Japan’s Imperial Mythology

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Japan’s Imperial Mythology is written by Klaus Antoni, Julia Dolkovski, Louise Neubronner and published by LIT Verlag Münster. It's available with International Standard Book Number or ISBN identification 3643916167 (ISBN 10) and 9783643916167 (ISBN 13).

How have ancient texts shaped the identity and legitimacy of a modern nation? This question is at the heart of the present volume, which examines Japan’s earliest mytho-historical chronicles, the Kojiki (712) and Nihon shoki (720), and their enduring legacy through the lens of sacralization and desacralization. Building on an international symposium at the University of Tübingen, this interdisciplinary collection traces the fluctuating authority of Japan’s imperial mythology through centuries of political, religious, and cultural change. From Edo-period Kokugaku to postwar nationalism and the Fukushima disaster, the contributors examine how communities and political actors have continually reinterpreted these foundational texts to legitimize power, express identity, or challenge tradition. Organized in reverse chronological order—starting with contemporary perspectives and moving back to early mythology—this volume brings together innovative case studies and comparative analyses that illuminate the dynamic interplay of text, myth, and authority.