Fudoki (風土記) are ancient records of the culture and geography of provinces of Japan. They contain agricultural, geographical, historical and mythological records, as well as folklore.
Compilation of Fudoki began in 713 and were completed over a 20-year period.
Following the Taika Reform of 646, there was need to centralize and solidify the power of the imperial court. This included accounting for lands under its control. According to Shoku Nihongi, Empress Gemmei issued a decree in 713 requiring the following information from each province:
- Name
- Natural resources
- Land fertility
- Etymology of name for geographical regions
- Folklore
There were conditions for the name: must be written with two kanji characters. This occasionally required name changes. For example, Hayatsuhime (速津媛) became Hayami (速見) and Ishinashi no Oki (無石堡) became Ishii (石井).
At least 48 provinces contributed to their records but only that of Izumo remains nearly complete. Partial records of Hizen, Bungo, Harima and Hitachi remain and a few passages from various volumes remain scattered throughout various books.
External links
- 風土記(Big5 Chinese) texts of the remaining Fudoki & scattered passages in other books.
- Manuscript scans at Waseda University Library: Hizen, 1800, Bungo, 1800, Bungo, unknown
- Tsukamoto, Tetsuzō (塚本 哲三) (1915). Kojiki, Norito, Fudoki (古事記・祝詞・風土記). Yūhōdō Shoten (有朋堂書店). pp. 383–586. Scan at the Internet Archive.
References
- Akimoto, Kichirō (1958). Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 2: Fudoki. Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten. ISBN 4-00-060002-8.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
This Japanese history-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
