黃泉國的故事是日本人眾所周知的神話故事，不過「黃泉國」一詞，其實只存在於《古事記》之中。《日本書紀》裡雖有「黃泉」或是「泉國」等說法，但是並無「黃泉國」這般的稱呼。《日本書紀》的正文甚至沒有敘述黃泉國的故事，其相關故事僅存於正文之後的數個一書之中而已。 從這個事實我們可以知道：所謂的「黃泉國」，其實是《古事記》特有的稱呼，同時，此稱呼背後所象徵的世界亦是《古事記》特有的世界。 然而，這個僅存在於《古事記》的「黃泉國」，究竟是一個怎樣的世界呢？它在《古事記》之中又具有何種的性格呢？《古事記》究竟要透過這個世界來傳達什麼訊息呢？這些問題的釐清，當然有助於我們更加深層地掌握《古事記》之構造。因此本論文以黃泉國的故事為分析對象，探討「黃泉國」在《古事記》中的性格以及其所扮演的角色。

The Yominokuni story is a popular fairy tale for Japanese, but the term, Yominokuni, in fact exists in Kojiki only. In Nihonshoki there are similar wordings like Yomi or Yomotsukuni and so on, but no the term of Yominokuni. Even in 'the text' of Nihonshoki there is not any description about the Yominokuni story. Its relevant narrations are recorded in the reference versions behind the text. What we can find from this fact is: the so-called Yominokuni is actually a special term in Kojiki and a special world in Kojiki behind its symbolization. However, what kind of world is Yominokuni that is recorded in Kojiki only? What kind of characteristic is it in Kojiki? What message does Kojiki want to convey in it? To clarify these questions is definitely helpful for us to know well the structure of Kojiki in depth. For this reason, this thesis targets the Yominokuni story to study the characteristic and role of Yominokuni in Kojiki.