This episode we start to wind down the 3rd Century and begin our trip into the 4th with Keiko—aka Ōtarashi Hiko Oshiro Wake no Mikoto. Most of our information on this sovereign actually comes from sources outside of the Kojiki, which has only a passing entry for this sovereign, focusing instead on the romantic hero, Yamato Takeru. Our other sources, though, have a fair amount to go by, though even then we are still working off of mostly what we can only assume is oral tradition.

Map of the Campaign

This map gives a rough idea of the possible route described in the Chronicles, assuming placenames are correct. It is not exact, and the borders are based on later province boundaries, which may not match up exactly with the territories of the ancient countries, which may have been more like collections of city-states without well-defined borders as we might think of them. In addition, it is unclear if there was any central authority or if it was simply a collection of alliances—as noted, there is no good evidence for any truly hierarchical relationships at this stage. That said, the areas of Tsukushi and Toyo, including Ōita, were areas that showed political activity in the Yayoi and into the Kofun period. Furthermore, at the Saitobaru Kofun Group (“7” on the map), we do have evidence of kofun building from at least the 3rd century. So it fits with our timeline, and there may even be some evidence of fighting at some of the locations mentioned, though it is hard to exactly pinpoint when, let alone whether or not it was connected by an invading force from Yamato.

Armor and Weapons of the Early 4th Century

Since we are talking about military engagements, it is good to get an idea of the weapons and armor of this time. It seems clear that there were iron swords of various types available, but iron armor seems new. There may have been some iron armor sent in the 3rd century with requests to the Wei and Jin courts, but if so, I’m not sure that it has been verified. Of the armor we do have, it seems to date to the early 4th century. It is often called a tankō (短甲), though that is not how it would have been referred to at the time, and simply means “short armor”. Some have challenged this term, and instead refer to it simply as an iron cuirass of vertical plates. These early body armors were likely held on with straps at the shoulders and otherwise secured at the hips. It is not an uncommon shape for torso protection across the world, and a similar design is seen in different cultures at different times.

Prior to this, we have only limited armor styles, primarily made out of organic material—in this case wood. Wood, even lacquered, is not going to last long in acidic soil, and so it is unsurprising that so little has survived. These pieces, centuries apart and quite different, don’t give us enough to really know what was going on with armor development, other than the briefest glimpse. Did these wooden armors continue, dwindling as iron armors came into use? Or was there something else entirely? Functionally, the 2nd century armor seems similar to the 4th century example, and it would not be hard to imagine armors of wooden vertical slats similar to the iron construction, or even more elaborate wooden armors, similar to later iron models. Unfortunately, unless we find more examples, it will be hard to say for certain.

Dramatis Personae

Here we will talk about some of the figures in the story so you can try to keep them straight.

Ōtarashi Hiko Oshiro Wake no Mikoto - The 12th sovereign of Yamato, son of Ikume Iribiko. He is our main protagonist in this campaign. Aka Keikō Tennō

Take Morogi - One of Ōtarashi Hiko’s advanced scouts, sent ahead to see what there was in the land. He came up with the plan to defeat the brigands in Toyo.

Kamuhashi Hime - Recognized in the Chronicles as the ruler of her country, which would appear to be Toyo. She presents herself with all the trappings of a sovereign, just like Yamato—the sword, the mirror, and the magatama, all hung up in the branches she affixed to the front of her boat. She told the Yamato forces about the brigands in her area. Her home was at a place called Nagao—possibly Yukuhashi City.

Hanatari, Mimitari, Asahagi, and Tsuchiori-iori - The four brigand leaders of Toyo. They each lived at the headwaters (kawakami) of different areas: Usa, Mike, Takawa, and Midorino. Of those, Usa, is perhaps the most prominent, being the home of Usa Shrine. They are accused of taking on “unauthorized titles” and giving out chieftainships to their family members.

Haya tsu Hime - The Lady of Haya. She is not accorded the same status as Kamuhashi Hime, but seems to function in a similar role. Her home is Hayami, in “Ōgita”, which was later “Ōita”. She tells the Yamato forces about the Tsuchigumo up in the hills of Negino.

Ao and Shiro - Literally “Blue” and “White”, these are the names of two of the Tsuchigumo who live with their followers in caves in the country of Ōita.

Uchizaru, Yata, and Kunimaro - The three Tsuchigumo that live around Mt. Negi and Negi moor (Negino), in the western areas of modern Ōita Prefecture. After Yata is killed, Uchizaru and his forces commit suicide rather than let themselves be killed by the Yamato forces.

Atsu Kaya and Sa Kaya - The two leaders of the Kumaso. Sometimes called the Kumaso Takeru, or Kumaso Braves.

Ichifu Kaya and Ichi Kaya - Two daughters of one of the Kumaso leaders. Ichifu Kaya eventually betrays her father and he is killed. In the end, she, herself, is put to death for this unfilial act. Ichi Kaya goes off to marry the Kuni no Miyatsuko of Ki no Kuni.

Izumi Hime - Lord of the country of Murokata. This is thought to be there area around Kirishima, though I would note there is also an “Izumi” on the shores of the Yatsushiro Sea. She meets the Yamato forces north of Hinamori Peak, an area known today as Kobayashi.

Hinamori the Elder and Hinamori the Younger - Two members of Ōtarashi Hiko’s retinue. It is unclear if they are from Yamato or if they were local lords in the area of Hinamori, modern Kobayashi. They don’t show up except in that part of the narrative.

Kuma tsu Hiko the Elder and Kuma tsu Hiko the Younger - A pair of “princes” of “Kuma” It is not entirely clear if they are considered Kumaso—their names are more titles than name, and little can really be gleaned form jsut what is in the chronicles

Tsudzura - A Tsuchigumo in the land of Tamakina, in Hi no Kuni—modern Tamana city. He was killed by the Yamato soldiers.

Kumaso - A group of people living in Southern Kyūshū—possibly throughout the entire island. Believed to possibly be two groups, the Kuma and the So. “Kuma” is still a common element in placenames in southern Kyūshū, including Kumamoto Prefecture. All DNA and linguistic evidence points to them being a Wa people distinct from, but similar too, the people in Yamato.

Hayato - Another group of people living in Southern Kyūshū, similar but distinct from the Kumaso—maybe. At least in the later centuries they are treated as distinct.

Tsuchigumo - It is unclear exactly what is meant by this term, other than a people outside of Yamato without an otherwise clean designation. It is used for groups in Yamato, in Kyūshū, as well as over in the Kantō and Tōhoku regions. Some have suggested they were remnants of Jōmon populations still living in the islands, but there is no evidence of that, and they could easily be Wa people who have adapted to a different sytle of life, living more in caves and pit dwellings than the later Yayoi and early Kofun Wa people.

Locations of Interest

Suwo/Suō (周防国) - An old country/province on the Seto Inland Sea coast, just east of Nagato. Today it is part of eastern Yamaguchi Prefecture. The name persists in the name of Hōfu City (防府市), which seems to indicate the old government seat of Suō, near the Saba River. Indeed, there is evidence of the old provincial capital and numerous kofun in the area.

Toyo (豊国) - This country likely spanned across much of modern Ōita Prefecture and parts of eastern Fukuoka prefecture, covering the northeast quadrant of Kyūshū. It was later broken up into Front and Back Toyo: Buzen (豊前) and Bungo (豊後).

Himuka/Hyūga (日向国) - The ancient country (and later, province) that covered much of modern Miyazaki Prefecture. This area played a special part in the early foundation myths of the Yamato Royal line, and there are many places connected to the early stories of Yamato and the Heavenly Rock Cave found in this area, today.

Murokata (諸縣) - Apparently a district, country, or area in the middle of Himuka, today it signifies a district from modern Kirishima, north to the border of Miyazaki Prefecture.

Hi (肥国) - The Nihon Shoki says that his was named the “Fire Country” and relates numerous fire-related phenomena. It is interesting, however, that the word for fire, “Hi” seems to be the same as the word for sun, “Hi”, and I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t some connection between the two. The country of Hi would eventually be broken up into Hizen (肥前) and Higo (肥後).

Tsukushi (筑紫国) - Tsukushi is the name sometimes used to refer to the entire island of Kyūshū, in which case it is more properly “Tsukushi-no-shima”, and sometimes it is used to refer to the areas of modern Fukuoka and Saga as “Tsukushi-no-kuni”. This is the area where much of the later administration of the remote provinces of the island would take place, housed at the Dazaifu, a second capital for overseeing the frontier and the trade with the mainland. That was still some years out, however. For our purposes, we will simply skirt the southern and eastern edge of the country. Later it would be split up in Chikuzen (筑前) and Chikugo (筑後).

References

• Barnes, G., & Ryan, J. (2015). Armor in Japan and Korea. Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, p. 1-16. DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-7747-7_10234

• Ō, Yasumaro, & Heldt, G. (2014). The Kojiki: An account of ancient matters. ISBN978-0-231-16389-7

• KISHIMOTO, Naofumi (2013, May). Translated by Ryan, Joseph. Dual Kingship in the Kofun Period as Seen from the Keyhole Tombs. UrbanScope e-Journal of the Urban-Culture Research Center, OCU, Vol.4 (2013) 1-21. ISSN 2185-2889 http://urbanscope.lit.osaka-cu.ac.jp/journal/vol.004.html

• Bentley, John. (2006). The Authenticity of Sendai Kuji Hongi: a New Examination of Texts, with a Translation and Commentary. ISBN-90-04-152253

• Chamberlain, B. H. (1981). The Kojiki: Records of ancient matters. Rutland, Vt: C.E. Tuttle Co.  ISBN4-8053-0794-3

• Aston, W. G. (1972). Nihongi, chronicles of Japan from the earliest times to A.D. 697. London: Allen & Unwin. ISBN0-80480984-4

• Philippi, D. L. (1968). Kojiki. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN4-13-087004-1