英語訳
# Illustrated Record of the Great Shinano Earthquake of the 24th Day of the Third Month, Spring, Kōka Hinoto-Hitsuji Year (1847): Mountain Collapse, River Blockage, and Flooding
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## [Main Text / Preface]
○ *Sandai Jitsuroku* (Vol. 50) states: In the Hinoto-Hitsuji year of Emperor Kōkō's Ninna era (887 CE), on the last day of the seventh month (day of Kanoto-Ushi), at the Hour of the Monkey, the earth shook violently and continued to do so for several hours without ceasing. The Emperor came out from the Jijūden and took shelter in the southern garden of the Shishinden, and ordered the Ministry of the Treasury to erect two tent-pavilions of seven jō each as his temporary residence. Many government offices and residences throughout the eastern and western capitals collapsed, and numerous people were killed by being crushed. Some lost their senses and died suddenly. At the Hour of the Boar, the earth shook again three times. All the provinces of the Goki-Shichidō likewise experienced major earthquakes on the same day, with many government buildings damaged, seawater flooding the land, and so many people drowned that they could not be counted. (Et cetera.)
○ *Fusō Ryakki* (Vol. 22) states (upper portion omitted, as recorded): On this day, a great mountain in Shinano Province collapsed, enormous rivers burst their banks and flooded, the dwellings of six districts were swept entirely from the ground, men and women and livestock were swept away and drowned, forming hills of the dead. (Et cetera.)
Upon my own reflection, from the current Kōka Hinoto-Hitsuji year, that event was approximately 961 years ago. The historical records state that during the Ninna Hinoto-Hitsuji disaster, all six districts of that region were utterly devastated. Yet the place names are no longer recorded in the historical texts, and nearly a thousand years having passed, there is no oral tradition preserving them. Though one cannot verify this with certainty, upon reflection, the great rivers flowing through those six districts were most likely only the Sai River and the Chikuma River. (The Kiso, Tenryū, Ōi, Hime, and other rivers did not reach them.) In this present disaster as well, the worst-affected areas were Minuchi and Sarashina, with the upper districts of Chikuma and Azumi submerged, and the lower districts of Hanishina and Takai inundated. In general, the water damage extended through nearly the entire six districts, and the number of people and livestock crushed and drowned is comparable to the calamity of the Ninna era. People today say this is an event without precedent throughout history, but I had a modest ambition here: I traveled to the affected areas and surveyed them on several occasions, and finally produced this illustrated map, which I intend to store quietly in my household chest as a small guide for the caution of future generations. This work was produced hastily, and its accuracy or lack thereof is left entirely to what I was able to see and hear.
Shinchū [Shinano Province] Taira no Masayoshi 記 【Seal】 Shimei-kan
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## [Upper Section]
○ Ancient records state: In the fifteenth year of Empress Suiko's reign (607 CE), the Dainin (a sixth-rank official title) Tori no Omi was dispatched to the eastern provinces. Traveling through Mino (Minano), he arrived at Shinano, where he regulated "Minuchi no Umi" (the waters of Minuchi), then traveled to Kōzuke, where he regulated "Tone no Umi" (the waters of Tone). He then broke open the rock ledge at the waterfall of Togawa, entered Karikoshi, and opened the roads of Kurikara and Agero. (Et cetera.)
Upon reflection, Minuchi District and Minuchi Village were the original founding settlement of this district. The mention in ancient times of "Minuchi no Umi" (the sea of Minuchi) may have referred to this area. Even today, there are many large marshes remaining in the northern part of the district, which are surely remnants of that ancient body of water. This land is bounded to the north by the precipitous peaks of Togakushi, to the southeast by the Sai River, to the west by Sakai River, and to the east by Susuhana River, forming what one might call an island. Indeed, without the ingenious construction of Minuchi Bridge, passage would have been most difficult. I believe the name "Minuchi" may have originated here. (*Ainōshō*, in the section on the origin of Zenkōji, says: "Although Shinano is generally high ground, this particular district is especially high, and is therefore called the district of falling waters"—yet the land of all ten districts of our province is broadly elevated and constitutes the upper reaches of all rivers under heaven. It seems difficult to single out this particular district as uniquely high.)
### The Curved Bridge of Minuchi (also called Kumejino Bridge; listed as a pillow word for Shinano in *Utamakura Nayose*; poems referring to "Kume no Iwabashi" are said to refer to a bridge in Yamato-Katsuragi.)
From *Gosen Wakashū*: "Buried wood is said to rot from within, so on the bridge of Kumeji, take care as you go." (Anonymous.)
○ *Nihongi* states: In the twentieth year of Empress Suiko's reign (612 CE), there came to Japan a man from the kingdom of Baekje whose face and body were entirely covered with white patches. He was skilled at building long bridges. The people of the time called this person "Michinoko no Takumi" (the craftsman of roads), and also called him "Shikimaro." (Et cetera.)
○ Ancient records state: In the twentieth year of Empress Suiko's reign, a man who came of his own accord from the kingdom of Baekje (middle portion omitted, same as in the Chronicles) skillfully built long bridges. He was dispatched to various provinces and caused the following bridges to be constructed: the Long Bridge of Yahagi in Mikawa Province, the Curved Bridge of Minuchi, the Suspended Bridge of Kiso (Kiso no Kakehashi), the Bridge of Hamana in Tōtōmi Province, the Bridge over the Kuro River at Aizu, the Monkey Bridge (Saruhashi) in Kai Province, and 180 other bridges besides. (Et cetera.)
As the sources of these accounts are not clearly established—a matter that earlier scholars have already examined—there is no need to elaborate further here. I have only excerpted one or two items to present them here.
At this location, the two mountains press in extremely close, and the water of the Sai River boils and rushes, boring through the midpoint of the northern bank, flowing from west to east for five jō and four shaku, then turning south, where a great bridge spans the river. The bridge is ten jō and five shaku long, one jō and four shaku wide, with railings three shaku high. The normal distance between the bridge and the water below is approximately fifteen jō (some say thirty-three hiro). The sight of the blue-green waters of the deep pool surging up is enough to make one's heart tremble. Just as the ancient poem advised travelers to take care as they cross, so it remains unchanged even today.
However, in this present disaster (Kōka Hinoto-Hitsuji), by late in the third month, the backed-up floodwaters had risen several jō above the bridge, and the bridge beams were floating upside-down, drifting on the water's surface near Hokari (a village name). On the thirteenth day of the fourth month, they broke free and floated away to an unknown destination. (Some timbers drifted ashore in the downstream districts.) (Three shaku or more in diameter, ten jō or more in length—these are surely the timbers of that bridge.) At around this time, I made my way on foot to view the site and inquired of local people, who told me that both banks (the Standing Rocks) had entirely collapsed, residual water still pooled to a depth of several jō, and there was virtually no means of rebuilding the bridge. Alas—with this great transformation of mountains and valleys, a famous landmark of a thousand years is destroyed here. Is this not something to be deeply lamented?
### Hotaka Shrine (Listed as a major shrine [Myōjin-taisha] in the *Engishiki Jimmyōchō*. Enshrined in Hotaka Village, Azumi District.)
○ *Kojiki* states: The deity Watatsumi is the ancestor of the Azumi no Muraji clan. (Et cetera.)
○ *Seishiroku* states: The Azumi no Sukune clan descends from Hodakamino Mikoto, the child of Watatsumi Toyotamahiko no Kami, the god of the sea. (Et cetera.)
This land was governed in ancient times by a deity who controlled the waters, and therefore we ought to revere and look up to the god's great merits and achievements.
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## [Lower Section]
The so-called four districts of Kawanakajima are: Hanishina, Sarashina, Minuchi, and Takai. Works such as the *Genpei Seisui-ki* and the *Azuma Kagami* refer to them as "the inner districts of Shinano," and local people today still call them "the inner districts."
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## [Lower Left]
Property of the Shimei-kan. Reproduction prohibited.
【Seal】
□□□□
Library of the Hara Clan
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## [Explanatory Notes Within the Map]
On the ninth day of the fourth month, the Lord of Daishōji Domain in Kaga Province, due to the flooding of the Sai River, stopped at Hiraide, Kajiro River, and East Fukushima, and lodged at Yashiro. [To the right of Zenkōji; below Muroi.]
During the Tengen era, Minano no Kami Taira no Koremochi slew the demon of Mt. Togakushi. [Upper right; to the left of Mt. Togakushi.]
At this location, water wells up—it is a deep pool. [Upper left of Zenkōji; within the blue area.]
This mountain appeared due to the earthquake. Beginning from the □th day of the third month, five or six thousand people per day were employed to pull the earth and stones to the south side of the river, and a long embankment of more than ten chō was constructed. □ [Upper left of Zenkōji; between Koichi and Komatsubara.]
In the middle of the Ōmata River there is said to be a large boulder called "Meoto-ishi" (Husband-and-Wife Stone). It is said that at the time of the earthquake, the stone flew to the opposite side of the river. [Lower right, to the left of Iiyama; in the river.]
At Taishō-in temple, while the precept-conferring ceremony was in progress, the earthquake struck, and many people died. [Below Zenkōji.]
The farmers of Kawanakajima, fearing the water disaster, built many temporary shelters on the hillsides of Saijō Mountain. [Upper left of Matsushiro.]
Mt. Iizuna—the mountains in this area have all cracked and split open. [In the center of the map; lower left of Shinmachi.]
Many temporary shelters in this area. [Lower right of Matsushiro.]
Forty-six temple quarters. Zenkōji (fief of 1,000 koku). Head administrator: Daikanjin.
From the 26th day of the third month to the 16th day of the fifth month, a temporary shrine was built here for the sacred image. [Directly below and to the left of Zenkōji.]
On the 16th day of the fifth month, temporarily enshrined in the Manzen-dō. On the 18th day of the tenth month, returned to the main hall. [Directly above and to the left of Zenkōji.]
This location is where the waters of eight districts converge. It is called Kaizu Castle. [Center of map; to the right of Matsushiro.]
From here downstream to the border of Shinano and Echigo Provinces, approximately eight ri or more. [Lower right.]
During the Genna era (1615–1624), the Fukushima clan was exiled here. [Below Suzaka.]
Local people say: In the thirteenth year of Emperor Tenmu's reign (684 CE), there was discussion of relocating the capital to this area. [Below Ueda.]
There is a grave of Fukushima Masanori. [Above Mt. Shirane.]