, also known as and , is an ancient Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese historical text. Its existence is recorded in the Kojiki

Kojiki

is the oldest extant chronicle in Japan, dating from the early 8th century and composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of Empress Gemmei. The Kojiki is a collection of myths concerning the origin of the four home islands of Japan, and the Kami...

which claims to have been composed based on its contents. No extant copies are known to exist anymore.

According to the Kojiki

Kojiki

is the oldest extant chronicle in Japan, dating from the early 8th century and composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of Empress Gemmei. The Kojiki is a collection of myths concerning the origin of the four home islands of Japan, and the Kami...

 preface, Emperor Tenmu said:

What I hear is that the Teiki

Teiki

The is a historical text purported to have been compiled in 681. The text is no longer extant.-Background:According to the Nihon Shoki: On the seventeenth day, the emperor, residing in his place in the Daigokuden, commanded Prince Kawashima, Prince Osakabe [etc...] to record a definitive edition...

and Honji brought about by the many houses already differ from the truth and contain many inaccuracies. Should those mistakes not be corrected now, the original meaning will be lost within but a few years. They are the basis of the national system and are the foundation of the imperial government. Thus, I would like to carefully examine the Teiki and Kyūji, remove the errors, and establish the truth for future generations.

The preface goes on to state that the emperor dictates the Teiki and Kyūji to Hieda no Are

Hieda no Are

is primarily known for being instrumental to the compilation of the Japanese text Kojiki in 712. While birth and date are unknown, Are was active during the late 7th and early 8th century.-Background:Very little is known about Are's background...

, but that the emperor passes away before the task is completed. The task was revived several years later during the reign of Empress Gemmei

Empress Gemmei

, also known as Empress Genmyō, was the 43rd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Gemmei's reign spanned the years 707 through 715....

:

At this point, regretting the errors and differences in the Kyūji, the Empresses tries to fix the errors and differences in the Senki

Teiki

The is a historical text purported to have been compiled in 681. The text is no longer extant.-Background:According to the Nihon Shoki: On the seventeenth day, the emperor, residing in his place in the Daigokuden, commanded Prince Kawashima, Prince Osakabe [etc...] to record a definitive edition...

, and on the ninth month and the eighteenth day of fourth year of Wadō

Wado (era)

was a after Keiun and before Reiki. This period spanned the years from January 708 through September 715. The reigning empress was .-Change of era:...

 [=711

711

Year 711 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 711 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* April 30 – Ummayad troops led by...

] she says to Yasumaro: "I command you to record the imperial Kyūji that Hieda no Are learned."

Contents

As the text no longer exists, very little is actually known about it. The Kojiki preface states that differing versions existed with each clan, and that these differences were corrected by the imperial line. The preface also states that it was one of the primary resources in the composition of the Kojiki, thus there must have been some overlap between the two, and most likely contained legendary accounts.