Professor Lecture "Deciphering the Nihon Shoki - The Mysterious Structure of the Chronicles Seen in Astronomical Observations, Texts, and Court Ranks"

Inagi IC College

Professor Lecture "Deciphering the Nihon Shoki - The Mysterious Structure of the Chronicles Seen in Astronomical Observations, Texts, and Court Ranks"

Previous research has shown that the entire 30 volumes of the "Nihon Shoki" can be grouped based on the characteristics of each volume. In the descriptions from volume 22 to volume 30, which cover the 7th century, astronomical records, writing style, and the ranks mentioned differ by group. The theme of this lecture is to examine the situation in 7th century Japan by closely tracing the changes in these three elements. Since this is a novel topic, questions are welcome.

Event Date

Sunday, October 19, 2025Sunday, November 16, 2025Sunday, December 21, 2025

Event Time

From 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM

Venue

Community Promotion Plaza

Eligibility

Anyone

Contents

Content of Each Session

1st	October 19	Differences in Astronomical Records of Group 3 of Chiten Tai The volumes of the Chronicles from the 7th century are divided into three groups. Volumes 22, 23, and 29 belong to the Heavenly group; volumes 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 belong to the Earthly group; and volume 30 belongs to the Peaceful group. The nature of the astronomical records differs for each group.
2nd	November 16	Classification of Chronicles αβ by Hirotatsu Mori Mr. Mori classified all 30 volumes of the historical records using song lyrics and annotations. When limited to the 7th century, it corresponds with the Chiten Tai classification. Group α consists of Tang dynasty standard classical Chinese, while group β consists of classical Chinese with many Japanese customs from before the Tang dynasty.
3rd	December 21	Transition of Ranks The ranks changed from the twelve levels to thirteen, nineteen, twenty-six, and forty-eight levels, and this transition corresponds with the Chiten Tai classification. We will consider the reasons for this correspondence.

Each class is 90 minutes long.

Application

Necessary

Please apply from the Inagi IC College web page.

Application Deadline

Thursday, August 14, 2025

About the Application Deadline

If the number of applicants exceeds the capacity, a lottery will be held.

If the capacity is not reached, applications will be accepted until the capacity is reached or until October 31.

Cost

3,000 yen (However, if you join midway, it will be 1,000 yen per session for the number of sessions attended)

Number of recruits

50 people

Eligibility

Anyone

Instructor

Kiyotaka Tanikawa, Former Associate Professor at the National Astronomical Observatory

Contact Us

Inagi IC College Office

Phone 042-370-2822

Business hours: Tuesday to Friday (excluding holidays), from 10 AM to 4 PM

 

Application Destination

• Inagi IC College Webpage(External Link)