The is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

with the ruins of a

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

government administrative complex located in what is now part of the town of Watari,

Miyagi prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the nort ...

in the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains a ...

of far northern

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

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 ...

. It is protected by the central government as a National Historic Site.

Background

In the late

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 cap ...

, after the establishment of a centralized government under the ''

Ritsuryō , , is the historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei" (律令制). ''Kyaku'' (格) are amendments of Ritsuryō, ''Shiki'' (� ...

'' system, the Yamato court sent a number of military expeditions to what is now the

of northern Japan to bring the local

Emishi The (also called Ebisu and Ezo), written with Chinese characters that literally mean "shrimp barbarians," constituted an ancient ethnic group of people who lived in parts of Honshū, especially in the Tōhoku region, referred to as in contemp ...

tribes under its control. The site is believed to have been the location of the civil administration of

Watari District Watari may refer to: Places *Watari District, Miyagi, Japan *Watari, Miyagi, town in Watari District * Watari Station (Miyagi), train station in Watari District * Watari Station (Kumamoto), train station in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan * Watari Museu ...

in the

. The name of Watari District appears in ancient records, including the ''

Shoku Nihongi The is an imperially-commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 797, it is the second of the ''Six National Histories'', coming directly after the '' Nihon Shoki'' and followed by ''Nihon Kōki''. Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Sugano no Mamichi ...

'', ''

Nihon Kōki is an officially commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 840, it is the third volume in the Six National Histories. It covers the years 792–833. Background Following the earlier national history ''Shoku Nihongi'' (797), in 819 Empero ...

'' and the ''

Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku , abbreviated as Sandai Jitsuroku, is an officially commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 901, it is the sixth and final text in the Six National Histories series. It covers the years 858–887. Background Following the earlier nation ...

'', and the site dates from the same 9th to the early 10th century . The site was excavated by the Miyagi Prefectural Board of Education (1986-1988), and by Watari Town (since 2002).

Description

The ruins are located on the south bank of the Abukuma River in southern Miyagi Prefecture. The site consists of the remnants of a rectangular enclosure, approximately 180 meters east-west by 200 meters north-south, with remnants of a moat and earthen

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

, presumably surmounted by a wooden

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade' ...

. Inside the enclosure, there was a secondary wall 50 x 60 meters, containing the elevated foundation base of a large building. There are traces of the gate on the east and south side of the palisade. Earthenware from the 9th century has been excavated from the south gate. To the south of the central complex were two long buildings, 6 meters east and west and 26 meters north and south, in symmetrical positions in the east and west, forming a “U”-shape. Both long buildings have been rebuilt once, and were presumably barracks. Up to ten warehouse ruins on the southern end the ruins were surrounded on all sides by a moat of about 150 meters wide. These warehouses were presumably for storing tax rice. This arrangement was common to

county administrative complexes in other parts of the country. The ruins were backfilled after evacuation, and is nothing to be seen at the site today except for a commemorative stone marker. The site is about 10 minutes on foot from

Ōkuma Station is a railway station in the town of Watari, Miyagi, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Ōkuma Station is served by the Joban Line, and is located 337.8 km from the official starting point of the line at i ...

on the

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

Joban Line.

References

External links

Miyagi Prefectural Agency for Cultural Affairs

Watari Town home page
{{in lang, ja History of Miyagi Prefecture Heian period Watari, Miyagi Archaeological sites in Japan Historic Sites of Japan Mutsu Province

Background

Description

See also

References

External links