The were a mythical people of ancient Japan mentioned in the '' Kojiki'', believed to have lived in the south of Kyūshū until at least the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the c ...

. The last leader of the Kumaso, Torishi-Kaya was killed by

Yamato Takeru , originally , was a Japanese semi-legendary prince of the Yamato dynasty, son of Emperor Keikō, who is traditionally counted as the 12th Emperor of Japan. His name written in kanji can vary, in the '' Nihon Shoki'' it is spelled 日本武尊 ...

in 397. The name of

Kumamoto Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to the northeast, M ...

originates from the Kumaso people.

Origins

Scholars such as Kakubayashi Fumio, ''"although information is extremely limited"'', concluded that they were of Austronesian origin based on some linguistic and cultural evidence, theorising that the word ''kaya'', present in personal names or titles, such as Torishi-Kaya, has the same root as Tagalog ''"

kaya Kaya may refer to: People *Kaya (given name) *Kaya (surname) Places *Kaya, Burkina Faso, a town in Burkina Faso, capital of the department *Kaya Airport, serving the town * Kaya Department, a department or commune of Sanmatenga Province in centr ...

"'', meaning "ability; capability; competence; resources; wealth" and

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

and

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

''"

"'', meaning "rich, wealthy, having wealth". The ''So'' present in Kumaso was also theorised to have the same origins as ''tsuo, tsau, thau, sau, tau, tao'' supposedly meaning "people" in Austronesian languages.

Overview

William George Aston William George Aston (9 April 1841 – 22 November 1911) was an Anglo-Irish diplomat, author and scholar-expert in the language and history of Japan and Korea. Early life Aston was born near Derry, Ireland.Ricorso Aston, bio notes/ref> He dis ...

, in his translation of the '' Nihongi'', says ''Kumaso'' refers to two separate tribes, ''Kuma'' (meaning "bear") and ''So'' (written with the character for "attack" or "layer on"). In his translation of the '' Kojiki'', Basil Hall Chamberlain records that the region is also known simply as '' So district'', and elaborates on the

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan. Japanese his ...

-centric description of a "bear-like" people, based on their violent interactions or physical distinctiveness.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj012.htm#fn_173 (The people called ''

tsuchigumo is a historical Japanese derogatory term for renegade local clans, and also the name for a race of spider-like yōkai in Japanese folklore. Alternative names for the mythological Tsuchigumo include and . In the ''Kojiki'' and in '' Nihon Shoki ...

'' by the Yamato people provide a better-known example of the transformation of other tribes into legendary monsters. ''Tsuchigumo''—the monstrous "ground spider" of legend—is speculated to refer originally to the native pit dwellings of that people.) Geographically, Aston records that the Kumaso domain encompassed the historical provinces of Hyūga, Ōsumi, and

Satsuma Satsuma may refer to: * Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit * ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails Places Japan * Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town * Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture * Satsuma Domain, a sou ...

(contemporaneous with Aston's translation), or present-day Miyazaki and

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

prefectures. The last leader of the Kumaso, Torishi-Kaya, aka Brave of Kahakami, was assassinated in the winter of 397 by Prince

of Yamato, who was disguised for this as a woman at a banquet.

Legacy

The word Kuma ('Bear') survives today as

('source of the bear'), and

Kuma District, Kumamoto is a district located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. In 2003 the district had an estimated population of 64,552 and a density of 48.64 persons per square kilometer. The total area is 1,327.16 km2. History Economy Kuma District is noted fo ...

. Kuma District is known for a distinct dialect, Kuma Dialect.

People of the Kumaso mentioned in the Nihongi

*Torishi-Kaya (aka Brave of Kahakami): a leader of the Kumaso *Atsukaya: a leader of the Kumaso *Sakaya: a leader of the Kumaso *Ichi-fukaya:

Emperor Keikō , also known as and , was the 12th legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Keikō's all ...

married her 82 AD and in the same year put her to death, since she was involved in the assassination which killed her father. *Ichi-kaya: younger sister of Ichi-fukaya''Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697'', translated from the original Chinese and Japanese by

. Book VII, page 196. Tuttle Publishing. Tra edition (July 2005). First edition published 1972.

References

{{Ethnic groups in Japan Tribes of ancient Japan

Origins

Overview

Legacy

People of the Kumaso mentioned in the Nihongi

See also

References