What is a "Satsuma Hayato"?

In Kagoshima, the term "Satsuma Hayato" has been used to describe a brave and fearless person, in contrast to the word "yassenbo" (coward).

This time, we will discuss the origins and meaning of the term Satsuma Hayato, which could be called synonymous with Saigo Takamori.

What is a "Hayato" in the first place?
In the 8th century, when Japan was beginning to take shape as a ritsuryo state, there were people in southern Kyushu who did not submit to the Imperial Court, known as Hayato (Hayato)(Note 1).

(Note 1) The Hayato, who emerged in southern Kyushu by at least the 7th century, had customs different from those of the Yamato Court and were regarded by the Court as a foreign people to be pacified.

Descriptions of the Hayato in the Chronicles of Japan
In Japanese mythology, the heavenly grandchild Ninigi-no-Mikoto descended to the land of Hyuga, and in the myths concerning his imperial sons, a story is depicted where Umi-sachi-hiko (ancestor of the Hayato) submits to Yama-sachi-hiko (ancestor of the Emperor) (Note 2).

(Note 2) Umi-sachi-hiko vowed to Yama-sachi-hiko, "From now on, I will serve as your day and night guardian," and even now, Yama-sachi-hiko's mausoleum is protected in the land of the Hayato in northern Kagoshima Prefecture.

As time passed, the 12th Emperor Keiko had his son, Yamato Takeru, pacify the Kumaso and Emishi who did not submit to the Court (there is also a theory that the Kumaso were of the same lineage as the Hayato).

The Rise of the Hayato
The Yamato Court, which arose in the 2nd or 3rd century, expanded its power from around the 5th century, but there were powerful clans in various places that did not submit to the Court.

The resistance forces in southern Kyushu were collectively called "Hayato" by the Court at the time.

Origin of the name Hayato
The name is based on the Four Symbols philosophy.

The Four Symbols is the philosophy that the gods of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise guard the east, west, south, and north, respectively.

Since the Vermilion Bird that guards the south is written as "Chōjun" (Bird Falcon) in Chinese classics, it seems the character for "falcon" (hayabusa) was used to refer to the southern people from the perspective of the Imperial Court(Note 3) (there are various theories).

(Note 3) While the Imperial Court viewed the Hayato as barbarians (iteki), they also saw them as formidable sorcerers, which is why they avoided using derogatory terms.

Changes in the Situation
The 8th century, from the 33rd Emperor, Empress Suiko—who began sending envoys to the Sui dynasty, established the Seventeen-Article Constitution, broke away from the tributary system, and was the first to call herself Emperor—to the 42nd Emperor, Emperor Monmu, who completed the Taihō Code, was an important period when Japan formed the foundation of an independent nation.

During such a critical time, the existence of the Hayato, who showed no intention of obeying the Imperial Court, became a major obstacle for the Yamato Court.

Establishment of Satsuma and Osumi Provinces
With the Taihō Code of 701, the Imperial Court established a full-scale centralized governing system for the first time, creating administrative districts such as provinces, districts, and villages throughout Japan, and dispatched "Kokushi" (provincial governors) to oversee them. Because the Hayato, who did not submit to the Court's rule, lived in southern Kyushu, the area was initially designated broadly as

Hyuga Province, but in March of the following year, 702, a portion of Hyuga Province was split off to become Satsuma Province.

Furthermore, in April 713, the area near the Osumi Peninsula, which was part of the remaining Hyuga Province, was designated as Osumi Province.

Battles between the Hayato and the Imperial Court
In other words, the Imperial Court attempted to weaken the Hayato by sequentially dividing Hyuga Province, but the Hayato resisted and fought against this Imperial rule many times.

In 702, when Satsuma Province was established, the Ata Hayato resisted and fought against the Court's rule, and in 713, when Osumi Province was established, a conflict occurred between the Court and the Osumi Hayato. In 720, when the Osumi Hayato killed the first Osumi provincial governor sent by the Court, the Court sent an army of 10,000 led by

Otomo no Tabito (famous for the Manyoshu poem that became the source of the name "Reiwa") into Osumi Province.

Several thousand Osumi Hayato split into seven castles and continued to resist for about a year and a half (Hayato Rebellion).

Once the Yamato Court pacified Osumi Province in 721, organized resistance by the Hayato ceased. In Hayato-cho, Kirishima City, there is the

(Note 4) Hayatozuka, which is said to have been built to mourn the dead from this Hayato Rebellion (there are various theories).

(Note 4) Since Buddhist statues are carved on the four sides of the stone tower, some view it as a Buddhist ruin from the Heian period. This mound, which stands on an embankment with three multi-story stone towers and four stone statues of the Four Heavenly Kings, once had broken towers and statues buried slightly away from the mound, but it was restored to its current state by 2000.

Also, in the eastern region of southern Kyushu, a giant legend called "Yagorodon" (Note 5) remains, and it is said that this Yagorodon may have been the last chieftain of the Hayato (there are various theories).

(Note 5) It is said that he stood 4 meters tall, had a red face with a black beard, held a spear in both hands, and wore two swords at his waist.

In the Yagoro-don Festival, which has been passed down in the region for hundreds of years, Yagoro-don walks ahead of the gods to ward off evil.

Hayato Shield
In fact, some Hayato who moved to the Kinai region (Kinai Hayato) were entrusted with the role of leading the Emperor's procession and warding off evil with shouts to protect him.

A famous symbol of the Hayato is the "Hayato Shield".

The pattern of the Hayato shield recorded in the Engishiki (Procedures of the Engi Era), written in the 10th century, matches the pattern drawn on the well frame (Note 6) discovered during the 1964 excavation of the Heijo Palace, confirming it belonged to the Hayato.

(Note 6) Shields were used for well frames to protect water, which was precious at the time, through Hayato sorcery.

The Hayato shield has a saw-tooth pattern at the top and bottom and a spiral pattern on the inside, both of which are believed to have the meaning of warding off evil.

This video shows the "Osumi Hayato Dance", which is said to have been performed by the Hayato at the imperial court about 1,300 years ago.

The Osumi Hayato Dance is now a folk performing art in Kyotanabe City, Kyoto Prefecture, and the name Osumi also seems to be derived from "Osumi."

What happened to the Hayato after that?
While the Kinai Hayato served as guards near the Emperor, the Satsuma Hayato and Osumi Hayato who remained in southern Kyushu gradually assimilated with the Yamato people (after the early 9th century, no historical documents refer to the people of southern Kyushu as Hayato).

What is the connection to the strength of the Shimazu clan?
Subsequently, the rulers of southern Kyushu were replaced by the Shimazu clan, who governed this land for about 700 years starting in the late 12th century.

The first head, Tadahisa Shimazu, was originally a gokenin (shogunal retainer) from Kyoto who joined Minamoto no Yoritomo in the subjugation of the Taira clan, and was appointed as the constable (shugo) of Satsuma and Osumi provinces in 1197.

At its peak, it was so powerful that it governed the entire Kyushu region and was even called the "strongest in the Sengoku period".

The secret to that strength lies in the "Tojo system" (castle-town system) (Note 7) created by the 15th head, Takahisa Shimazu.

(Note 7) A system where Jito(high-ranking samurai) and Shuchu(low-ranking samurai) were stationed throughout the territory, and in times of need, the part-farmer, part-samurai Shuchuwould assemble and take action under the orders of the Jito. Satsuma was defeated at Sekigahara, and even after the

"One Castle per Province" edict, they did not stop the outer castle system. This is because

the ratio of samurai in the Satsuma domain accounted for nearly 30 percent (the ratio of samurai in other domains was about 7 percent).

Later, the Jito gradually moved to the Kagoshima castle town, and the Shuchu came to be called Goju. Within the Goju, youth defense organizations formed in units of several hundred were called

Hekogumi.

Goju education was a system in this environment where older youths aged 15 to 25, called Nise, educated younger children aged 6 to 15, called Chigo. Although the causal relationship between the Shimazu clan and the Hayato is not certain, it cannot be denied that, supported by this unique military and educational system of the Satsuma domain,

the Hayato spirit as a local characteristic may have formed the foundation for the strength of the Shimazu.

Changes in the understanding of "Hayato"
As time passed, the 18th-century scholar Motoori Norinaga explained in his book "Kojiki-den" that "Hayato refers to agile and brave people in southern Kyushu, people as swift as falcons." Because it was written in the "Kojiki-den," which was read by many people at the time, the Hayato began to attract attention again.

In particular, it is thought that the term "Satsuma Hayato" was redefined (Note 8) while discussing the ideal image of a samurai that a Satsuma domain samurai should aim for.

(Note 8) Since ancient times, the term "Satsuma Hayato" (= Hayato of the former Satsuma Province) existed in contrast to Ata Hayato and Osumi Hayato, but the Satsuma Hayato referred to here points to samurai of the Satsuma domain

Summary: What is a "Satsuma Hayato"?
As mentioned at the beginning, the existence of the Hayato can be seen in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, which were compiled in the early 8th century.

Around this time, when Japan began its journey as a ritsuryo state, there must have been a need to somehow make the Hayato, who lived in a geopolitically important region, submit to the Imperial Court.

It has been pointed out that the following points may have been considered during the compilation of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki:

● The setting for the Descent of the Heavenly Grandchild and the Eastern Expedition of Emperor Jimmu was placed in Hyuga to show that Hyuga (the land of the Hayato) was originally under the control of the Imperial Court.

● To show the master-servant relationship between the Emperor and the Hayato, the story of Umisachi-hiko and Yamasachi-hiko was created so that Umisachi-hiko (the ancestor of the Hayato) would serve Yamasachi-hiko (the ancestor of the Emperor).

● To make it understood that enemies of the Imperial Court would eventually be subjugated, the subjugation of the Kumaso (≒Hayato) and the Emishi by the Imperial Prince Yamato Takeru was incorporated into the story.

In this way, by incorporating the existence of the Hayato into the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, which were compiled by 720, and making the Hayato a part of Japanese history, and at the same time, after pacifying the Hayato Rebellion in 721, granting them an honorable position as guardians of the Emperor, the Yamato Court succeeded in turning the Hayato into reliable allies.

Conversely, it can be said that the Hayato were that formidable an existence to the Imperial Court.

After that, the Hayato assimilated into the Yamato people, and people called Hayato disappeared from southern Kyushu, but the Kinai Hayato continued to be guardians of the Emperor, and even as the dawn of the Kamakura period saw political power shift from the Emperor to the samurai, the spirit of loyalty to the Emperor was passed down.

On the other hand, it is thought that the Yagoro legend and Shinto rituals remained among the Osumi Hayato, and the proof of their lives took root in the region.

Eventually, with the redefinition of "Satsuma Hayato" by Motoori Norinaga, Satsuma samurai reaffirmed the ideal samurai image they should aim for.

In such a climate and soil with a particularly strong sense of ethics and loyalty to the Emperor, great figures such as Shimazu Nariakira, Saigo Takamori, and Togo Heihachiro were born one after another, creating a swell toward the overthrow of the shogunate and the restoration of imperial rule, and perhaps they became the driving force toward the Meiji Restoration and the source of the power to defeat Russia in the Battle of Tsushima.

What is a "Satsuma Hayato"?---
It is not a barbarian who was subjugated by the Yamato Court and disappeared into the cracks of history, but "a spirit that became a guardian of the Imperial nation through the great will of the Emperor and continued to exist in the hearts of the people of Satsuma as a symbol of bravery." - ISSA -