I will not try to get any fancier with descriptive words than what the title of my review says. Even if I wanted to say more, I would not know where to begin. Drama, tenderness, danger, mystery, heartbreak and heroics. It's all here. This thing is so rich in scope, it could be the film score to an epic story.

While the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra does make an appearance to give the work a full, rich dramatic sound, this is not the score to a film. Rather, it is Kitaro's musical portrait of the ancient mythological story of the birth of the islands of Japan. Each piece tells a part of the story, and fittingly,that story is related in the liner notes if you care to read it. You don't have to read the story, but it might help you to appreciate the drama and passion of the music all the more as the scenes play themselves out in your mind while you listen to these great pieces of music.

1. Hajimari - (The Beginning) This starts of grandly with keyboard effects, thunder, a synthesized heartbeat and ominous but grand string hits. It tells of the beginnings of the creation of the islands, born out of turbulence.

2 Sozo - (The Birth Of A Land)This is in the same spirit, at first, as Hajimari, but it features much more and very lovely instrumentation, from harps and flutes to wonderful keyboard melodies and majestic drum hits in spots. Whereas the first track was ominous and darkly thrilling, this one is regal and poignant with heart-touching beauty. The interplay of all the instruments is spectacular. This one made me cry when I first heard it. Bring your Kleenex.

3- Koi - This deals with, according to the story, the death of the mother of the Japanese fire god and his expulsion from his home, as his father thinks him weak for giving in to emotion. There is a beautifully poignant flute melody in here, but the whole thing is brilliant, it has a feel of sadness, wandering, desolation, but also near the end a sense of hope, as the wanderer is taken in by a sister AND gets his first taste of love. The music tells these things expertly with tender wordless melodies that grab the heart and hold onto it for dear life.

4- Orochi - This, to me, is the darkest, yet grandest piece of the album. It concerns a brutal fight between the Japanese fire god and a terrible seven-headed dragon, with the fate of a village and the fair maiden Kushinadahime at stake (her sisters were eaten by the dragon, Orochi). The track is a masterpiece of tense plucked strings, foreboding adventurous drums and keyboards, soaring, majestic flute, and driving electric guitar in places. It truly is a masterful musical depiction of a grand and desperate battle to save a treasure held dearly in our beloved hero's heart.

5. Nageki- This one is just SAD, but the flute melody in here is BEAUTIFUL and combines wonderfully with mournful strings. Our hero is again wandering, looking for a place of welcome and acceptance....Will he find it? Listen and find out. Maybe he will. Just maybe...

6. The Festival- This is the quickest most festive track of the album. It features heroic drums, dancing beautiful flute work, nice keyboard touches, and a brief chant somewhere in the middle, I think. According to the story, the festival was a trick to lure the sun goddess Hikaru out of a cave where she had sequestered herself in grief, thereby plunging the islands of Japan into darkness. They had to get that sunlight back after all. :)

7. Reimi - (New Land) This is esentially a reprise of Track 2 (Sozo, Birth Of A Land). It fits here, because it musically tells us that the quest of the hero is done, that Japan's islands are restored to pristine glory, and that everything is well. Yes, the hero and the maiden are married and everyone is happy. Yay!!! :)

In short, this to me is the best album Kitaro has ever done. Whether you agree with me on that or not, I think you will like this album if you pick it up. It just might make you a fan of Kitaro once you hear it if you are not a fan of his work already. God bless you.

Kojiki is the original Japanese storybook that retells the core myths of Japanese folklore. These are the tales that underlie the Shinto faith, long before Buddhism and Confucianism took their hold on Japanese culture. As such the have a rough and tumble, tongue in cheek side that makes the stories unique to Western eyes. What they lack lack in terms of refinement they more than make up for in color and imagination.

Kitaro's approach to the Kojiki tales is to focus one the creation stories, starting with the creation of the islands, and climaxing in an intense and lurid dance that lures the sun goddess out of her cave, restoring the light and establishing Japan's royal line. The story offers many of the elements that 'program' music thrives on, and Kitaro is quick to take advantage of the resources available to him.

My first experience with the music was in concert, during Kitaro's world tour. Previously I thought of Kitaro as a bland, but enjoyable, creator of electronic music. My new age preferences were (and still are) for acoustic musicians, and Kitaro's recognizable style was cloying after much listening. What I discovered at the concert was that Kitaro in person is a completely different phenomenon that Kitaro on DVD.

Kojiki's wild emotional swings, from plaintive to ecstatic, make for compelling music. But the performance, with atmospheric special effects and Kitaro leaping from instrument to instrument was extraordinary. He finished to a standing ovation that was well earned. Since that time my appreciation for what the player/composer was trying to accomplish has grown with each playing.

This is an excellence place to start your discovery of Kitaro, and a required possession if you are a regular listener.

need a high end audio system to really appreciate the impact and beauty of this album. Fantastic! It has everything you are looking for from a instrumental masterpiece. I alway like to compare Kitaro as Oriental Vangelis, while the former has more melody, delicacy and sensitivity. 'Kojiki' is heart-achingly beautiful.

I have the regular version, not the Remastered Recording. Would guess the latter would sound even more spetacular.

If you want buy only one work of Kitaro's, this is the one.

I have been a fan of Kitaro's since I passed by the New Age section in my local bookstore when I lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and decided to buy one of his cds to try it out. I was not disappointed. Kitaro has revolutionized the world of music and his compelling style brings out innate mystical qualities that are dramatic and a-flourish. He has the unique talent to storytell through a single note, and in this album he has created a masterpiece that verges on near-perfection. I have since listened to many other New Age works and none have managed to inspire and astound as much as Kitaro has.

I was just listening to "Kojiki" today. I hadn't listened to this CD in the longest time (a couple years to be exact), and I still find it moving and uplifting after all this time! All seven songs are excellent especially "Reimei".