The Nihon Shoki or ‘Chronicle of Japan’ is one of the earliest written records in Japan, being composed in 720 in 31 volumes. It records episodes from mythological eras, diplomatic contacts with China and Korea, and numerous events close to its time of compilation. Long used as a religious text in Shinto, in the late Edo period and since it has been studied as a history, at least when it does not refer to mythology. The book was translated in 1896 as Nihongi by W.G. Aston.
