英語訳
# Illustrated Map of the Great Shinano Earthquake of Spring, the 24th Day of the Third Month, Kōka Hinoto-Hitsuji Year (1847): Mountain Collapses, River Blockages, and Flooding
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## [Preface and Historical Commentary]
○ The *Sandai Jitsuroku* [True Records of Three Reigns], Scroll 50, states: In the third year of Ninna (887 CE), during the reign of Emperor Kōkō, on the last day of the seventh month (Kanoto-Ushi day), at the Hour of the Monkey (approximately 4 p.m.), the earth shook violently, and even after several hours had passed, the trembling did not cease. The Emperor left the Jijūden and took his place in the South Garden of the Shishinden, ordering the Ministry of the Treasury to erect two seven-*jō* curtained enclosures as his temporary residence. The buildings of various government offices and residences throughout the eastern and western capitals collapsed here and there, killing many by crushing. Some lost consciousness and died suddenly. At the Hour of the Boar (approximately 10 p.m.), the ground shook again three times. The various provinces of the Five Home Provinces and Seven Circuits likewise experienced great earthquakes on the same day; many official buildings were damaged, sea tides flooded inland, and the number of those who drowned was beyond reckoning (and so forth).
○ The *Fusō Ryakki* [A Concise History of Japan], Scroll 22, states (the opening is omitted; the recorded text follows): On this day in the province of Shinano, a great mountain collapsed, a mighty river overflowed, and across six districts the dwellings were swept from the ground and carried away in the flood; men, women, and livestock perished in the waters, forming mounds (of bodies) (and so forth).
[Author's Personal Commentary] From that event to the present Kōka Hinoto-Hitsuji year is approximately nine hundred and sixty-one years. The historical records state that in the calamity of the Ninna Hinoto-Hitsuji year, all six districts of our province were utterly devastated; yet already the place names go unrecorded, nearly a thousand years have passed, and no oral tradition survives. While it is impossible to verify this fully, on reflection the mighty river that passed through all six districts was most likely the two streams of the Sai River and the Chikuma River (the Kiso, Tenryū, Ōi, Hime, and other rivers are not comparable). In this present disaster, the most severely affected areas were Minuchi and Sarashina; upstream, the floods inundated Tsukama and Azumi; downstream, they ravaged Hajina and Takai. In general, the reach of the water disaster encompassed nearly all six districts, with humans and livestock crushed and drowned in a manner similar to the calamity of the Ninna era. People today call this an event without precedent in all of history. I had a modest intention: I went to those lands myself, traversing and investigating the area on multiple occasions, and eventually produced this map, which I quietly stored in my household chest, hoping it might serve as a warning to future generations. The work was produced in haste, and its precision or lack thereof is simply as my eyes and ears allowed.
A resident of Shinano Taira no Masayoshi, inscribed 【seal】 Shimei-kan
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## [Upper Section: Commentary on the Minuchi Bridge and Hotaka Shrine]
○ An ancient record states: In the fifteenth year of Empress Suiko (607 CE), the court official Tori no Omi (of the Senior rank of the sixth grade) was dispatched to the Eastern Provinces; passing through Mino, he arrived in Shinano, regulated the waters of the "Sea of Minuchi," traveled to Kōzuke, and regulated the waters of the "Sea of Tone." He then split the rocks at the Togawa Falls, channeled them into Karikoshi, and opened the roads of Kurikara and Agero (and so forth).
On reflection, the village of Minuchi in Minuchi District is the foundational place of the district, and the waters referred to in antiquity as the "Sea of Minuchi" may indeed have referred to this vicinity. Even now, there remain many large ponds in the northern part of the district—these are likely vestiges of those ancient waters. This land is bounded on the north by the precipitous heights of Mt. Togakushi, flanked on the southeast by the Sai River, with the Sakai River to the west and the Susuhana River to the east—forming what is known as an island. Truly, without the ingenious construction of the Minuchi Bridge, there would be no convenient passage. I wonder whether the name "Minuchi" did not originate precisely here. (The *Ainōshō*, in its section on the origins of Zenkōji, says: "Shinano is already a high land, and this district in particular is high, so it is called the 'district where water falls'"—yet the lands of all ten districts of our province are at the very headwaters of the realm; why should this one district alone be called high? This seems doubtful.)
### The Winding Bridge of Minuchi (also called the Kumiji Bridge; listed under "Shinano" in poetry pillow-word collections; "Kume no Iwabashi" as sung in poems refers to the one in Yamato-Katsuragi)
[Collected Gleanings (*Shūishū*)]: *Umoregi wa / naka mushibamuто / iumereba / kumеji no hashi wa / kokoro shite ite ike* ("Since they say the buried wood rots within, tread carefully over the Kumeji Bridge") — Anonymous
○ The *Nihon Shoki* [Chronicles of Japan] states: In the twentieth year of Empress Suiko (612 CE), a person came from the kingdom of Baekje to settle in Japan. His face and body were all mottled white, and he was skilled at constructing long bridges. The people of the time called him "Michiko no Takumi" (Master of Road-Building) and also "Shikimaro" (and so forth).
○ An ancient record states: In the twentieth year of Empress Suiko, a person from the kingdom of Baekje came of his own accord to Japan (middle portion omitted, as per the chronicle text), and skillfully constructed long bridges. Officials were dispatched to the various provinces to build them: the Long Bridge of Yago (Hagi) in Mikawa Province, the Winding Bridge of Minuchi, the Hanging Bridge of Kiso, the Hamana Bridge of Tōtōmi Province, the Dark River Bridge of Aizu, the Monkey Bridge of Kai Province, and one hundred eighty other bridges in total (and so forth).
As for the lack of clarity regarding the source of these accounts, since earlier scholars have already investigated the matter, there is no need to add further comment here. I merely excerpt one or two points and record them.
At this location, the two mountain banks close in dramatically; the waters of the Sai River rush and fall fiercely, boring through the middle of the northern bank and running from west to east for five *jō* and four *shaku* (approximately 16.4 meters), then turning south across a great bridge. The bridge's length is ten *jō* and five *shaku* (approximately 31.8 meters), its width one *jō* and four *shaku* (approximately 4.2 meters), the height of the railings three *shaku* (approximately 0.9 meters), and the distance between the bridge and the water surface normally some fifteen *jō* (approximately 45 meters) (some say thirty-three *hiro*). The sight of the emerald pool surging below is enough to send a chill through one's very soul. The ancient poet who wrote "tread carefully" captured a scene that remains unchanged even today.
However, in the present disaster (Kōka Hinoto-Hitsuji), by the late third month, the impounded water had already risen several *jō* above the bridge, and the bridge timbers floated upside down, drifting to the water surface near Hokari Village. On the thirteenth day of the fourth month, they were carried away in the flood, their destination unknown (some timbers are reported to have drifted as far as the downstream districts). (With a diameter of over three *shaku* and a length of over ten *jō*—could these be the bridge timbers?) Around this time, I went to visit the site and inquired of the local people: both banks of standing rock had entirely collapsed, the remaining water still pooled several *jō* deep, and any means of rebuilding the bridge appeared utterly hopeless. Alas! When the mountains and valleys are transformed, even a site of a thousand years' fame may perish here. Is this not something deeply to be mourned?
### Hotaka Shrine (Listed in the Engishiki Shrine Register as a Myōjin-taisha; enshrined in Hotaka Village, Azumi District)
○ The *Kojiki* [Record of Ancient Matters] states: The god Watatsumi is the ancestor of the Azumi no Muraji clan (and so forth).
○ The *Seishi-roku* [Records of Clan Names and Surnames] states: The Azumi no Sukune clan descends from Hodakamino no Mikoto, son of the sea deity Watatsumitoyotamahiko no Kami (and so forth).
Since this place was home to the deity who governed the waters since the age of creation, one should revere and look up to that deity's meritorious deeds.
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## [Lower Section]
The so-called four districts of Kawanakajima are: Hajina, Sarashina, Minuchi, and Takai. The *Genpei Seisuiki* [Record of the Rise and Fall of the Genji and Heike] and the *Azuma Kagami* [Mirror of the East] describe them as "the deep interior districts of Shinano," and even today the local expression calls them "the interior districts."
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## [Lower Left]
Property of the Shimei-kan. Reproduction prohibited. 【seal】 □□□□ Library of the Hara clan.
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## [Annotations Written on the Map]
**9th day of the 4th month: The lord of Daishōji domain in Kaga Province, due to flooding of the Sai River, lodged at Yashiro, coming from Hirade, Kajiro River, and Higashi-Fukushima.** [To the right of Zenkōji, below Mure]
**During the Tennen era, Taira no Koremochi, Governor of Shinano, slew the demon of Mt. Togakushi.** [Upper right, left of Mt. Togakushi]
**This spot: a spring-fed pool.** [Upper left of Zenkōji, within the blue-colored area]
**This mountain appeared due to the earthquake; from the □th day of the third month, five to six thousand men per day were employed to haul this earth and rock south of the river, constructing a long embankment of over ten *chō* in length.** [Upper left of Zenkōji, between Koichi and Komatsubara]
**In the Ōmata River there is a great rock called "Meoto-ishi" (Husband-and-Wife Stone). It is said that during the earthquake, it flew to the opposite sandy bank.** [Lower right, left of Iiyama, in the river]
**At Tenshō-in, during a precept-conferring ceremony, the earthquake struck and many people died.** [Below Zenkōji]
**The peasants of Kawanakajima, fearing the flood disaster, built many temporary shelters on the slopes of Mt. Saijō.** [Upper left of Matsushiro]
**Mt. Iizuna (Izuna): the mountains throughout this vicinity have all cracked and split.** [Center of map, lower left of Shinmachi]
**Many temporary shelters in this vicinity.** [Lower right of Matsushiro]
**Forty-six sub-temples. Zenkōji Temple (domain of 1,000 *koku*). Chief administrator: Daikanjin.**
**From the 26th day of the third month to the 16th day of the fifth month, a temporary shrine was constructed here for the Nyorai (the principal image of Zenkōji).** [Immediately below and left of Zenkōji]
**On the 16th day of the fifth month, temporarily enshrined in Manzen-dō. On the 18th day of the tenth month, returned to the main hall.** [Immediately above and left of Zenkōji]
**This location is where waters from eight districts converge. It is called Kaizu Castle.** [Center, right of Matsushiro]
**From here downstream to the Shinano-Echigo border, approximately eight *ri* or more.** [Lower right]
**During the Genna era (1615–1624), Fukushima clan members were exiled here.** [Below Suzaka]
**Local people say: In the 13th year of Emperor Tenmu (684 CE), there was talk of moving the capital to this location.** [Below Ueda]
**Tomb of Fuku[shima] Masa[nori].** [Above Mt. Shirane]
**Reaching Niigata in Echigo Province, the river enters the sea after fifty *ri*.** [Lower right, in the river]
**Construction administration office: Tenshōji Temple.** [Center, above Komatsubara]
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## [Legend]
Post stations and markets / Main villages and dependencies / Hot springs and new settlements / Mountain collapses and fires / Floods and washed-away structures / Collapsed buildings and temporary shelters / Castles and camp offices / Former castles and barriers / Shrines and temples / District boundaries and river crossings
**Chikuma River: its source lies at Mt. Kinpō.** [Lower left]
**"Intoko-oki": this vicinity is called Intoko-oki.** [Beside Takai District]
**Site of the peace agreement between Kai (Takeda) and Echigo (Uesugi).** [Confluence of Sai River and Chikuma River]
**Kawanakajima: Ancient battlefield.** [Confluence of Sai River and Chikuma River]
**Takeda Shingen's camp site at Mt. Chausu.** [Lower left quadrant]
**Uesugi Kenshin's camp site.** [Below Hajina District]
**Tenkyūji Temple: Tomb of Takeda Nobushige.** [Left of "Sarashina District" in center of map]
**Ancient battlefield of the Genji and Heike.** [Upper left of "Sarashina District" in center of map]
**Tomb of Morozumi Bungo no Kami.** [Upper right of "Sarashina District" in center of map]
**When the floodwaters rose, people climbed to the second peak here. Fuji-no-tō (Wisteria Pagoda).** [Mountain upper left of Zenkōji]
**20th day of the sixth month: Kōgenji Temple destroyed by lightning fire.** [Upper left of Inariyama]
**Chōrakuji Temple, Mt. Obasute, Moon-Viewing Pavilion, Old Woman's Rock, Famous Stones.** [Upper left of Inariyama]
**Source of the Azusa River: at the border with Hida Province.** [Upper left of map]
**Three precincts and fifty-three sub-temples. Mt. Togakushi domain of 1,000 *koku*. Chief administrator: Kenkōji Temple.** [Upper right of map]
**Ōjōji Temple and Karukaya-bō: ancient site.** [Immediately above Zenkōji]
**Ishidō-maru: ancient site.** [Immediately left of Zenkōji]