Episode 29: The August Founder

November 16, 2020 Joshua Badgley

Artist’s interpretation of the 10th sovereign, Sujin

This episode, we cover the rest of Mimaki Iribiko’s reign in the Chronicles and discuss a little more about what actual context may have looked like around that time—assuming his chronicle is talking about around the 3rd century, about the time of Queen Himiko.

To start with, let’s look at some of the connections I suggested with the Chronicles:

The Ministers of Yamato:

Kanji	Tsunoda	Kidder	Soumare
伊支馬	Ikima	Ikima	Ikima
彌馬升	Mimasho	Mimato	Mimashi
彌馬獲支	Mimagushi	Mimawaki	Mimakaki
奴佳鞮	Nakato	Nakato	Nakatei

Compare some of those with the sovereign, Mimaki Iribiko, and his son, Ikume Iribiko. Now, this isn’t evidence that any of this is remotely related, but we also know that there are differences just between the Chronicles themselves on the pronunciation of many of these individuals, so who knows just what the original pronunciation was?

Now when talking about all these places and what is going on, sometimes it just helps to have a map. One of the things we talk about in the episode is the extent to which the iron forging technology had extended across the archipelago. Note that these are forges, which can help shape iron, but they are not bloomeries, where they actually create the raw iron ingots from ore for smiths to then turn into useful items. The bloomeries appear to have operated as a monopoly on the mainland for some time, jealously guarding their secrets, and keeping the islands dependent on their trade.

Rough map, showing what may have been the extent of the early and later iron forging technologies. Based on geographic extent noted by Gina L. Barnes (Barnes, 2007) and a map by Ash_Crow, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The early iron forging technology can be seen here as roughly described by Gina L. Barnes. I’ve used a map with the ancient provinces, though borders were not quite that specific in ancient days, and the coloring shows the rough extent—there may be other areas that just have not yet been discovered and some of the colored areas may have actually had no real access to the technology—in other words, this is for illustrative purposes, but I’d suggest checking some truly scholarly source for more rigorous data.

Now, the later technology relies on a tuyere, or tube, which allows air to be pushed into the forge, which in turn increases the combustion, increasing the heat that is produced. Higher temperatures allow for more efficient and different types of forging. I don’t want to get into the complexities of iron metallurgy right here, but basically iron’s properties can be controlled by a variety of mechanisms, including the temperature you heat it to, how fast or slow it cools down, physical work hardening (like when you bend a paper clip so many times and it gets a little harder just before it snaps), and then adulterating the iron with carbon or other elements. These can produce different shapes in the structure of the iron itself, which is why iron, cast iron, steel, etc. are all so different.

That said, would it have been enough of a leap to make these sites technologically superior? And was that enough? Or was it just that because these particular areas were connected, when they got the technology it spread in those areas where forging technology had not already been found? Why didn’t the previous areas adopt the new technology? Was it too much for them to change their established processes, while in areas where it had not been established it was easy to simply adopt the contemporary technology? I am not sure I could say.\

However, we can compare the extent of the iron working technology to the spread of the later keyhole tombs that showed up in the beginning of the kofun period. Only a few small examples appear before Hashihaka and the Makimuku cluster. Below maps show areas that archaeologically were fairly active—they appear to have chiefly or kingly activities—and then the regions where we find the actual kofun built.

Areas identified as having politically active areas in the late Yayoi to start of the Kofun period. Light areas identified by Sasaki (1995) and dark areas by Mizoguchi (2000), as noted in Barnes (2007). Original map by Ash_Crow, CC BY-SA 3.0 via W… — Areas identified as having politically active areas in the late Yayoi to start of the Kofun period. Light areas identified by Sasaki (1995) and dark areas by Mizoguchi (2000), as noted in Barnes (2007). Original map by Ash_Crow, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. Modified by author.

Areas with keyhole tombs identified by Mizoguchi (2009). Areas are not precise, and any polity may not have had actual control in all of the shaded regions. Dark areas had round keyhole tombs, while shaded areas had square or other keyhole tomb s… — Areas with keyhole tombs identified by Mizoguchi (2009). Areas are not precise, and any polity may not have had actual control in all of the shaded regions. Dark areas had round keyhole tombs, while shaded areas had square or other keyhole tomb styles. Original map by Ash_Crow, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. Modified by author.

The question in all this remains: Why is this spreading from Kinki—from the Makimuku area—outward and why not from Northern Kyushu? After all, Northern Kyushu is closer to the mainland and should have better trade linkages. It isn’t like the court at the base of Mt. Miwa could just fly past and on to the continent themselves.

In truth, we really don’t know, but there are several hypothesis. One is that the Nara Basin provided enough rice paddies for significant population growth and that their position between eastern and western Honshu made them a natural trading point. It still doesn’t quite explain why the round keyhole tombs proliferated quite as they did—was it submission, or competition, or something else? There doesn’t seem to be a single answer just yet, though historians and archaeologists continue provide their theories.

One more thing, while we are talking about territories and maps: let’s take a look at the areas that the Chronicles appear to cover.

Rough map of the areas that appear to be described in the Chronicles related to Mimaki Iribiko’s reign. Original map by Ash_Crow, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. Modified by author.

Now, this map is my own creation, as there is nothing so precise in the Chronicle, and even then, its claims seem far more grandiose than what is shown here, even. Yamato likely only directly controlled the area of the southeast Nara basin. How much direct control they had beyond that is unknown—they must have had some power, but there is no archaeological evidence suggesting a unified state as we would think of it with direct control to much extent until several centuries later. Still, the areas that are discussed do appear to be areas that can be correlated with both the non-local pottery found at Makimuku and with some of the other geographic signs seen in the earlier maps. Still, this is conjecture as the directions that the four generals took is unfortunately rather vague. For instance, was the Eastern Road just following the coast, and was there any movement in the central part of Eastern Honshu? This mountainous region may have taken time to bring into any particular state, as one imagines that the valleys could have had numerous settlements that had no particular affiliation outside their own local group.

On Kibi

So I hope there might be enough on Kibi to eventually pull together an episode just on this place—an apparent powerhouse during the early and Kofun periods, but perhaps not known so well as other areas of Japan. This is in part due to how it was carved up into various other provinces—something that was not uncommon. Koshi (越), meaning “to go beyond”, was broken into three provinces—Echizen (越前), Etchū (越中), and Echigo (越後)—using the other reading of the kanji for “Koshi”. A similar process happened with Kibi (吉備), but they simply used the final character, creating Bizen (備前), Bitchū (備中), and Bingo (備後). Later, they would break off another portion to be known as Mimasaka (美作).

Of course, for all of its size and apparent importance, we don’t hear quite as much about the gods of Kibi—not like those of Izumo—though there does seem to be some bleed-over across the mountains, which is not entirely surprising. While we may not know everything about Kibi’s greatness, its position in the Kofun period seems quite clear by the number of large kofun that still dot the landscape.

The Plains of Kibi

View of the plains and distant Kojima, where the Kibi kingdom once thrived, looking towards the Seto Inland Sea.

Kibitsu Shrine

This is the shrine dedicated to Kibitsu Hiko in modern Okayama.

Kibitsu Inner Shrine

This is the inner shrine of Kibitsu Jinja

Momotaro, et al

Statue of Momotaro in downtown Okayama. Even today, he is a beloved figure in the city, and the people of Okayama claim him as one of their own.

Tsukuriyama Kofun

The largest kofun in Okayama and the 4th largest in the archipelago, this round keyhole shape tomb dates from the 5th century—a couple hundred years, give or take, after our current narrative. It is believed to be the burial place of a local “king”, given its tremendous size.

Ki no Jo (鬼ノ城)

The ”Demon's Castle” on the mountainside overlooking the plains of ancient Kibi. Though the gate and rammed earth walls have been partially reconstructed in modern times, people have long been aware of its presence in this area, spawning conjecture and inspiring local myths and legends.

Ki no Jo Gate

The reconstructed Ki no Jo gate. Again, this is many centuries past our current narrative

References

Ō, Yasumaro, & Heldt, G. (2014). The Kojiki: An account of ancient matters. ISBN978-0-231-16389-7
Kishimoto, Naofumi (2013). Dual Kingship in the Kofun Period as Seen from the Keyhole Tombs. UrbanScope: e-Journal of the Urban-Culture Research Center, OCU. http://urbanscope.lit.osaka-cu.ac.jp/journal/pdf/vol004/01-kishimoto.pdf
Mizoguchi, Koji. (2009). Nodes and Edges: A Network Approach to Hierarchisation and State Formation in Japan. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology - J ANTHROPOL ARCHAEOL. 28. 14-26. 10.1016/j.jaa.2008.12.001.
Barnes, Gina L. (2007). State Formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-Century Ruling Elite. Routlede. ISBN 9780415596282
Bentley, John. (2006). The Authenticity of Sendai Kuji Hongi: a New Examination of Texts, with a Translation and Commentary. ISBN-90-04-152253
Soumaré, Massimo (2007), Japan in Five Ancient Chinese Chronicles: Wo, the Land of Yamatai, and Queen Himiko. ISBN: 978-4-902075-22-9
Kidder, J. Edward (2007), Himiko and Japan's Elusive Chiefdom of Yamatai: Archaeology, History, and Mythology. ISBN: 978-0824830359
Barnes, Gina L. (1988). Protohistoric Yamato: Archaeology of the First Japanese State. ISBN 0-915703-11-4
Chamberlain, B. H. (1981). The Kojiki: Records of ancient matters. Rutland, Vt: C.E. Tuttle Co. ISBN4-8053-0794-3
Ledyard, G. (1975). Galloping along with the horseriders: looking for the founders of Japan. Journal of Japanese Studies. 1: 217-254
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

Episode 18: Ōnamuchi and the Epic Bromance

June 1, 2020 Joshua Badgley

Sukuna Bikona and Ōnamuchi hanging out at the hot springs in Iyo.

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Archives

This episode we take a look at the rest of the life of Ōnamuchi. After subduing his “brothers” around the Izumo area and marrying various ladies from all over, he went on to team up with the tiny kami from across the waves, Sukuna Bikona (少彦根).

Now many of the places in this episode can still be visited, today. One of the neat things visiting Japan can be finding some of these traditional locations mentioned all the way back in the 8th century.

The story from the Iyo Fudoki has the two of them meeting at hot spring in Ehime, and tradition claims that as Dōgo Onsen (道後温泉): https://dogo.jp/. Of course, it was a little less built up back then.

And then there is Mt. Miwa. Ōmiwa shrine (大神神社) is still going strong, and you can visit it in Sakurai: http://oomiwa.or.jp/. Of course, Mt. Miwa is near the Makimuku site from the Yayoi period, as well as near Hashihaka Kofun and many others.

Finally, there is Izumo Taisha, also pronounced Izumo Ōyashiro, (出雲大社): http://www.izumooyashiro.or.jp/. Of course, in this case, the shrine has definitely changed a bit.

Here are a few photos from the shrine. Unfortunately, when we were last there, the main shrine was under renovation, so I recommend checking it out at the link, above. There are several features of the shrine that make it unique. One was its height—though it used to be much taller than the current building, as can be seen in some of the reconstructions from the Kamakura period and earlier. Another is its orientation. For one thing, the entrance is under gables, rather than the eves. That means that the entrance is in line with the ridge pole, instead of perpendicular to it. This likely developed from the local architecture—it is quite probable that a house, or palace, would have similar features. I doubt it would be quite that high, but they have found Yayoi buildings that had significant pillars, indicating they likely were raised up to some height, such as the “palace” building of the Yoshinogari site, down in Kyūshū.

Ancient Izumo Taisha (Conjectural Model)

This is one thought of what the Izumo shrine may have looked like, originally, with a single, long staircase climbing up to the main shrine.

Ancient Izumo Taisha (Conjectural Model)

A side view, showing the grand staircase. This particular conjectural reconstruction does not appear to show the triple pillar design that was found in the excavation at the shrine site.

Kamakura Conjectural Model

This is a model of the shrine as it is believed to have looked during the Kamakura Period.

Edo Period Model

This is the model of the shrine as it was reconstructed in the Edo period, and is largely the basis for the current shrine. One can see that the large pillars are no longer used and the entire shrine building is much more similar to standard shrines, though it kept some of the unique features of the Taisha style.

Ancient shrine pillars

Bundles of three pillars were found during an excavation at the shrine. Here is a photo showing the size of the pillars

Location of the ancient pillars

The modern shrine has covered up the excavation, but marked the location of the original pillars so that visitors can still see where they once stood.

Yoshinogari Ceremonial Hall

This is a reconstructed “ceremonial hall” at the Yoshinogari site in Kyushu. Based on the remains of the pillars, it was assumed to be a building of some height. While many of the features are still conjectural, the idea of significantly raised structures does not appear to have been unique to Izumo.

Yoshinogari Ceremonial Hall

A view of the under structure of the reconstructed Ceremonial Hall of Yoshinogari. Again, I would stress that much of this is conjectural, but drawing on various features of traditional architecture, what is known, and what might be possible. Regardless, you can see how a large raised structure may have looked back in the Yayoi period.

So we see a lot of importance seemingly placed on Izumo. These early myths are often grouped together as the “Izumo Cycle”. I guess it does make sense to try to keep them together, since regional stories likely had a greater number of connections to other regional stories, and therefore fit together well.

Still, there are other signs of Izumo’s relative independence, many of which we have gone over in previous episodes and blog posts. We will also encounter it in various encounters between Izumo and Yamato. While many of the details are often glossed over, it was clear that there was a sometimes rocky relationship between these polities, even though Yamato and the royal court would seem to win out.

Next episode, we’ll actually go backwards (or forwards? ) to the Yayoi period again and take a look at the growth of the Izumo cultural area in the archaeological record.

For now, thanks for reading and we hope you enjoyed this episode!

References

Torrance, R. (2019). Ōnamochi: The Great God who Created All Under Heaven. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 46(2), 277-318. doi:10.2307/26854516
Ō, Yasumaro, & Heldt, G. (2014). The Kojiki: An account of ancient matters. ISBN978-0-231-16389-7
Ooms, Herman (2009). Imperial Politics and Symbolics in Ancient Japan: The Tenmu Dynasty, 650-800. ISBN 978-0-8248-3235-3
Bentley, John R (2006). The authenticity of Sendai kuji hongi : a new examination of texts, with a translation and commentary. Brill, Leiden ; Boston
Aoki, Michiko Yamaguchi (1997). Records of Wind and Earth: A Translation of Fudoki with Introduction and Commentaries. Association for Asian Studies. Translations of the Fudoki published online by the Japanese Historical Text Initiative of the University of California at Berkeley at https://jhti.berkeley.edu/NIJL%20gateway.html
Chamberlain, B. H. (1981). The Kojiki: Records of ancient matters. Rutland, Vt: C.E. Tuttle Co. ISBN4-8053-0794-3
Ellwood, Robert S (1973). The feast of kingship : accession ceremonies in ancient Japan. Sophia University, Tokyo
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

Episode 16: Susano'o Slays the Serpent... and does a bunch of other stuff

May 1, 2020 Joshua Badgley

Susan'o’o fighting Yamata no Orochi in the headwaters of the Hii River in Izumo Province, modern Shimane Prefecture, by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1839-1892. Image in the public domain.

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Susano’o’s descendants

Suga no Yuyama Nushi is also known as Yashima Jinmui no Kami. From him we have another five descendants listed, at least in the Kojiki:

Ōtoshi no Kami
Fuha no Mojikunusunu no Kami
Fukabuchi no Mizuyare Hana no Kami
Omizunu no Kami (known in the Izumo Fudoki as Yatsukamizu Omizunu no Mikoto who pulled the land of Izumo together)
Ame no Fuyukinu no Kami (who took Kusanagi back up to the Heavenly Plain)
Ōnamuchi no Kami, aka Ōkuninushi (the subject of our next episode)

Two of these have roles beyond just being a list of names. Yatsukamizu Omizunu could be read as the Lord of the Great Water, which in Izumo is probably the Hi River, though there are other bodies of water that it could be as well. So then this could be the Great Lord of the Hi River. And where did all of this start? At the Headwaters of that very same Hi River.

Omizunu isn’t given a lot of screentime in the Kojiki, and pretty much none in the Nihon Shoki, likely because he isn’t directly related to the story of the Imperial line, and remember, that’s the story that the Chronicles were commissioned to tell. They didn’t need to muck it up with even more stories, as much as some of us wish they had. And so Omizunu’s biggest accomplishment goes almost unreported: the Kunibiki, or Land Pulling episode. This is one of the few myths that is completely laid out in the Izumo Fudoki—most are simply referenced in conjunction with the various locations. That would seem to indicate that it had a certain amount of importance to the people of the region. So we’ll want to talk about this more when we really dig into Izumo as a whole, but the land-pulling story goes something roughly like this: Omizunu decided that the land of Izumo was too small—it was like a thin strip of cloth, so he was going to sew some pieces on. He decided to pull pieces of land over from Silla, from the islands north of Izumo, and even from Koshi—thought to be the Hokuriku area. He pulled in land from all of these places, anchored them to Mt. Sahime, and essentially built Izumo.

Mt. Sahime, today, is known as Mt Sanbe, and what river runs south of it? The Gou no Kawa, or our Ye River.

Omizunu’s progeny has his own 15 minutes of fame in the spotlight. He is the one that takes Ama no Murakumo and delivers it to the kami of the Heavenly Plain. We will later see his son, Ōnamuchi, giving up much more—but that’s still yet to come in our story, so we won’t get too far ahead of ourselves.

Speaking of swords, many of the swords are measured in terms of “hands”—this is assumed to be about the width of a palm (so thumb to little finger, rather than wrist to fingertip). If so, a 10 hand sword would probably be about a meter long. This is not that long as far as some later swords go, but plenty long when we consider most of the “swords” we find in the earlier periods are more like daggers. But during the Kofun period they had plenty of swords that were long enough to qualify, so it could be something like one of these:

Kofun era swords at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Of course, Murakumo, later known as Kusanagi, is part of the imperial regalia. There are still questions as to whether or not it is the original or a copy—after all, some say that the original was lost at the battle of Dannoura during the Gempei Wars—but regardless it is rarely seen and kept at Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya. We will definitely be talking about it again. I’ve seen pictures that claim to be drawings of the sword, but haven not been able to verify any of them.

And that’s it for this blog post. I hope that people are staying healthy and sane.

References

Ō, Yasumaro & Heldt, G. (2014). The Kojiki: An account of ancient matters. ISBN978-0-231-16389-7
Ooms, Herman (2009). Imperial Politics and Symbolics in Ancient Japan: The Tenmu Dynasty, 650-800. ISBN978-0-8248-3235-3
Bentley, J. (2006). The Authenticity of Sendai Kuji Hongi. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. Retrieved May 1, 2020, from https://brill.com/view/title/12964
Gadaleva, E. (2000). Susanoo: One of the Central Gods in Japanese Mythology. Japan Review,(12), 165-203. Retrieved April 18, 2020 from www.jstor.org/stable/25791053
Aoki, Michiko Yamaguchi (1997) Records of Wind and Earth: A Translation of Fudoki with Introduction and Commentaries. Association for Asian Studies. As hosted on the Japanese Historical Text Initiative of the University of California, Berkely, https://jhti.berkeley.edu/index.html
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