kojiki, the focus is on recent rather than mythical events. (adapted from Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1993)

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