Kibutsu Shrine, Okayama, surounding forest

was a kingdom of fourth century Western

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The Kingdom of Kibi covered most of what is today

Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,906,464 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefectur ...

. Today, the Kibi Road crosses the plain between Okayama and Soja, what was once the heartland of ''Kibi no kuni''.

Etymology

modern Japanese Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

, 黍 ''kibi'' refers to

proso millet ''Panicum miliaceum'' is a grain crop with many common names, including proso millet, broomcorn millet, common millet, hog millet, Kashfi millet, red millet, and white millet. Archaeobotanical evidence suggests millet was first domesticated abou ...

(''Panicum miliaceum''). However, the name of the kingdom of ''Kibi'', which appears in the ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'' and the '' Nihon Shoki'' (the oldest written records in Japan), may have a different origin that has been lost to time. The

Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

used for writing the name of the kingdom, which have been in use for over 1200 years, literally mean "lucky, propitious, good" and "to prepare, preparation; ready; complete, perfect; provision, equipment, installation, facility" and probably have been used for their phonetic values.

History

Archaeological research of many temples and shrine ruins, as well as burial mounds, suggests that the ancient kingdom was possibly as developed and powerful as the Yamato administration that controlled Japan in the eighth century. The center of power of the Kibi Kingdom was located on the Kibi plain between Soja and Okayama.

Legends

Kibi has also been associated with the legends of

Kibitsuhiko-no-mikoto , also known as Hiko Isuseri-hiko no mikoto, was a legendary Japanese prince. According to the '' Nihon Shoki'', he was the son of Emperor Kōrei. Legend says this prince slayed an ogre called Ura, which may be the demonization of the Kingdom of ...

. According to the '' Nihon Shoki'', he was the son of

Emperor Kōrei , also known as was the seventh legendary emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Very little is known about this Emperor due to a lack of material available for further verification and study. Kōrei is known as a " ...

.Louis-Frédéric
"Kibitsu-hiko no Mikoto"
in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 513. Legend says this prince slew an ogre called Ura. The tale may be a metaphor for the conquest of the Kingdom of Kibi, which was destroyed during the reign of Emperor Kōrei. In the story, the demon Ura lived in

Ki castle was a Japanese castle of the ''kōgoishi'' type, constructed in the late 7th century by the Yamato Imperial court. The site, atop Kijō Mountain in what is today the Okayama Prefecture town of Sōja, is considered a national monument. Portions o ...

, the capital of Kibi.

References

* *

Etymology

History

Legends

References

See also