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 recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

with the ruins of a

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 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 capita ...

government administrative complex located in what is now part of the city of Ōsaki,

Miyagi prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,265,724 (1 August 2023) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akit ...

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 (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...

of far northern

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It is protected by the central government as a National Historic Site. It slightly predates the construction of

Taga Castle was a ''jōsaku''-style Japanese castle built in the late Nara period in what is now part of the city of Tagajō in Miyagi prefecture in the Tōhoku region of far northern Honshu, Japan. Bashō tells of his visit to the site in ''Oku no Hosomi ...

to the southeast.

Background

In the late

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

Ritsuryō is the historical Japanese legal system, legal system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Legalism (Chinese philosophy), Chinese Legalism in Feudal Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei" (). ''Kya ...

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

of northern Japan to bring the local

Emishi The were a group of people who lived in parts of northern Honshū in present-day Japan, especially in the Tōhoku region. The first mention of the Emishi in literature that can be corroborated with outside sources dates to the 5th century AD, ...

tribes under its control. Towards the end of the sixth century, the central government established a

provincial capital A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational division, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encomp ...

and several fortified local administrative centers in what is now

Fukushima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,771,100 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture ...

and

Miyagi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,265,724 (1 August 2023) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akit ...

; however, many of these early centers were destroyed in Emishi uprisings, notably in 709 AD, which led to the establishment of

and subsequent re-colonization of the region. The Myōdate site was long believed to have been the location of the castle of the Ōsaki clan, who held the post of ''Ōshū Tandai'' in the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

. However, large quantities of

roof tile Roof tiles are overlapping tiles designed mainly to keep out precipitation such as rain or snow, and are traditionally made from locally available materials such as clay or slate. Later tiles have been made from materials such as concrete, glass ...

s had always been uncovered by farmers in nearby fields, and when these case to the attention of archaeologists in the 1980s, it was quickly determined that the remains were actually from the

. Subsequent excavation revealed that the site was mostly like a ''josaku''-style Japanese castle dating from the late 7th to early 8th centuries. From its geographic location, the likely candidate is the mentioned in ancient records.

Description

The ruins are located in the northeast of the Osaki plains of northern Miyagi Prefecture, a short distance to the south of the

Daikichiyama Tile Kiln Site The is an archaeological site with the remains of a late Nara period to early Heian period roof tile production site located in what is now the city of Ōsaki, Miyagi Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. It has been protected by ...

and several ruined Buddhist temples dating from Nara period. The site consists of the remnants of a square enclosure, approximately 700 meters east-west by 1110 meters north-south, with an earthen

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department ** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...

, presumably surmounted by a wooden

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

. Inside the enclosure, post holes and foundation stones indicate the locations of political affairs and ceremonial buildings, and numerous warehouses. The ruins predate the establishment of Taga Castle. It is not known when or why the site was abandoned. The ruins were backfilled after excavation and there is nothing to be seen at the site today except for rice fields and a commemorative stone marker. The site is located about a 10-minute walk from Higashi-Osaki Station on the

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and 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 in ...

Rikuu East Line The is a railway line in Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Kogota Station in Misato, Miyagi Prefecture to Shinjō Station in Shinjō, Yamagata Prefecture, acting as a connector between the Tōhoku Mai ...

References

External links

Miyagi Prefectural Agency for Cultural Affairs
History of Miyagi Prefecture Nara period Ōsaki, Miyagi Archaeological sites in Japan Historic Sites of Japan Mutsu Province {{DEFAULTSORT:Myōdate Kanga ruins

Background

Description

See also

References

External links