Description

Take a step back in time to the origins of Japan’s creation myth— told here for the very first time in illustrated form.

In the beginning there was nothing — a void. Then the heavens and the earth took shape, as the ancient gods of Japan breathed the first sparks of life into these islands. The 1,300–year-old Kojiki myth traces the beginnings of the Japanese people following the rise of the Japanese islands, from their humble origins as a lump of clay to a great nation that would one day take its rightful place among the leading nations of the world.

Like all creation myths from around the world, the Kojiki story occupies a treasured place in the nation’s literature and collective imagination. Kazumi Wilds’s striking illustrations capture the drama and intensity of a mythic tale where chaos and demons are unleashed and where darkness is slowly pushed back by the righteous, as good prevails over evil.

Kojiki: The Birth of Japan combines the raucous rhythms and startling imagery of today’s best graphic novels with a retelling of a classic and timeless Japanese story. This book will be remembered and treasured for years to come by lovers of mythology, folklore and anyone interested in Japanese culture and history.