The Kojiki: Appendix: Appendix II. Chronology of Sovereigns Mentioned in the Kojiki and Nihongi

The Kojiki, translated by Basil Hall Chamberlain, [1919], at sacred-texts.com

APPENDIX II.

THE HITHERTO ACCEPTED CHRONOLOGY OF THE EARLY JAPANESE SOVEREIGNS MENTIONED IN THE "RECORDS OF ANCIENT MATTERS" ("KO-JI-KI") AND IN THE "CHRONICLES OF JAPAN" ("NI-HONGI" ).

[This "Accepted Chronology "is contained in the first three columns of figures, whereof the first two, giving the corresponding dates according to the European reckoning are transcribed from some Comparative Chronological Tables by Mr. Ernest Satow, printed for private distribution in 1874. The ages of the monarchs in the third column are from "The Digest of the Imperial Pedigree," a work published by the Imperial Japanese Government is 1877, and therefore carrying with it the weight of authority. It might perhaps be too much to say that even its decisions are universally bowed to by the native literati, but the differences between various writers are all slight, and excepting on points that affect only a very few years, the chronology contained in the first three columns may justly be styled the "Accepted Chronology" both as far as natives and as far as foreigners are concerned. It will be seen that it is founded in the main on the statements contained in the "Chronicles of Japan," though sometimes differing therefrom as well as from the "Records." The fourth column contains the ages of the monarchs according to the "Records" and the fifth their ages according to the "Chronicles." The portion printed in italics, and including a little over a thousand years, is that which has been shown in Section V of the Translator's Introduction to be undeserving of credence.

	Accession.	Death.	Age.	Age accord. to "Records."	Age accord. to "Chronicles."
Jin-mu	660 (B.C.)	585(B.C.)	127	137	127
Sui-zei	581	549	84	45	80
An-nei	548	511	57	49	57
I-toku	510	477	77	45	77
Kō-shō	475	393	114	93	113 p. A29
Kō-an	392	291	137	123	reigned 102 years
Kō-rei	290	215	128	106	" 76 "
Kō-gen	214	158	116	57	" 57 "
Kai-kuwa	157	98	111	63	" 60 "
Su-jin	97	30	119	168	120
Sui-nin	29	70 (A.D.)	141	153	140
Kei-ko	71 (A.D.)	130	143	137	106
Sei-mu	131	190	108	95	107
Chiū-ai	192	200	52	52	52
Jin-gō	201	269	100	100	100
Ō-jin	270	310	111	130	110
Nin-toku	313	399	110	83	reigned 87 years
Ri-chiū	400	405	67	64	70
Han-zei	406	411	60	60	reigned 6 years
In-giyō	412	453	80	78	" 42 "
An-kō	454	456	56	66	" 3 "
Yū-riyaku	457	479	age omitted	124	" 5 "
Sei-nei	480	484	41	not given	" 23 "
Ken-zō	485	487	age omitted	38	" 3 "
Nin-ken	488	498	50	not given	" 11 "
Mu-retsu	499	506	8 1	reigned 8 years	" 8 "
Kei-tai	507	531	82	43	82
An-kan	534	535	70	not given	70
Sen-kuwa	536	539	73	"	73
Kim-mei	540	571	63	"	reigned 32 years
Bi-datsu	572	585	48	reigned 14 years	" 14 "
Yō-mei	586	587	69	" 3 "	" 2 "
Su-jun	588	592	73	" 4 "	" 5 "
Sui-ko	593	628	75	" 37 "	" 75 "

Footnotes

A29:1 The reign of this Empress is in the "Records" not counted separately, but included in that of her son Ō-jin. For the mention of her age in the "Records "conf. Sect. CIII, Note 4.