On the Road: Takeuchi Kaido and Ancient Japan

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Summary

Travel is an act for human beings to visit new places and experience different cultures and histories. Through travel, people can actually feel historical events and people’s lives by visiting historical places and cultural heritage sites, and can gain a deeper understanding of history and broaden their own perspectives. In this section, we will discuss the historical background of the trip and the places visited based on Ryotaro Shiba’s “Kaido yuku” (On the Road) about this journey and history.

Kaidou wo yuku Vol 1 Takeuchi kaido.

In the next article , I described the Kosai road. This time, I will discuss the Takenouchi Kaido.

On the Road: Takeuchi Kaido and Ancient Japan

The stage for this trip will be Nara Prefecture, where the ancient Yamato Imperial Court was located.

The setting is a mountainous basin (Nara Basin), which is the only flat area (upper left in the above figure) in Nara Prefecture, which has many mountainous areas, and a highway (Takeuchi Kaido) that runs through it.

It is written in an ancient book (Nihon Shoki) that the ancient Yamato court family came from Takamagahara (Takachiho), located on the outskirts of Kyushu/Miyazaki, up the Japanese archipelago to Nara (the dawn of the Yamato court in Nara was Emperor Sutoku). (Emperor Sutoku is mentioned as a person who came to Nara at the dawn of the Yamato Imperial Court.)

You can learn more about the story of ancient Japan by reading the Nihonshoki and its commentaries, or, although the author’s imagination may be involved, by reading the “Ancient Messages” series or the “New Historiography” series, etc.

Having horses and iron weapons (imported from the continent), which were almost non-existent until then, and having either destroyed or driven out the indigenous people in Nara (the Miwa clan (who were worshipped at Mt. Miwa on the right side of Tenri City (lower right star on the above map)), the weapons they had were taken away and stored at Ishigami Shrine (upper right on the above map).

The road trip descends from Ishigami Shrine to Mt. Miwa.

Then, they head for the Ogami Shrine, whose deity is Mt.Miwa

This brings us to the origin of shrine maidens. The story continues in the direction of Katsuragi City, which is on the left side of the map from the right side, and moves on to the ancient forces (the Kose, Heguri, Katsuragi, and Soga clans) that established the ancient Japanese dynasties. Beyond that, there is Mt. Katsuragi, which borders Osaka, and the Takeuchi Pass at the foot of the mountain.

The road that passes through the Takenouchi Pass is called the Takenouchi Kaido, or Takenouchi Highway, and is the oldest national highway in Japan. This road leads from Nara to Osaka, and from Kyushu to the continent, and is called the Silk Road of Japan.

In the next article, I will discuss the Koshu-kaido Road and the Edo Shogunate.