Except for the conflict over the imperial succession by Emperor Suizei, descriptions given in "Kojiki" and "Nihon Shoki" about the eight emperors from Emperor Suizei to Emperor Kaika are limited to their genealogies (imperial pedigrees) and since no descriptions of their achievements (historical developments) are given, these eight generations of emperors are collectively called the "eight missing generations."
なお、綏靖天皇から開化天皇までの初期8人の天皇について、綏靖即位前のこの皇位継承争いを除けば、記紀には系譜（帝紀）のみが伝えられ、事績（旧辞）が全く記されていないため、一般にまとめて「欠史八代」と称される。