are ancient reports on provincial culture, geography, and oral tradition presented to the reigning monarchs of Japan, also known as local gazetteers. They contain agricultural, geographical, and historical records as well as mythology and folklore. Fudoki manuscripts also document local myths, rituals, and poems that are not mentioned in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki chronicles, which are the most important literature of the ancient national mythology and history. In the course of national unification, the imperial court enacted a series of criminal and administrative codes called ritsuryō and surveyed the provinces established by such codes to exert greater control over them.
Kofudoki
In the narrower sense, Fudoki refer to the oldest records written in the Nara period, later called . Compilation of Kofudoki began in 713 and was completed over a 20-year period. Following the Taika Reform in 646 and the Code of Taihō enacted in 701, there was need to centralize and solidify the power of the imperial court. This included accounting for lands under its control. According to the Shoku Nihongi, Empress Genmei issued a decree in 713 ordering each to collect and report the following information: Etymology of names for geographic features, such as mountains, plains, and rivers Land fertility Myths, legends, and folktales told orally by old people Names of districts and townships Natural resources and living things
Names
Empress Genmei ordered in 713 that place names in the provinces, districts, and townships be written in two kanji characters with positive connotations. This occasionally required name changes. For example, became and became .
Manuscripts
At least 48 of the Gokishichidō provinces contributed to their records but only that of Izumo remains nearly complete. Partial records of Hizen, Bungo, Harima and Hitachi remain and a few passages from various volumes remain scattered throughout various books. Those of Harima and Hizen are designated National Treasures.
The Izumo Fudoki, the only manuscript to survive in complete form, was compiled in 733 by Miyake no Omi Kanatatari under the supervision of Izumo no Omi Hiroshima; its composite character, drawing together several local chronicles, is credited with giving it the widest range of kami among the surviving Fudoki. On the basis of date and style, the extant Fudoki are further grouped into the Wadō Fudoki (Harima and Hitachi), which are stylistically closer to the Nihon Shoki, and the Tenpyō Fudoki (Izumo, Bungo, and Hizen); the two groups can also be distinguished by their use of the administrative terms gō or sato for "village", reflecting whether the text predates or postdates the abolition of the village-hamlet system in 739–740.
Below is a list of extant manuscripts and scattered passages.国土としての始原史～風土記逸文
Kinai Settsu Province: Yamashiro Province: Yamato Province:
Tōkaidō Hitachi Province: Hitachi no Kuni Fudoki :ja:常陸国風土記 Iga Province: Ise Province: Izu Province: Kai Province: Kazusa Province: Mikawa Province: Owari Province: Sagami Province: Shima Province: Shimōsa Province: Suruga Province: Suruga no Kuni Fudoki :ja:駿河国風土記
Tōsandō Hida Province: Ōmi Province: Ōmi no Kuni Fudoki :ja:近江国風土記 Michinoku Province: Michinoku no Kuni Fudoki 陸奥国風土記 Mino Province: Shinano Province:
Hokurikudō Echigo Province: Echizen Province: Wakasa Province:
San'indō Hōki Province: Inaba Province: Iwami Province: Izumo Province: Izumo no Kuni Fudoki :ja:出雲国風土記 Tango Province: Tango no Kuni Fudoki :ja:丹後国風土記
San'yōdō Bingo Province: Bingo no Kuni Fudoki :ja:備後国風土記 Bitchū Province: Bizen Province: Harima Province: Harima no Kuni Fudoki :ja:播磨国風土記 Mimasaka Province:
Nankaidō Awa Province (Tokushima): Awaji Province: Iyo Province: Kii Province: Sanuki Province: Tosa Province:
Saikaidō Bungo Province: Bungo no Kuni Fudoki :ja:豊後国風土記 Buzen Province: Chikuzen Province: Chikugo Province: Iki Province: Higo Province: Hizen Province: Hizen no Kuni Fudoki :ja:肥前国風土記 Hyūga Province: Ōsumi Province: Satsuma Province:
Parks In 1966 the Agency for Cultural Affairs called on the prefectural governments to build open-air museums and parks called near historic sites such as tombs (kofun) and provincial temples. These archaeological museums preserve and exhibit cultural properties to enhance public understanding of provincial history and culture.
Name Prefecture Province Municipalities Museum Ukitamu Fudoki no Oka Yamagata Uzen Takahata Yamagata Prefectural Ukitama Fudoki no Oka Archaeological Museum Shimotsuke Fudoki no Oka Tochigi Shimotsuke Shimotsuke Tochigi Prefectural Shimotsuke Fudoki no Oka Museum Nasu Fudoki no Oka Tochigi Shimotsuke Nakagawa and Ōtawara Nakagawa Municipal Nasu Fudoki no Oka Museum Saitama Musashi Gyōda Saitama Prefectural Museum of the Sakitama Ancient Burial Mounds Chiba Shimōsa Sakae and Narita Boso-no-Mura Museum Tateyama Fudoki no Oka Toyama Etchū Tateyama Yamanashi Kai KōfuYamanashi Prefectural Archaeological Museum Ōmi Fudoki no Oka Shiga Ōmi Ōmihachiman and Azuchi Chikatsu Asuka Fudoki no Oka Osaka KawachiKananOsaka Prefectural Chikatsu Asuka Museum Kii Fudoki no Oka Wakayama KiiWakayamaWakayama Prefecture Kii-fudoki-no-oka Museum of Archaeology and Folklore Yakumotatsu Fudoki no Oka Shimane IzumoMatsueShimane Prefectural Yakumotatsu Fudoki no Oka Museum Kibiji Fudoki no Oka Okayama Bitchū SōjaSōja Kibiji Museum Hiroshima Bingo MiyoshiHiroshima Prefectural Miyoshi Fudoki no Oka Museum Higo Kodai no Mori Kumamoto Higo Yamaga and NagomiKumamoto Prefectural Ancient Burial Mound Museum Ōita BungoUsaŌita Prefectural Museum of History Saitobaru Fudoki no OkaMiyazaki Hyūga SaitoMiyazaki Prefectural Saitobaru Archaeological Museum
See also Japanese Historical Text Initiative
Notes
References
External links 風土記(Big5 Chinese) texts of the remaining Fudoki & scattered passages in other books. Manuscript scans at Waseda University Library: Hizen, 1800, Bungo, 1800, Bungo, unknown
風土記