Its first parts, ‘Book of
Heaven’Heaven’ and ‘Book of
Earth’,Earth’, were recorded and edited around 660 B.C. (according to the Nihonshoki calendar) by Kushimikatama-Wanihiko. His descendant, Ootataneko, recorded the third part, ‘Book of Man’, which contains the stories after Emperor Jinmu (660 B.C.), and offered the complete Hotsuma Tsutae to Emperor Keiko (the 12th Emperor) in A.D. 126. The origin of the Hotsuma Tsutae is controversial. It is guessed to be very old while some researchers challenge the dates written above. Copies of Hotsuma Tsutae have been stored in iwamuro (cave storage) in a Tendai temple at
enryaku ji (hiei(hiei zan, zan, Kyôto). These copies may have been given to Saichô (767–822), the founding priest of
enryaku ji.ji. Tendai priests were also known to give lectures on the Hotsuma Tsutae.