ABSTRACT
Our three core texts begin with what on the surface appears to be essentially the same mythological story. The compilers of Nihon shoki and Kujiki have been heavily influenced by Chinese cosmological ideology, as found in works such as Huainanzi. Kojiki, on the other hand, has been influenced to a lesser degree by Chinese philosophy, as it appears that the initial text avoids a Chinese-influenced description of the beginning of creation, referencing yin and yang. There is a tendency for most readers, even scholars, to view these three texts as fundamentally exhibiting the same starting point, but this is not necessarily true. To set a benchmark, it is instructive to review briefly how each of these three texts begins its story:
Nihon shoki:
Long ago when heaven and earth had not yet split apart, and yin and yang were not separated, chaotic and inchoate, like a hen’s egg, the boundless expanse of water contained sprouts [signs of life]. That which was pure and bright spread out to form heaven; that which was heavy and turbid remained to form earth. It is easy for that which is pure and subtle to converge but difficult for the heavy and turbid to congeal. Therefore heaven was completed first; earth was fixed afterward. After this event, a spirit-like sage was produced. 1
