Tokyo Islands Phantom Stroll #17 / Izu Province 02

“In that 'Kujiki' (Ancient Japanese History), it says, 'In the reign of Empress Jingu, Wakatakenu-no-Mikoto, the 8th generation descendant of Amenohoko-no-Mikoto, ancestor of the Mononobe-no-Muraji, was appointed as Kuni-no-Miyatsuko. In the reign of the Naniwa Court (Emperor Kotoku), it was placed under Suruga Province.' This is the first appearance of the word 'Izu'.
There is a theory that Izu means 'Yude' (hot spring water).
“Ah, Yude (hot spring water), right. I can sort of understand that.”
“In the 'Fuso Ryakki' (Brief History of Japan), which is a little later, it says that in the 9th year of Emperor Tenmu (680), July, Tagata District and Kamo District were separated from Suruga Province to form Izu Province. ...Thinking about it this way, Izu Province must have already existed as a 'kuni' (province/state) around the time of Yamato Takeru's eastern expedition.”
“But did the Yamato Takeru army go out of their way to pass through mountain roads?”
“The 'kuni' around that area is Kamo District. There is the Hizume ruins. It is a large settlement site from the late Yayoi period to the Heian period. It was probably autonomous as a 'kuni', even if it was small. I think Yamato Takeru took a more northern route to avoid conflict.
Actually, Izu has extremely few keyhole-shaped burial mounds or square-front, square-back burial mounds. If central government influence had penetrated, there should be large burial mounds like those of the Hata, Tosa, Shimazu, Kubiki, or Suwa Kuni-no-Miyatsuko. Izu doesn't have those. In any case, it came under the rule of the Yamato dynasty, but at that time, the Izu provincial government office was placed in Mishima. The provincial temple was also in Mishima. Not within the peninsula.”
“Wait? Are we talking about the Izu Peninsula this time, not the Izu Islands?”
“No, I want to talk about Izu as seen from the Yamato central government. For the center, Oshima, Miyakejima, and Kozushima are all islands beyond Izu. They were part of the power map called Izu.”
“I see, so that's why it's the Izu Peninsula and the Izu Islands.”
“The Suruga-Izu region was under the management of the Suruga Kuni-no-Miyatsuko. Several 'hyo' (administrative districts) were established under the Suruga Kuni-no-Miyatsuko, such as 'Suruga Hyo', 'Fuji Hyo', 'Tagata Hyo', and 'Kamo Hyo'. The Izu Kuni-no-Miyatsuko was likely under the Suruga Kuni-no-Miyatsuko as the 'hyo-zo' (district administrator) of 'Kamo Hyo'.”
“What? What is a 'hyo'?? So many words I don't know are coming up.”
“Administrative districts before the Ritsuryo system were called 'hyo'. 'Hyo' later became 'gun' (districts). 'Mikotomochi' (officials) were sent from the center to those 'hyo'. 'Mikotomochi' are local officials. Historical records remain that Izu Province separated from Suruga in the 9th year of Tenmu (680). What we should consider here is whether the Izu Kuni-no-Miyatsuko became independent from the Suruga Kuni-no-Miyatsuko as 'Kamo Hyo'.”
“Why?”
“It was an exceptionally mountainous area even within Suruga. Perhaps they were ethnically different as well. Surely the blood of the Paleo-Asians who came from Sundaland was thick... it might have been the land of the Hayato people. Suruga was a 'kuni' centered on non-Sunda Yayoi people.”
“I wonder if rice cultivation didn't spread much because the Izu Peninsula is so mountainous. Is that why the Jomon people remained so deeply rooted?”
“That might be it... And the Mishima Shrine festival. Kamo was the center of the mountain deity worship for Mount Fuji. By the way, the Yatabe family, the chief priests of Mishima, were of the Mononobe lineage. The 'Sendai Kuji Hongi', which first used the word 'Izu', was a book compiled by the Mononobe clan.”
“Ah, I see.”
“In the Ritsuryo period, the Izu Peninsula had different people, a different culture... and was religiously different... in a sense, it must have been a 'frontier land'. That is likely the reason why the central government used Izu Province as a place of exile. It was designated as a place for distant exile starting in the 6th year of Tenpyo (734). In the Heian period, many nobles were exiled to Izu Province.
A famous one is the 'Jowa Incident'. It was in 842. Tachibana no Hayanari was exiled to Izu Province for participating in the Fujiwara clan's plot to usurp the throne. The 'Shoku Nihon Koki', entry for the 28th day of the 7th month of the 9th year of Jowa, says this:
‘Criminal Tachibana no Hayanari, stripped of his original surname, given the status of a non-person, exiled to Izu Province. Tomo no Kowamine exiled to Oki Province.’
Tachibana no Hayanari was a genius, a person who went to Tang China as a Japanese envoy along with Kukai. He was stripped of his original surname and status and driven out as a non-person... And the 'Otenmon Incident' in 866. Dainagon Tomo no Yoshio was exiled to Izu Province. By the mid-Heian period, there was the 'Hogen Rebellion' in 1156. Minamoto no Tametomo. He was exiled even further to Izu Oshima. In the 'Heiji Rebellion' of 1159, Minamoto no Yoritomo was exiled to Izu Province.”
“If you send so many important people there... wouldn't another major power base be created locally?”
“Hahaha. That's a good point. Minamoto no Yoritomo's comeback was exactly that.”