Detail
| Cultural Resources Category | Calligraphies, Books, Documents |
|---|---|
| Cultural Properties Category | National Designation (National Treasures) Tangible Cultural Properties (Documents) |
| Title | The monument of “the Kuni no Miyatsuko of Nasu (the local governor of Nasu Province)” |
| Designation Date | 1952/11/22 |
| Location | Otawara City |
| Cities / Towns | Otawara |
| Owner / Manager | Kasaishi Shrine |
| Public Information | [公開（有料）] |
| Description | This stone monument enshrined at Kasaishi Shrine in Yuzukami, Otawara City, is also called "kasaishi" (meaning "shade stone") because a stone is placed like a shade on top of the stone on which the letters are engraved. It is made of granite, and the height of the part above the base stone, which was installed in the Edo period, is approximately 148 cm. The inscription consists of 19 characters and 8 lines, 152 characters in total. In April of the first year of Eisho (689), Nasu no Ataiide, then governor of Nasu Province (later county governor), was appointed by the Grand Prince of Asuka Kiyomihara (Jito Dynasty) to the post of governor of Koorinokami, and later, in the year of Kanoene (700), he was appointed to the post of governor of Koori. The record states that he died on the second day of the first lunar month in the year of Kanoene (700), and that Oshimaro and other members of the Nasu Kokuzouke (the local governor family) erected a monument to honor and remember his legacy. The inscription is a tribute to the achievements of Nasu no Ataiide , who was active around the end of the 7th century. The name "Eisho" is the name of Wuzhutian, who founded the Zhou Dynasty during the Tang Dynasty in China, and the inscription is written in the calligraphic style of the Six Dynasties developed in ancient China. This is a remarkable fact. It was through the efforts of Tokugawa Mitsukuni and the local people that the Nasu Kokuzo Monument came to be honored in the Edo period. In 1676 (Enpo 4), Enjun, a prisoner in Oshu-Iwashiro who became a Buddhist priest, was passing through Yuzukami Village when he heard a story about a mysterious stone that was said to injure people in the village if they approached it, or to sprain their feet or spit blood if they hitched their horses to it. He told this to Shigesada Ohgane, the village headman of Oguchi Village, who copied the inscription and wrote it down in "Nasu-ki" (Records of Nasu). When Tokugawa Mitsukuni visited this area in 1683, Shigesada presented him with a copy of "Nasu-ki", which led Mitsukuni to learn of the existence of the monument. Believing that the monument was the tombstone of the Kuni no Miyatsuko of Nasu, (the local governor of Nasu Province) Mitsukuni ordered his retainer Sassa Sukesaburo Munekiyo to search for the owner of the monument in 1687, and first excavated the mound beneath the Kokuzo monument, but found no clues. This is said to be the first academic excavation in Japan. Although the identity of the burial mound was not revealed, Mitsukuni built a monument hall to preserve the Kokuzo monument, backfilled the Samuraizuka burial mound with artifacts, prepared the mound, planted pine trees to prevent it from collapsing, and took other steps to protect the monument and the burial mound. Mitsukuni ordered his vassal Sassa Sukesaburo Munekiyo to carry out a series of these projects, with Ohgane Shigesada taking charge of the work on site. In June of 1692 (Genroku 5), Mitsukuni personally paid homage to the completed monument. This monument is considered one of the three oldest monuments in Japan, together with the Tago monument in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture and the Tagajo monument in Tagajo City, Miyagi Prefecture. |
| Copyright | 著作権あり |
