The Kojiki (Kindle Edition)

by Basil Hall Chamberlain (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The Kojiki is one of the two primary sources for Shinto, the Japanese national religion. It starts in the realm of myth, with the creation of Japan from foam. Innumerable gods and goddesses are described. The narrative moves from mythology to historical legends, and culminates in a chronology of the early Imperial line.

The book is densely footnoted, almost to the point where the text is buried in apparatus. This translation was written for a scholarly audience who were expected to want the critical detail of this edition, and casual readers may find it tough going. However, even this cannot shroud the wonderful story-telling. There are supernatural episodes, and tales of murder, passion and betrayal, all interspersed with extemporaneous poetry, reminiscent of Icelandic sagas.--J.B. Hare

Language Notes

Text: English, Japanese (translation)

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 1327 KB
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Evinity Publishing Inc; 1.0 edition (May 6, 2009)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0028Y4SZY
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #37,182 in Kindle Store (See Bestsellers in Kindle Store)

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  #1 in	Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Eastern Religions > Shintoism
  #6 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Shintoism
  #11 in	Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Travel > Asia > Japan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Royal Pain to Read, June 4, 2005

By	M. Young "maggldypie" (Silly Valley) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Kojiki (Tuttle Classics of Japanese Literature) (Paperback)

The Kojiki is the seminal work of Japan's Shinto belief system. There's no understanding Shintoism (and Japan) without it.
Unfortunately, for those of us who speak English, but not Japanese, a good translation is hard and expensive to find. Basil Hall Chamberlain's is the earliest, dating bck to the late 19th century. Unfortunately, this translation suffers from the worst of the furbelows and obfuscations of the late Victorian/Edwardian era. This includes rendering into Latin anything a Victorian scholar might consider a naughty bit. I hope the new edition coming out in September translates the translation for those of us who didn't attend Oxford.

All in all, you're better off with Donald Phillipe's (Sp?) more recent and lucid translation. But since that, too, is hard and expensive to find, take what you can get. The Kojiki's worth it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More for Study than Leisure, February 17, 2008

By	Drew (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kojiki: Records of Ancient Matters (Tuttle Classics of Japanese Literature) (Paperback)

I got this book just because i was interested in the stories. while this book includes the entire Kojiki, it is on only about the top 1/3 of each page. the other 2/3 of each page are explanations and background information. Really good for studies or research, but much more information than i need.

18 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Pain Beyond All Pain Unless You're Fluent in Latin , July 7, 2006

By	NY Bibliophile (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kojiki: Records of Ancient Matters (Tuttle Classics of Japanese Literature) (Paperback)

I did not realize that aside from the English language, one would also need a Latin language background. Add to that the way Victorian/Edwardians translated stuff and you get problems when things like translating names add to the complications. For instance: when is a name not a name? Well, instead of translating a proper name such as "Robert" to "Robert", "Robert" is translated to "Bright Fame." Tack on other descriptiveness and you get a headache - "His August Mighty Brightness met with Her Supreme Lovely Brightness" and you get the idea. Two stars for effort but for the average "Joe" (or the meaning of Joseph is "God shall add (another son)") I'd pass this on by.