The Great History of Japan

This is a large volume of Japanese history compiled by Tokugawa Mitsukuni (Yoshikuni), the second lord of Mito, who invited many historians from all over the country. It is written in classical Chinese. It has 397 volumes in total, with 5 volumes of catalogue. It is considered to be one of the two great historical works of the Edo period, along with the Tokugawa shogunate's Honcho Utsugan. It is said that Mitsukuni decided to compile history when he was 18 years old in 1645 (Shoho 2), and the following year he began to send scholars to Kyoto to collect old books. In February 1657 (Meireki 3), immediately after the Furisode fire, he opened a history bureau in the Komagome residence of the Mito domain in Edo and began the project of compiling history. This was the beginning of the compilation of the Dai Nihonshi. Mitsukuni was 30 years old at the time, still the heir, so it was natural that he would have obtained permission from his father, Yorifusa, the first lord of the domain.

The history bureau was first named Shokokan in 1672 (Kanbun 12), when Mitsukuni was 45 years old and had been in the 11th year since he succeeded his father as feudal lord. After this, the number of staff at the history bureau doubled from a few to about 10 people, and later reached as many as 60 people. It is believed that the work of compiling history became full-scale after the history bureau was moved to the main residence in Koishikawa and named. Leading scholars of the time, such as Sassa Sojun, Kuriyama Senpo, Miyake Kanran, and Asaka Tanpo, were mobilized. After Mitsukuni retired in 1698 (Genroku 11), most of the Shokokan was moved to Mito Castle, and thereafter it was established in both Mito and Edo, but the Edo facility was abolished during the reign of the 9th feudal lord, Nariaki (Rekko).

The Dai Nihonshi, which follows the Chinese style of historical records and is written in the form of a chronicle, contains 73 volumes of the Honki (Chronicles), 170 volumes of Retsuden (Biographies), 126 volumes of Shi (Academic Records), and 28 volumes of Hyō (Tables), and describes the history from Emperor Jimmu to the end of the Northern and Southern Courts. The Honki and Retsuden (Biographies) were only completed during Mitsukuni's lifetime, and it was not until 1906 (Meiji 39) that the Mito Tokugawa family completed the 397 volumes of Shi (Academic Records) and Hyō (Tables), and 5 volumes of Catalogs. The distinctive feature of the Dai Nihonshi is that it respects historical materials, and dispatches staff to Kyoto, Nara, Yoshino, and Kishu, as well as Chugoku, Kyushu, parts of the Hokuriku region, and the Tohoku region to collect historical materials. In addition, the text clearly cites the sources of historical materials other than the Rikkokushi (Six National Histories). Of the three most notable points in terms of content, the one that had the greatest ideological impact was that it broke with conventional wisdom and recognized the Southern Court as the legitimate authority. The academic style that arose around this compilation project and was perfected in later generations is called Mitogaku. Mitsukuni and Nariaki also had plans to create a "Japanese-style History of Japan."

[Yoshihiko Seya]

"The Great History of Japan", 15 volumes (1911, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "The Great History of Japan", 17 volumes (1929, Dai Nippon Yubenkai)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

水戸第2代藩主徳川光圀(みつくに)（義公）が、全国から多くの歴史家を招いて編纂(へんさん)した大部の日本史書。漢文体。全397巻、目録5巻。幕府の『本朝通鑑(ほんちょうつがん)』と並んで江戸時代の二大史書とされる。光圀が修史の志をたてたのは1645年（正保2）18歳のときといわれ、翌年から学者を京都方面に派遣して古書の収集を始めた。57年（明暦3）2月振袖(ふりそで)大火の直後、江戸の水戸藩駒込(こまごめ)屋敷に史局を開き、修史事業を始めた。これが『大日本史』編纂の始めである。ときに光圀は30歳、まだ世子の時代で、当然、初代藩主父頼房(よりふさ)の許しを得てのことであったろう。

　その史局が初めて彰考(しょうこう)館と命名されたのは1672年（寛文12）で、光圀45歳、父の跡を継いで藩主となってから11年目にあたる。これ以後、数名から10名程度だった史館員は倍増し、のちに多いときは60名にも達しているから、史局が小石川(こいしかわ)の本邸内に移されて命名されて以後、修史事業は本格的になったと考えられる。佐々宗淳(さっさそうじゅん)、栗山潜鋒(せんぽう)、三宅観瀾(みやけかんらん)、安積澹泊(あさかたんぱく)ら当時有数の学者を動員している。彰考館は光圀が引退後の1698年（元禄11）その大部分が水戸城内に移転され、以後、水戸、江戸の両地に置かれたが、第9代藩主斉昭(なりあき)（烈公）時代に江戸は廃止された。

　中国の史記に倣って紀伝体の体裁をとった『大日本史』は、本紀(ほんぎ)73巻、列伝170巻、志(し)126巻、表(ひょう)28巻に、神武(じんむ)天皇から南北朝の終期に至る歴史を記述している。光圀在世中は本紀と列伝が脱稿した程度で、志・表をあわせて397巻、目録5巻が完成したのは1906年（明治39）水戸徳川家の手によるものであった。『大日本史』の特色は史料を尊重し、京都、奈良、吉野、紀州方面をはじめ、中国、九州、北陸の一部、東北地方などに館員を派遣し史料収集にあたらせたことである。また本文では「六国史(りっこくし)」以外の史料については出典を明記している。内容では三大特筆といわれるもののうち、思想的に影響のあったのは、従来の常識を破って南朝を正統としたことである。この編纂事業を中心におこり、後世大成された学風を水戸学という。光圀と斉昭には「和文大日本史」の計画もあった。

［瀬谷義彦］

『『大日本史』全15巻（1911・吉川弘文館）』▽『『大日本史』全17巻（1929・大日本雄弁会）』

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