Except for the first Rikkokushi (Nihon Shoki, The Chronicles of Japan), and the second (Shoku Nihongi, The Chronicles of Japan, Continued), all National Histories of Japan were concerned only with recording the reigns of each successive emperor.
日本の正史は、日本書紀はともかく、続日本紀以降は「むしろ一つの王朝の歴代の君主の統治記録としての性格」を持っていた。