ABSTRACT
The Kiki interpretation by Motoori Norinaga (1730-1801), the early-modern scholar of Nativism, lays the foundation for our present-day understanding of Japanese myths. This chapter reveals how Motoori’s theories and his preference for the Kojiki over the Nihon shoki, which reflects his theory of mono no aware (“an aesthetic, empathetic feeling toward things”), continue to influence our interpretation and evaluation of the content of the Kiki texts. In many respects, in the late eighteenth century, changes in the interpretation of classic Japanese myths intellectually paved the way for Japan’s modernity.
