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Postscript
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| The school song of Fukuoka Municipal Fukuoka Elementary School begins
with "Connecting a dream to Mt.Jyogane where the sky is bright ..."
, followed by "Mt. Futatsumori ..." at No.2 and "Tsukechigawa
River ..." at No.3. If you ask what is the typical image of Fukuoka
, many people will answer "Mt. Futatsumori " or "Tsukechigawa
River". How many people answer "Mt. Jyogane" ? At the foot
of Mt. Jyogane in Uenaegi , there was Koeji Temple , the main building
of Koeji Castle , and the samurai residence , which was the central area
of Fukuoka in the Middle Ages. Kannon-do , masonry , cornerstones , old
wells , garden pond , earthworks , moat traces , Hokyointo Toers , and
Gorinto Towers remain there. Indeed , Mt.Jyogane formed a dream castle
town in Uenaegi. However , the Abolition of Buddha of the Naegi clan almost
compleately eliminated the valuable literature and cultural heritage related
to the Koeji Castle that should have remained in and around the Koeji site
and in places of Uenaegi. The word "disappeared" in the subtitle "Disappeared medieval castle town Uenaegi" of this area introduction homepage has three means. First , there was Koeji Castle in Uenaegi for about 200 years from the 13th centry , but at the beginning of 16th centry , it moved to Mt. Takamori in Naegi. Second , valuable materials related to Koeji Castle have compleately disappeared due to the Abolition of Buddha. Third , the number of people who know that there was Koeji Castle and Koeji Temple at the foot of Mt. Jyogane in Uenaegi , even those in Fukuoka , has decreased. While proceeding with the creation of the homepage for introducing the area , "the disappeared medieval castle town Uenaegi" , it was confirmed how Uenaegi is a region with historical value. In particular, it was confirmed that the root of the south side of Mt. Jyogane , where the remains of Koeji Temple and Samurai residence remain , is a valuable cultural heritage. In addition , as I investigated various things , I found something new in my own way , and I would like to leave it as a postscript. |
| 一、「The first castle owner of Koeji Castle may have been Kagemura Toyama.」
Kagekado Kato suke is a senior vassal of Yoritomo Minamoto , who contributed to the overthrow of the Heike family and was given the Toyama territory around the foot of Mt. Ena in 1185. Kagetomo , the eldest son of Kagekado , became the first Iwamura Castle owner and gave himself the surname of Toyama. Kagetomo Toyama had three sons , the eldest son Kagemura , the second son Kageshige , and the third son Kageto. The second son Kageshige became the first Akechi Castle owner , and the third son Kageto became the second Iwamura Castle owner. However , it is not clear about the eldest son Kagemura. Books describing the movement of Toyama clan , in which Koeji Castle appears , include "Naegidenki Biography", "Takamorikongenki" , "Naegiki" which were made at the end of the Edo period. Only Naegi Biography is described as having lived in Uenaegi for several generations from Kamakura. Due to the Abolition of Buddha , there is almost no material about Koeji Castle , so the fact that Kagemura is not clear may be evidence that he was the owner of Koeji Castle. Inferring from the fact that Akechi Castle was built in 1247 by Kageshige , it seems that Koegi Castle was also built at about this time by Kagemura. |
| 二、「It's not a legend , but Prince Munenaga was really lurking in Koeji
Castle ?」
The Toyama family dominated Uenaegi for generations and revered Tobitenno as it's deity . Around the time of Genko and Kenmu (1331-1334) , when shaved head Ichiun Toyama was in the castle , Prince Munenaga of Emperor Godaigo was hiding in Koeji Castle. Then , samurais from a nearby country uprised and attacked Koegi Castle. Since allies were small and demoralized , shaved head Ichiun mourned a lot and prayed to the shrine. Then two white feather arrows came out from the shrine and entered the enemy's camp , and while looking at it , the heavens became cloudy as if ink had been washed away , and with thunder , heavy rain like flowing the axle. the enemy's soldiers seemed upset , so he ordered , "This is Tobitenno's blessing . Proceed" Allies suddenly appeared , and the enemy soldiers fled like spider cubs. For this reason , the prince deeply revered Tobitenno , wrote the eight characters of "So Sya Gi On Go Zu Ten No" in large letters , and presented a flat frame. At that time , the battle was divided into the samurai group and emperor group , but Toki clan of the lord of Mino was the samurai group , and of course , Toyama clan was also the samurai group. However , Fukuoka Toyama family of Koegi Castle was the Emperor's group for some reason. The name of Koeji Castle lord Goro Toyama was written in "Taiheiki" among the lords who went down to Kanto with Yoshisada Nitta.Then why did Toyama family of Koeji Castle need to belong to the Emperor's group ? There must have been a reason to belong to the Emperor's group even though the surroundings were the samurai group. In addition , many of the legends of the princes that remain in Hirugawa Village , Nakatsugawa City , and Takayama Village , Nakatsugawa City are related to King Munenaga. |
| 三、「Was my ancester Eikyu Arata ?」
There is a house named "Arata"that looks straight down at the Henkoji Temple. Currently , it is Mr.Taguch's house , but before , there lived a person who had "Niwa " as his surname. There are tombs for generations nearby , and it is true that the surname "Niwa" is engraved on them. I've heard the legend that my house is also out of this "Arata (Nitta)". During the year of Empress Gensho(680-748) , shaved head Eikyu Arata lived in Uenaegi and was always devoted Buddha and Deity. One morning , seven cedar seedlings lined up in the garden of his house. When the family members wondered and talked , the family child said like a shit , "I'm a deity tree of Gozutenno , if you make me a guardian deity , you will prosper for a long time." Therefore he chose a clean land nearby , planted the cedar seedlings , founded the shrine , called it Tobitenno , and revered it as a deity , and the villagers also revered it. The place name "Uenaegi" also arises from this. And shaved head Eikyu Arata is a pioneer in the development of Uenaegi. When the shaman becomes obsessed with something , the witness who is on the side of the shaman , interprets the word of deity , and conveys his will is called "Saniwa" in Yamato words. In this way , there may be something to do with the fact that "the person who serves deity" is called "niwa" and the surname "Niwa" of Arata. Tobitenno (Uenaegi Shrine) was in contact with my house and was also the land of my family. Also , the land from my house through Tobitenno , which is almost continuos , to the ruins of Koeji Temple is also owned by my family. In addition , the place where the Kannon-do of the ruins of Koeji Temple is built , the place where Hokyointo Tower and Gorinto Tower are located around it , and the ruins of the samurai residence where masonry remains are also owned by my family. Also , I heard that my grandfather sold Mt. Jyogane , but my family also owned it , where Koeji Castle was built. Judging from the fact that they own the central land of Uenaegi in the Middle Ages , it is certain that those who lived in Uenaegi early and were related to Tobitenno and Koeji Temple were my anceters. However , due to the Abolition of Buddha , there are no mortuary tables left in my house before that , and I am the 6th generation after the Abolition of Buddha. It is a pity that I should be able to explore the roots of my family if there were no Abolition of Buddha and the mortuary tables of my family and the literature of the remains of Koeji Temple remained (November 1998) |
| 四、「The revival of the foot of Mt.Jyogane will lead to the development of
Fukuoka.」
In Mizunami City , Gifu Prefecture , the Mino Genji Forum has been held every year since 1994. On November ,3 , 1999 , I participated in the 6th Mino Genji Forum and had the opportunity to listen to the lecture by Mr. Morihiro Hosokawa , who was the former Prime Minister. His words , "In order to revitalize the region , valuing culture should be the highest priority , and attracting industry is the second." he said , which left a strong impression on me. Due to the Abolition of Buddha of the Naegi family in the early Meiji era , the temples were destroyed and the mortuary tables were burried , and the statue Buddha were destroyed and burried in the ground except for the Shimono district , which was the teritory of the Tokugawa Shogunate. In addition , Fukuoka was forcibly fillled with Shinto. All funerals and memorial services after that became a divine ceremony. However , considering that all the people before the Abolition of Buddha are burried in the the Buddhist style , is it okay to memorialize those people in the divine style ? People before the Abolition of Buddha and those after that should have different ways of offering memorial services. A woman living in Uenaegi said the following words to me. "Fukuoka doesn't develop because there is no temple in Fukuoka."The problem is that the temple was forcibly destroyed and left as it was. I'm convinced that the maintenance of the remains of Koeji Temple will protect Fukuoka's precious cultural heritage and lead to the revitalization of the region. When the bell of Koeji Temple rings again , how much the people burried before the Abolition of Buddha may be rewarded. |
| January 2000 |