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KOJIKI 古事記 (Hi-Res Audiobook)

High-resolution WAV64 version of the LibriVox.org public domain audiobook. Of all the mass of Japanese literature, which lies before us as the result of nearly twelve centuries of book-making, the most important monument is the work entitled Kojiki (古事記) or Records of Ancient Matters, which was completed in A.D. 712. It is the most important because it has preserved for us more faithfully than any other book the mythology, the manners, the language, and the traditional history of Ancient Japan. E.M. Satow, in his paper on the "Revival of Pure Shintō," says: "The Emperor Tenmu (天武天皇), at what portion of his reign is not mentioned, lamenting that the records possessed by the chief families contained many errors, resolved to take steps to preserve the true traditions from oblivion. He therefore had the records carefully examined, compared, and weeded of their faults. There happened to be in his household a person of marvellous memory named Hiyeda no Are (稗田阿礼), who could repeat without mistake the contents of any document he had ever seen, and never forgot anything that he had heard. Tenmu Tennō took the pains to instruct this person in the genuine traditions and 'old language of form

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