SOURCE: Alexander Vannovsky, in an introduction and "The Search for a Subject," in Volcanoes and the Sun, Bridgeway Press, 1960, pp. 11-29, 68-83.

Previous to 1960, scholars cast the central conflict of the Kojiki in terms of sun and storm; Vannovsky amended these to sun and volcano, noting both the significance of volcanoes in Japanese geology and culture and their absence as explicit references in the Kojiki. In the first part of the following excerpt, he relates the essential material of the mythological portion of the Kojiki focusing especially on the Susano-o tales. In the second part, Vannovsky examines that portion through the lens of his central thesis.

The original Kojiki is preceded by an introduction by the author, Oono Yasumaro, which clarifies the circumstances surrounding this literary movement and how he finally became its author.

The introduction relates that about the time of the reign of Emperor Temmu (673-...