Yamatai Kyushu Theory

Topographic map of Kyushu area

The Yamatai Kyushu Theory is the theory that the Yamatai kingdom was located in Kyushu rather than in Honshu as the Yamatai Honshu Theory proposes. ^[1]

The theory proposes that the original capital of Japan was located in Kyushu, and when the Kofun period began, the Yamato Kingship moved the capital east to the Kinai region, first in the Yamato Province (Nara prefecture), then Kyoto in the Yamashiro Province (Kyoto Prefecture). ^[1]

Overview

Locations of Yamataikoku, Kyūshū and Kinai (Honshū).

Main article: Yamatai

In the Edo period, Arai Hakuseki adovocated the "Kinai Yamataikoku theory" which says Yamatai-koku was located in 大和 (Yamato Province, ie. Nara prefecture) in the Kinai, Honshu. Later, Arai adovocated the different theory, "Kyūshū Yamataikoku theory" which says Yamatai-koku was located in "Yamato county (山門-郡, Yamato-gun)" in Chikugo Province (Fukuoka prefecture, Northern Kyushu) in his "Foreign Affairs Record".

Since then, the mainstream of academic circles has been divided into the two major theories:

1. the " Honshu theory " (by Naitō Torajirō et al.) which insists Yamatai-koku was located in the Honshu.
2. the "Kyushu theory" (by Shiratori Kurakichi et al.) which insists Yamatai-koku was located in the Kyushu.

The Kyūshū theory has been, additionally, divided into the two schools. One school insists the "Kyushu Yamatai-koku" moved to the East and became the Yamato dynasty. The other school insists "Kyushu Yamatai-koku" did not move, and was conquered by the influences of the Yamato (located in Kinai).

Basic rationale

The basic arguments for the Kyushu theory of the Yamatai Kingdom include the following.

Basis

The Wajinden in the Book of Wei describes the route and distance from the Wei to Yamatai-koku. The route started from the Taihō-gun (Daifang). It went along the Southern coast of the Korean peninsula, through the Kan-koku (Mohan), then reached to the Kuya-kan-koku (Kuya-han). The route crossed the sea, and reached to the land of Kyushu (Wa), where there were 30 countries and the Queen's country (Yamataikoku).

• Considering the distance from Taihō-gun (Daifang) to the Queen's country (Yamatai-koku) as an itinerary rather than a straight line, out of the 12,000 li, it took 10,500 li to get to Ito-koku, which is located in Fukuoka Prefecture, and the remaining 1,500 li (three times the distance of 500 li from Matsuro-koku to Ito-koku, which is located in Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture), is not enough to locate the Yamatai Kingdom beyond Kyushu. ^[a]
• Identifying Kuna-koku (Kununokuni), which was in conflict with the Yamatai-koku, to the power of Kumamoto (Kuma), the official of Kuna-koku, "Kukochi-hiko" is a transliteration of "Kikuchi-hiko. ^[b]
• There is a theory that the Hashihaka grave mound, which is said to be the oldest stylized forward and backward circular mound in Nara Prefecture Sakurai City, was built in the latter half of the 3rd century and is considered to be Himiko's burial mound. However, after the death of Himiko, a male king ascended to the throne, but it is recorded that the country was in turmoil again, and it is almost impossible to build a burial mound with the largest mound at that time when the country was in turmoil. In addition, there are no traces of martyrdom in the area surrounding the tomb. Also, the tombs of neighboring places such as the Korean Peninsula at that time were all around 30 meters on each side, and it is unreasonable to assume that Japan was the only country to build a huge tomb (Chopsticks Tomb). In addition, the Museum, Archaeological Institute of Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, which conducted the Archaeological excavation of the Hokenoyama burial mound, which is said to predate the Chopsticks Tomb in terms of age. Archaeological Institute of Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, who conducted Excavation of the Hokenoyama burial mound in 2008, concluded that the burial mound was built in the middle of the 3rd century based on the excavated artifacts. ^{[2] [3]} Because the range of Radiocarbon dating results of burial chamber wood is reported to include the first half of the 4th century, ^[4] some have questioned the dating of the middle of the 3rd century. ^[5]

Advocates

Advocates of the Kyushu theory of the Yamataikoku include Arai Hakuseki, Shiratori Kurakichi, Dairoku Harada, Taku Tanaka, ^[6] Takehiko Furuta, Kenzaburo Torigoe, ^[7] Toshiaki Wakai, ^[8] Biten Yasumoto, Toshio Hoga and others. In addition, it is said that research based on domestic materials such as "Kiki" tends not to be taken into consideration, despite the indications of Taro Sakamoto's "The Birth of the Nation" and Hidesaburo Hara, and Toshiaki Wakai said about this tendency before the war. He criticizes the repressed theory of Sokichi Tsuda as being caused by being touted even after the war. ^[8]

See also

• Wajinden

Notes

1. Miyake Yonekichi states that the 12,000 li is the distance to Fumi-koku, where the distance is known, and Yamada Yoshio states that this is not the actual distance, which is partly unknown, but merely the sum of the 7,000 li to Kuya-kan-koku and the 5,000 li of the circumference of the Japanese land. This is not a combination of the real distances, which are partly unknown, but merely the sum of the 7,000 li to Kuya-kan-koku and the 5,000 li of the Japanese land. The Takehiko Furuta, who advocates the Kyushu dynasty theory, insists a reading that "the same route is marked twice, as distance and number of days, for the sake of accuracy".
2. The Kinai theory does not seem to give any special interpretation to the official name, even if it considers Kuna-koku to be a force from Keno or the Tōkai region, such as Kuwana or Kano. Naitō Konan, who holds the Kinai theory, ascribes Kuna-koku to Kumaso and "Kukochi-hiko" to Kikuchi-hiko, in view of the violent clashes between the imperial court and Kumaso in the reign of Emperor Keiko, which he considers to be close to the time of the Yamatai-koku. This would mean that the direction is correct here, but he says there is no problem with the description of Kuna-koku because it belongs to a different system from the itinerary article. In Weilüe it is written "拘右智卑狗", but this can be regarded as a typographical error, since in ancient Japanese the vowel never appeared in the middle of a word. The Kibi, Izumo, and Higashi-Shikoku theories consider the Kuna kingdom to be a Kawachi power.

References

1. "Yamatai | ancient kingdom, Japan | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
2. Hokenoyama kofun no kenkyū[Studies of the Hokenoyama Tumulus]. Nara-ken Kashihara-shi: Nara Kenritsu Kashihara Kōkogaku Kenkyūjo. 2008. pp. 289–291. ISBN   978-4-902777-61-1. OCLC   608290238.
3. "ホケノ山古墳と箸墓古墳". 橿原考古学研究所附属博物館 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-10-28.
4. Hokenoyama kofun no kenkyū[Studies of the Hokenoyama Tumulus]. Nara-ken Kashihara-shi: Nara Kenritsu Kashihara Kōkogaku Kenkyūjo. 2008. pp. 191–192. ISBN   978-4-902777-61-1. OCLC   608290238.
5. "『ホケノ山古墳の年代について』". 邪馬台国の会 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-10-28.
6. "田中卓『海に書かれた邪馬台国―ついに明かされた女王国の秘密 (1975年)』". 神社と古事記 (in Japanese). 31 December 1975. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
7. "Great Yamatai Country" and others
8. 若井敏明 (2010). 邪馬台国の滅亡 : 大和王権の征服戦争. Yoshikawa Kōbunkan. ISBN   978-4-642-05694-6. OCLC   587064942.