Composition of settlers from Kyushu Island and places of their settlement in Central Japan during the middle of the 3rd century A.D. according to the Story about the “downward moving” of Nigi-hayahi-no mikoto

Abstract

The article analyses the historical basis of the poorly researched ancient Japanese legend on a “downward moving” Nigi-hayahi-no mikoto together with his associates. The legend tells about their resettlement to the Central Japan from the Ama country (“Heavenly”). This story about the ancestors of the ancestral group of the Mononobe-uji clan is most fully reflected in the source of the early 9^th century – “Kūji-honki”. It was necessary, comparing the materials of the legend with the information of Chinese dynasty histories, the results of a study of ancient toponymy and archaeological research, to find out the real events underlying this legend. As early as the late 19^th century, it was suggested that this story was a reflection of the history of the relocation of an ethnic group from western Japan, the events of which preceded the founding of the Yamato state. The legend is told about people, “downward moving” from the Ama country which researchers identify with the country of the sea people Ama. The homeland of Nigi-hayahi could be Matsura district. According to researchers, the associates of Nigi-hayahi were natives from northern Kyushu and from the Tsushima and Iki islands. Dating of the events described in the story, based on genealogical details, as well as the results of the analysis of the spread of toponyms of the North Kyushu region’s Ito (so-called maru-timei, transferred to the Yamato area) and related archaeological objects, is defined by researchers as the mid-3^rd century CE: around 245–250 AD, there was indeed a relocation from North Kyushu to Kinai, with which the foundation in the middle of the 3^rd century of the Makimuku large settlement in Central Japan was connected. Comparing these findings with reports of Chinese dynastic histories in mid-3^rd century south-western Japan leads us to a conclusion that Nigi-hayahi-no mikoto and the people accompanying them in the relocation may have been involved in the power struggle that took place in the Nü-wang-guo state after the death of the woman-ruler Bimihu (Jap. Himiko) in 247–248 AD. Nigi-hayahi-no mikoto and his supporters opposed Yi-yü (Bimihu’s woman-successor). And, having been defeated in the political struggle, they had to leave Kyushu and go on a trip to the east, bringing to Central Japan the “Yamato” toponym (by the name of the main district of the Nü-wang-guo state, where the residence of the head of this federation was located). An analysis of the story showed that the immigrants settled in eastern Settsu, Kawachi, Izumi and then in the Yamato region. The Nigi-hayahi-no mikoto’s associates and their descendants became a prominent part of the community nobility layer of Central Japan, forming the basis of the ruling layer of early Yamato. Researchers determined that more than a hundred noble Yamato clans occurred from Nigi-hayahi, and his descendants accounted for 25.5 % of the total number of Yamato clans. The results of the study will allow a more complete understanding of the social and political development of central Japan in the second half of the 3^rd century.

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