01

To the Reader / 読者のみなさんへ

Table of contents

The Historical Institute of Hyogo Prefecture was established in Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History in April, 2015. Three research groups were set up, including Harima no kuni fudoki – “Records of the Local Customs of Harima Province” Research Group. Since then, several specialists of history and archaeology have been collaborating to conduct research on the Fudoki. The results of our research were published in November, 2021, as a book entitled Harima no Kuni Fudoki no Kodaishi (Kobe Shimbun Publishing Center).
This Japanese book consists of 38 individual articles, and the authors belong to the following organisations: the Historical Institute of Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History, the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Archeology, the Shimane Prefectural Ancient Culture Center and the Awaji Island Japan Heritage Committee. Also some other colleagues who have been pursuing the regional history of Ancient Japan for a long time contributed to the writing. Each article is self-contained and written in an easy-to-understand format for readers.
Immediately after the publication of this book, we received a request from Dr. Edwina Palmer, a scholar of Japanese Studies, to translate each of the articles it contains into English as part of the international dissemination of Japanese studies. She is the author of Harima Fudoki―A Record of Ancient Japan Reinterpreted, Translated, Annotated, and with Commentary, which was published in 2016 as a monograph in the series of Brill’s Japanese Studies Library, Netherlands. It was the first such monograph entirely dedicated to translating the text of Harima Fudoki into English. Through its publication, our institute got acquainted with her. Therefore we welcomed this offer and arranged with her to translate all articles into English one by one, exchanging drafts regarding the names of archaeological sites and places mentioned in the Fudoki by means of internet correspondence between Japan and New Zealand. We were delighted to obtain permission from the Kobe Shimbun General Publishing Center to upload the English version of this book on our website.
After this long-term collaboration, the English version of Harima no Kuni Fudoki no Kodaishi is launched through the Museum’s website as Ancient Japan through Harima no Kuni Fudoki.
We look forward to receiving comments and reviews from readers both in Japan and abroad.
Finally, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to Dr. Edwina Palmer for her devoted efforts in translating and annotating.

読者のみなさんへ

このコーナーでは、これまで『播磨国風土記』に登場する興味深い神話や、地名の起源・説話などを当時の郡ごとに示してきました。この度、ひょうご歴史研究室による研究成果、『「播磨国風土記」の古代史』(神戸新聞総合出版センター、2021年)の38編の論文を、ニュージーランド在住の日本文学者、エドウィーナ・パーマー氏の全面的なご協力を得て、英訳にて紹介いたします。

02

Preface / はじめに

This book aims to inform the general public about the research being conducted by the Harima no Kuni Fudoki Research Group of The Historical Research Institute of Hyōgo Prefecture, (hereafter abbreviated to ‘the Institute’) which was founded by Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of History in April of 2015.
The research group currently comprises ten people, among whom the researchers of historical sources have been collaborating since the beginning of the year 2000. The position they took then was twofold: to work in close cooperation with local government officers and private research groups in local areas, and to actively conduct fieldwork and ethnological surveys. Based on these, we were able to publish Fudoki kara miru kodai no Harima [Ancient Harima, as seen through Fudoki] (Sakae Wataru (ed.), Kōbe Shimbun Sōgō Shuppan Sentā) in 2007. The present monograph aims to publicise the knowledge we have gained in the interim. But the two principles noted above remain as important as ever to our research.
Harima no Kuni Fudoki (hereafter Harima Fudoki) is one of the administrative reports compiled in each of the provinces upon receiving orders from the government in 713 CE for its compilation and submission to higher authorities. The so-called fudoki for five provinces are extant: Hitachi, Izumo, Bungo, and Hizen, in addition to Harima. Of these, the text of Harima Fudoki is regarded as having been written by 716. But the Sanjō Nishi family scroll which belonged to a family of courtiers in Kyōto is believed to be the sole manuscript copy, and it only became known about towards the end of the Tokugawa period. Tales about the origins of place names are contained in it for a total of ten kōri, excluding those for Akō and Akashi Kōri. These amount to more than 360 place name origin stories, and they contain vivid fragments of local myths, and tales that reflect what life was like in Harima under the rule of the Yamato Court in the fifth to seventh centuries. We outlined the content and the establishment and transmission of copies in the ‘Overview’ at the end of Fudoki kara miru kodai no Harima, to which we refer you for further details.
The present volume comprises thirty-eight essays that elucidate Harima Fudoki through the historical literature and archaeology. The seventeen authors represent a colourful lineup, including our collaborative institution of Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of Archaeology, members of Shimane Prefectural Centre of Ancient Culture and the Awaji Island Japan Heritage Committee, and friends who have long been involved in local history research—apart from the members of the Institute themselves.
During the Covid pandemic we were no longer able to meet in person, but over the course of about sixteen months we held a total of twenty-six online meetings. We did not always reach agreement among authors about their interpretations of history or sources, and responsibility for the content of each essay lies with its author himself. But we are confident that we are presenting the most recent results of research in each of the fields included.
In Chapter 1 “Harima and the Yamato Court”, we have collected together essays on the political history of ancient Harima. In this field, we have greatly advanced our understanding of control over Harima by the Yamato polity from the fifth to seventh centuries through such aspects as the traffic in Tatsuyama stone, reconsideration of the kuni no miyatsuko system and miyake, and how to interpret the Great Deity of Iwa. This chapter contains ten such essays.
Chapter 2 is titled “Roads in Harima and interregional transportation”. We wrote on the theme of “Transport and interregional transportation” in Chapter 6 of Fudoki kara miru kodai no Harima, so in the present chapter we have gathered essays specifically related to ‘Harima’s roads’. We have turned our attention not only to official roads (kandō) under the ritsuryō system, but also to the ancient customary roads of preceding times; and clarified aspects of regional development based on identifying where roads went and the various transportation routes. Some of these contributions were stimulated by the research results published in Hyōgo Rekishi Kenkyūshitsu Kiyō [Bulletin of The Historical Research Institute of Hyōgo Prefecture], No. 6, 2021, on the theme of ‘Harima’s roads’.
We have one major premise for Chapter 3, “The Coast of Ōsaka Bay and the ama people of Awaji Island”. The Harima no Kuni Fudoki Research Group has been collaborating with Awaji Island Japan Heritage Committee since 2017, and we have been conducting joint research into the ama people and myths of ancient Awaji Island. The essays contained in this chapter are the result of that research. It has become apparent that the ama people were a community that were mobile over a large area, and were allied with Yamato’s power over the regions in each period.
In Chapter 4, “Local lifestyle and Harima’s religious festivals”, we deal with life under harsh environmental conditions in ancient times, the role that rituals and festivals played regarding marriage and reproduction at the time, the history of battling against epidemics and natural disasters, and the reality of ritual in Harima from the archaeological record.
Incidentally, apart from one tale in the entry in Harima Fudoki referring to the ‘stone deity’ of Kami Island, there is absolutely no information at all about Buddhism or Buddhist temples. This is in stark contrast to Izumo no Kuni Fudoki, which even records whether or not there was a resident Buddhist priest and who the founder of the temple was. Nevertheless, the remains of several Hakuhō period [673–686 CE] Buddhist temples have been identified in the Harima region, and there is the well-known entry in Nihon Shoki in which the reinstated priest of Harima Eben appears. It is indisputable that Buddhism had become widespread and penetrated deeply into Harima Province. So Chapter 5 “Ancient temples and Buddhism in Harima” takes up this theme, and presents the latest results of research into three related fields: the history of Buddhist sculpture, Buddhist literature and archaeology.
Next, fundamental results have moved apace in research into Harima Fudoki within the field of Japanese literature. Edwina Palmer, a scholar of Japanese literature in New Zealand, has reevaluated Harima Fudoki as ‘oral literature’, and appraises it as having ‘world heritage’ value. Likewise the history of the reception of Harima Fudoki research is being furthered. This means not only examining how we treat the history of Fudoki around the time it was written in the Nara period, but also how copies of it were received and transmitted in later times, from the Middle Ages through to the end of the Edo period and into the modern era. We are steadily gaining understanding about the society and ideology, and the existence of personal communications and networks regarding Harima Fudoki in each historical time period. Chapter 6, “The ancient period in Harima and written sources” presents essays related to this.
The essays in this volume can be read as stand-alone articles or starting from anywhere in the book. But we would be delighted if you would read the whole, while deepening your understanding of, and familiarity with, the Harima region. We hope that local residents will call upon Harima Fudoki to help revitalise their communities.

Wataru SAKAE
Editor-in-Chief
Coordinator of Research, The Historical Institute of Hyōgo Prefecture, Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of History.

October 2021

03

Explanatory Notes / 凡例と郡別マップ

Explanatory notes to the Japanese text

• Where necessary, furigana (phonetic gloss) has been added to historical terminology, place names, etc., the first time they appear in each of the articles. In principle, these are in modern kana usage, but in some proper nouns they have followed customary usage. e.g., 揖保 Ihibo, 品太天皇 King Homuda.
• The title Harima no Kuni Fudoki appears frequently in the text, so it has been abbreviated throughout to Harima Fudoki, except for first mention and in headings. Likewise, Izumo Fudoki, Hizen Fudoki, etc., denotes Izumo no Kuni Fudoki, Hizen no Kuni Fudoki.
• Similarly, Kojiki and Nihon Shoki are abbreviated to Ki 記 and Ki 紀 respectively in the Japanese text, or Kiki referring to both, except upon first mention or in headings.
• The orthography (i.e., the Chinese-style characters used for the writing) of place names in Harima Province varies a great deal, so in principle we have followed those of their appearance in Harima no Kuni Fudoki. However, this is not necessarily so in the case of quotations from other sources.

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• In the case of quotations originally in kanbun text, these have been rendered into kakikudashibun.
• Bibliographic references have been included together at the end of the volume.

Explanatory notes to the English translation

The aim of this book was to make recent findings about the history and archaeology associated with Harima Fudoki accessible to a general readership in Japan, rather than to a narrower scholarly audience. The translator has attempted to convey that spirit into the English translation. The authors and editors of this book hope to disseminate their research results widely overseas. Not only that, but they would also welcome your thoughts, feedback and criticism. There is more than one way of transcribing Modern Japanese, and even less agreement on how to transcribe Old Japanese. For ease of a general readership, the present translation ignores kō-otsu distinctions and the p/F/h phonetic transitions, etc. It mostly conforms to the conventions of modern Japanese. In other words, the transcription more or less follows the way in which these words may be pronounced by a modern Japanese speaker/reader.

• Japanese words, where helpful, are rendered in Hepburn style with macrons for long vowels.
• The final -n of Modern Japanese is transcribed as -n, except where it appears both before a -b and has been preferred and become established by a particular person/institution, e.g., Kōbe Shimbun, Yoshifumi KAMBE.
• Upon first mention in a given text, the title of Harima no Kuni Fudoki is provided in full; thereafter it is usually abbreviated to Harima Fudoki. The same principle applies to the fudoki of other provinces, e.g., Izumo no Kuni Fudoki.
• Proper nouns (names of places and people) as a rule follow furigana as/where given in the author’s text. This may result in some inconsistency, depending on the author.
• Place names common throughout to Harima no Kuni Fudoki are consistently standardised in translation: e.g., for ancient kōri names, Akashi, Inami, Kako, Shikama, Ihibo, Sayo, Shisawa, Kamusaki, Taka, Kamo, Minagi.
• Names of early rulers that are often rendered as tennō or sumera mikoto in Japanese are translated as King, in accordance with recent scholarly practice.
• Names of early rulers that are traditionally rendered with voiced consonants in Japanese are translated with pure consonants, in accordance with recent scholarly practice: e.g., Emperor Kenzō transcribed as King Kensō.
• Upon first mention of Japanese names, family names are indicated in small capitals.
• Names of modern scholars and archaeologists are reversed to the English order. Those for historical names are given in the conventional Japanese order, with family name first. Where given names for historical persons are conventionally used, the translation follows the form indicated by the Japanese author.
• Where authors may have assumed prior knowledge or understanding for a Japanese readership that may not be so clear to an English-speaking reader, the translation includes explanatory footnotes. This inclusion is inevitably arbitrary, but is intended to expedite comprehension.

04

Contents / 38篇の論文

1. Chapter 1. Harima and the Yamato Court

   • Tatsuyama stone and the Yamato polity Seigo WADA
   • Kuni no miyatsuko and Miyake Akira FURUICHI
   • What was Iwa no Ōkami, the Great Deity of Iwa? Akira FURUICHI
   • The Kuni-yuzuri (Land Cession) of Iwa no Ōkami: the keyhole-shaped burial mound and stone miniature artefacts of Ishitsukuri Sato, Shisawa Kōri Shigeru ŌHIRA
   • Tales of royal progresses by King Ōjin in Harima no Kuni Fudoki Satoshi NAKAMURA
   • King Keitai and Harima Akira FURUICHI
   • Evidence of subjugation gleaned from the origin of place names: the tale of Kisumino, Kamo Kōri Wataru SAKAE
   • Tales of the pacification of malicious deities Wataru SAKAE
   • A military group in the Ichi River Basin: the family of Harima Saeki no Atae Akihiro TAKAHASHI
   • The Ōmikotomochi and Subeosa system in Harima no Kuni Fudoki Satoshi NAKAMURA

2. Chapter 2. Roads in Harima and Interregional Transportation

   • Harima’s roads, and Kofun ‘for show’: the tale of Nehime Hiroshi NAKAMURA
   • Kibi and the historical environment of Inamino Hiroshi NAKAMURA
   • Land development in ancient times, on the basis of the place name ‘Ōta’ Mitsuru HIRAISHI
   • Shijimi Miyake and the Yunoyama Kaidō Wataru SAKAE
   • The Tale of ‘Funahiki Marsh’ and malevolent deities Shūzō MORIUCHI
   • Eastern Harima and Western Settsu: the ancient history of the Harima–Settsu provincial border region Akihiro TAKAHASHI
   • Official roads and post stations in ancient Harima Shirō YAMASHITA

3. Chapter 3. The Coast of Ōsaka Bay and the Ama People of Awaji Island

   • The ama of Awaji Island and iron production Hiroyuki ITŌ
   • The Tale of Ou no Sukune and the ama seafarers of Awaji Shun’ichi IKEBUCHI
   • Awa no Wanasa and Mimatsuhiko: Ama seafaring groups moved over a wide area Akira FURUICHI
   • Myths about giving birth to the land and myths about making islands: the deity who stirred the sea Wataru SAKAE
   • The livelihoods and customs of ama people around Akashi Strait: the tale of Saonetsuhiko Wataru SAKAE
   • Shiinetsuhiko of the ‘ama people’ and the Yamato Court Katsuhiro INOUE

4. Chapter 4. Local Lifestyle and Harima’s Religious Festivals

   • The harsh living environment and food supply in ancient times: rice, wheat, beans Wataru SAKAE
   • Marriage and reproduction, and communal village festivals in ancient Japan Wataru SAKAE
   • A windhole fertility festival to pray for a bountiful harvest and many children Wataru SAKAE
   • Festivals at boundaries at which jugs are laid down: the tale of Mikasaka, Taka Kōri Wataru SAKAE
   • Ritual sites in Hyōgo Prefecture: Kofun and Ritsuryō Period miniature horse effigies Shigeru ŌHIRA

5. Chapter 5. Ancient Temples and Buddhism in Harima

   • Eben: an immigrant priest who transmitted ancient Buddhism to Harima Yoshifumi KAMBE
   • The Ōtomo Family of Ki and the Kakurinji Temple Akihiro TAKAHASHI
   • Ferries and Hashidera (accommodation temples) on large rivers: the Shinbe Ōdera Temple Site in Kamo Kōri Wataru SAKAE
   • Tsuiji Haiji: A Buddhist temple in ancient Harima with an enormous foundation stone to its pagoda and priests’ quarters Teruhiko ŌTANI

6. Chapter 6. The Ancient Period in Harima and Written Sources

   • The value of Harima no Kuni Fudoki as source material: the world of orality Wataru SAKAE
   • The circumstances of the legend of Oke and Woke: a comparative reading of Kojiki, Nihon Shoki and Fudoki Akira FURUICHI
   • The Hata family in ancient Harima: an engraved stone tablet Akira FURUICHI
   • The network of manuscripts of Harima no Kuni Fudoki from the end of the Edo period Akira KAKIUCHI
   • The dawn of research into Harima no Kuni Fudoki: Oka Hirayasu, priest of Kamo Shrine Akira KAKIUCHI
   • The Edo Period’s boom in ancient history: early modern Japanese people’s tracing of their roots Yutaka YABUTA

05

Afterword / あとがき

It is sometimes said that ‘There is romance in history, especially in the ancient past’. These days we are overflowing with vast quantities of information every day, including from newspapers and magazines, television, radio and the internet. Amid such information overload, you can sympathise with that feeling of romance in the ancient past, about which only limited sources still remain.
However, what if you knew that the manuscripts of Kojiki, Nihon Shoki and Fudoki are full of difficult Chinese characters? I wonder how many people would still ‘feel the romance’. In that sense, I am extremely grateful to our predecessors who put in so much effort to rendering those manuscripts into modern Japanese translations. The extant Fudoki, including Harima no Kuni Fudoki, were first published as a set with annotations and commentaries in 1958 in Iwanami Shoten’s Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei [Compendium of Japanese Classical Literature] series. That prompted Fudoki to be regarded by Japanese citizens as an important shared historical written source.
The official government order for so-called Fudoki to be compiled was issued in 713 CE, and it is little short of miraculous that any copies were handed down through the Heian and Kamakura periods to the Edo period; and even more so that historical documentation of the provinces in ‘ancient times’ has become local historical heritage for the people who live in those localities ‘nowadays’.
Government officials in Hyōgo Prefecture organised events to celebrate the 1,300th anniversary of the compilation of Harima no Kuni Fudoki, for three years from 2013. These included the founding of a Harima no Kuni Fudoki Reading Group, fieldwork to visit and explore the tales, place names and sites that remain, and lectures by specialists, in addition to exhibitions at museums. A large number of citizens attended or participated. Fudoki kara miru kodai no Harima [Ancient Harima as seen through Fudoki] (2007) was published as a lead-up to those commemorations.
Then in April 2015, The Historical Institute of Hyōgo Prefecture was set up in Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of History, and a Harima no Kuni Fudoki Research Group was organised. The present monograph, ‘Harima no Kuni Fudoki’ no kodaishi [Ancient Japan through ‘Harima no Kuni Fudoki’], is the result of the group’s collaborative research, and it was carried through to publication thanks to the all-round cooperation of members both within and external to the group, through the stages of planning and drafting, under the coordination of the project leader, Wataru SAKAE. Looking back on the past seven years, it was memorable to exchange views with Edwina Palmer, the researcher in New Zealand who translated Harima no Kuni Fudoki into English. Thanks to her, it has become better known in the world at large, and we, like her, look forward to a time when Harima no Kuni Fudoki might be considered on a par with Greek mythology.
I should like to extend heartfelt thanks to all who cooperated in writing this book, all the organisations and individuals that allowed us access to important sources, and last but not least to Ms. Yōko OKA of Kōbe Shimbun Sōgō Shuppan Sentā [Kōbe Shimbun General Publications Center], who undertook to get it into print.

Yutaka YABUTA
Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of History and The Historical Institute of Hyōgo Prefecture

Himeji, October 2021

06

Bibliographic Notes / 著者紹介

Editor-in Chief

Contributors (in alphabetical order)