Asuka

Asuka is the name of a rural village where the capital of Japan was located from the 6th to 7th century. When we visited there for the first time on April 9, strangely we felt nostalgia. We didn't think it was because we subconsciously remembered the history. When we see ruins of dwelling around 10 centuries ago, the sites are often found such a place where we ourselves want to live now. Probably the same feeling was what we felt in Asuka. In the distance, we saw famous hills, Unebi, Miminashi and Kagu. Those names were often mentioned in the classic literatures and therefore well known among educated Japanese. Rice fields and narrow paths between them extended among low hills. The ancient mound tomb of Takamatsu, famous for its wall paintings, was still under investigation by scientists. An adjacent unnamed mound tomb was a hill of cherry blossoms in full bloom. It is said that there are as many as 600 mound tombs in Asuka. They were built mostly while the royal court was located here. In 710 AD, the capital was moved to Nara, and then in 794 to Kyoto. The capital of Japan was thus moved about 30km to the north each time.

Asuka is written with two Kanjis meaning "flying birds", without any reason to read them "Asuka". Why is it ? It began with a word "Asuka" first, and three Kanjis of corresponding sounds were assigned to it. Then a decorative prefix word "flying birds" was attached to make a word of five Kanjis "flying bird Asuka" in the classic poems for many decades, until two Kanjis alone meaning "flying birds" were eventually also read "Asuka". Then, why "flying birds"? If you stand in Asuka, you instantly understand that it is a paradise for birds, with River Asuka, rice fields, forests and hills. So what is "Asuka"? Only one theory which I think etymologically meaningful is that "Asu" is "morning" and "Ka" is "place" in the ancient Japanese. A Chinese royal literature records that an envoy from Japan reported the Japanese emperor did prayer and politics before dawn and that the Chinese emperor said it was strange. Maybe the court itself was called "Asuka" in the meaning of "The place of the morning".

There is a ruin of "the board-thatched palace" in Asuka. It sounds like a very humble palace, but it is not the case. In those days without a saw, making a board for the roof by an ax and other tools was a high-tech luxury compared with using weed or straw for thatching. The ends of poles were buried into the ground, and therefore rotted quickly. There came Buddhism in 538 or 552, depending on records, with its advanced culture such as stone bases for poles, roofing tiles, and five-storeyed pagodas, together with professionals and technicians. People must be marvelled at them. Only after such permanent buildings were technically introduced into Japan, the palace and the capital of Nara could be built. Until then, a palace was once built and remained useful only for a generation or so. Therefore, the palace was newly built very often. Except for 2 brief cases, the palace was built and the capital remained in and around Asuka. A couple of decades before moving to Nara for good, the capital of Fujiwara, in the same size as Nara, was built north of Asuka, but abandoned soon for inconvenience in drainage and tranportation on the river.

Asuka was the home town of Soga family. By marriages, many royal members were relatives of Soga family. Its head, Umako Soga, killed an emperor and throned his niece as Empress Suiko. Prince Umayado, who was later named Prince Shotoku, was her nephew and a son of another niece of Umako. Therefore, Empress Suiko named Prince Umayado as her deputy and placed her palace in Asuka. But eventually, Prince Umayado had conflicts with Umako and retreated to Ikaruga, north-west of Asuka, away from politics. Soga family became ever stronger, to make the royal family deeply concerned. A royal member out of Soga family, named Prince Naka, attacked and ruined Soga family in 645 to resume royal control of the government. I believe in the following theory, though it is not yet widely accepted. Official royal history writer didn't like to attribute prosperous Buddhism culture promoted by Umako, to Soga family which had become royal enemy, and attributed it instead to Prince Umayado and gave him the respectful name Prince Shotoku, or Holy Virtue.

The mound tomb of Takamatsu was under construction for preservation. Its inside is sealed but the replica inner room with wall paintings is located next to it. Vivid figures of ancient noble people looked romantic. The structure of huge rocks named "rock stage" is believed to be the remnant of the rectangular mound tomb for Umako, exposed after the mound mud was washed away. We entered into the inner room, emptied by thieves, and felt prosperity and vanity of Soga family. Japan's oldest Buddhism temple, "Asuka Temple", built by Umako in 596 has the oldest Buddhism statue, among those whose dedication years are known. It is a 5m tall statue of Buddha created with gold and cupper in 606 by an imigrant from Korea. In front of the Temple, we bought cheese called "So", brought by imigrants. It was fragrant and delicious. The old capital, Asuka, is just fantastic.

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