Part 4: Was Suwa a 'Periphery'?—The Ritsuryo State and Suwa
In Part 3, I considered the 'faith' that remains in Suwa.
What was 'Mishakuji'? Did the views on nature and life that have existed since the Jomon period
remain in some form in the faith of later Suwa?
Of course, there is no answer yet. This time, we address another major issue.
It is 'politics'.
What kind of relationship existed between Suwa and the Yamato state that was being established in the center?
Why did Takeminakata-no-Kami come to Suwa?
When researching Suwa, one inevitably arrives at the Kuniyuzuri (transfer of the land) myth in the 'Kojiki'. Against the side of Amaterasu Omikami, who demanded the transfer of the land from Okuninushi-no-Kami,
it was Takeminakata-no-Kami who resisted until the end.
And Takeminakata-no-Kami was defeated and fled to Suwa.
Cornered in Suwa, Takeminakata-no-Kami made a vow
to the effect that 'I will not leave this land'.
Reading just this,
it might seem that Suwa was the land of a force opposing the Yamato side.
However, I had a question here.
In the first place, when Takeminakata-no-Kami fled to Suwa,
what kind of place was Suwa to Yamato?
Actually, there are almost no historical materials that explain this directly.
Was it a 'land that opposed Yamato'?
If Suwa had been the base of a powerful force opposing Yamato,
the myth of the defeated Takeminakata-no-Kami fleeing there
could be understood to some extent. However, one can also think in reverse.
At the time Takeminakata-no-Kami came to Suwa,
is there any evidence that Suwa was a land in fierce opposition to Yamato?
I have not found it yet.
Rather, when looking at the later Suwa, a slightly different image emerges.
The 'connection with the center' that appears in Suwa
In the Suwa region,
it is thought that the acceptance of Kofun culture was later than in the Kinai region.
However, eventually, burial mounds were built around Lake Suwa,
and especially in the 6th century, groups of burial mounds were formed.
There are also keyhole-shaped burial mounds. There are also burial mounds with horse trappings as grave goods.
Bits, cheek pieces, ornaments, stirrups, harness fittings...
The existence of influential people who held power with horses in the background is imagined there.
This at least
suggests that ancient Suwa was not isolated from outside culture.
However,
there are burial mounds
↓ in other words,
the Yamato government directly ruled Suwa.
This does not follow.
That must be considered carefully.
The Tosando road does not pass through Suwa
When looking into the Tosando road developed by the Ritsuryo state,
there is one more thing that concerns me.
Shinano Province was incorporated into the state as one of the provinces of the Tosando.
The Tosando was an important main road connecting the center with Shinano, and further to the eastern provinces and the Tohoku region. However, when looking at the map,
The main route of the Tosando did not pass through Suwa.
The Shinano provincial capital is also believed to have been initially located in Ueda and later moved to Matsumoto.
From the perspective of the state's political and administrative central axis, Suwa is located slightly off the beaten path.
At first, looking at this, I thought,
"Perhaps Suwa was indeed a region outside the center of Shinano."
I thought.
However, as I investigated further, it seems that is not the whole story.
From Suwa to Ueda — The Wada Pass Route
Here, I had the opportunity to speak by phone with Mr. Kodaira, a member of the Nagano Prefecture Archaeological Society.Mr. Kodaira
I heard some very interesting things there.
Mr. Kodaira said,
"During the period before the Shinano provincial capital was moved from Ueda to Matsumoto, I believe there was movement of people from Suwa to Ueda, and I assume the Wada Pass was the route used.
" was what he said.
In other words,
Suwa
↓
Wada Pass
↓
Saku area
↓
Ueda
This is the flow.
This takes on a slightly different meaning than what I had been thinking while looking at the map.
State roads and the paths people walk are not the same.
This is the interesting part.
Themain route of the Tosandodeveloped by the Ritsuryo state did not pass through Suwa.
However,
there is a possibility that there was movement of people between Suwa and Ueda.
Suwa was off the state's main arterial roads.
However, that does not mean it was"cut off from transportation."
Was 'Suwa a dead end'?
Here, it seems necessary to change our way of thinking a little.
The Suwa Basin is surrounded by mountains. Looking at a current map,
there are roads to Kofu, Matsumoto, and the Saku/Ueda area.
However, when considering ancient transportation,
we cannot simply apply modern roads as they are.
Even so, if heading east from Suwa,
one would cross the Wada Pass to Saku, and then on to Ueda.
This route is also easy to understand in terms of topography.
And here, there is a history dating back to the Jomon period.
Jomon Roads and the Ritsuryo State
The area around Wada Pass is known as a source of obsidian.
During the Jomon period, people traveled over mountains and across wide areas to seek or transport this obsidian.
They moved across mountains and over a wide range.
In other words,
Jomon Period
Obsidian
↓
People crossing mountains
↓
Suwa, Saku, and Kanto regions
A wide-area network existed.
Of course, one cannot equate the roads of the Jomon period with those of the Ritsuryo period.
However, it is not necessarily the case that
'it is a mountain, so it is impassable.'
is true.
Rather, for people who made the mountains their living space, mountain passes may have been important traffic routes.
The Provincial Capital Moves from Ueda to Matsumoto
Here, there is one more thing that concerns me.
It is the fact that the political center of Shinano movedfrom Ueda to Matsumoto.If, as Mr. Kodaira views it, during the period when the provincial capital was in Ueda, there was movement of people along the
Suwa-Wada Pass-Ueda
route, then even if Suwa was not on the state's main trunk road, it
was connected to Ueda, which was the political center of Shinano Province.This would be the case.
And after the provincial capital moved to Matsumoto,
Suwa-Shiojiri-Matsumoto
the significance of this direction may have gradually changed.
This is still my own speculation.
Was Suwa a 'Periphery'?
Thinking this far, I return to the initial question.
Was Suwa the center of the Ritsuryo state?
Probably not.
Then, was it a periphery?
This, too, cannot be said simply.
It is outside the state's official main trunk lines.
However,
Suwa—Wada Pass—Saku—Ueda
There was a movement of people, and
it is possible that Suwa was connected to the political center of Shinano.
In other words,
it is slightly off the central axis of the state.
However, it was by no means isolated.
Perhaps it was that kind of place.
So, what about its relationship with Yamato?
It accepted Kofun culture as well.
Horse culture also developed.
There was also traffic with the eastern provinces.
And it was also incorporated into the 'Shinano Province' of the Ritsuryo state.
On the other hand, Suwa's unique faith remained.
I think it is difficult to explain this solely by the two concepts of 'fighting' or 'completely harmonized'.
Perhaps,
while being incorporated into the central state, it maintained its uniqueness as a region.
That might have been the figure of ancient Suwa.
Of course, this is still just my daydream.
And, to the 10th century
Having investigated this far, something else has caught my attention.
When looking into ancient settlements in Suwa and Kamiina,
it appears that a major change occurred in the 10th century.
The settlements seem to have vanished. Where did the people go?
This might be a problem that cannot be solved by simply thinking about the 'political relationship between Suwa and Yamato'.
Therefore, next time,
'What happened in Suwa and Ina in the 10th century?'
I would like to consider this.
Regarding the title
Initially, I had set the title for Part 4 as
'Why Was Suwa Able to Reconcile with Yamato?'. However, the more I researched, the less certain I became that this question was correct.
Suwa was far from the center, yet it was not isolated.
What, exactly, does
'periphery' mean?It is a question I am asking myself.