What is the Miraiki?
The Miraiki (“Record of the Future”) is a book said to have been written by Prince Shotoku (Umayado no Miko) of the Asuka period, foretelling future events in Japan. It is also called “Prince Shotoku’s Miraiki” or “Taishi Miraiki.” No genuine Miraiki written by Prince Shotoku survives today, and its very existence belongs to legend.
The Nihon Shoki says that Prince Shotoku “knew things before they happened,” and this superhuman image of the prince is thought to have given rise to the legend of the book of prophecy.
The Miraiki in the Taiheiki and Kusunoki Masashige
The most famous Miraiki story is a scene in the Nanboku-cho-period war chronicle Taiheiki. In 1332, Kusunoki Masashige visited Shitennoji Temple in Osaka and was shown Prince Shotoku’s Miraiki, kept secret at the temple. It contained a cryptic prophecy meaning roughly: “In the reign of the 95th human emperor, the realm will fall into disorder once, and the fish of the east (the Hojo clan) will be swallowed by the heavenly king of the west (Emperor Go-Daigo).” Masashige read this as a prophecy of Go-Daigo’s victory and the fall of the Kamakura shogunate, which later came true, it is said.
The many Miraiki of the medieval period
In the late Heian period, a prophetic stone inscription (gokimon) said to have been written by the prince was reportedly found near his mausoleum, and documents claiming to be “the prince’s Miraiki” appeared in many places afterward. In medieval Japan, many such books of prophecy were made and passed on to explain the disorder of the times and natural disasters. Today most of them are considered forgeries made in later times using Prince Shotoku’s name.
Modern urban legends of the Miraiki
Even today, the Miraiki is sometimes presented on TV and online as “Prince Shotoku’s prophecy” said to have foretold a coming great disaster or the relocation of the capital. However, no reliable old text containing such content has been confirmed. It is sometimes presented alongside the French Prophecies of Nostradamus as a book of prophecy.
