Monograph No. 27
ASUKA, AND FUJIWARA IMPERIAL PALACE SITES EXCAVATION REPORT I
SURVEYS AT THE SUPPOSED SITE OF OHARIDA-NO-MIYA, AT THE SITE OF FUJIWARA-KYU, CARRIED OUT DURING 1969-1970
ENGLISH SUMMARY
CONTENTS
Page
Chapter I. Introduction 1
Chapter II. Survey at Supposed Site of Oharida-no-miya 5
1. History and Location 5
A. History 5
B. Location of Oharida-no-miya 8
2. Progress of Research Work 10
A. General Description 10
B. Daily Record of Excavation Work and Events 16
3. Sites 17
A. General Description 17
B. Structural Remains 19
4. Artifacts Excavated from Oharida-no-miya Site 27
A. Earthenware 27
B. Roof Tiles and Bricks 38
C. Other Artifacts 39
D. Studies of Excavated Earthenware 40
5. Conclusion 43
Chapter III. Survey at Site of Fujiwara-kyu 45
1. Progress of Research Work 45
A. General Description 45
B. Progress of Excavation 46
C. Daily Record of Excavation Work and Events 48
2. Sites Excavated at Fujiwara-kyu 51
A. Site of Southern Gate Area 51
B. Site of Eastern Outer Precinct of Dairi 55
3. Artifacts Excavated from Fujiwara-kyu Site 59
A. Wooden Tablets 59
B. Tiles 61
C. Earthenware 67
4. Conclusion 71
Chapter IV. Survey at Site of Toyuradera 74
1 Progress of Research Work 74
2. S Record of Excavation Work and Events 74
3. Structural Remains 75
4. Artifacts Excavated from Toyuradera Site 75
5. Conclusion 77
Supplementary Tables
1. Classification of round roof-edge tiles 81
2. Classification of curved roof-edge tiles 82
3. List of roof-edge tiles produced from the same mould 83
English Summary 85
PLANS AND SECTIONS
1. Topographical map of supposed site of Oharida-no-miya and vicinity of Toyuradera
2. Layout of structures and other remains at supposed site of Oharidano-miya and Toyuradera
3. Area 5AOH-H, I, J
4. Area 5AOH-H, I
5. Area 5AOH-I
6. Ditches SD050 and SD060 in Area 5AOH
7. Chronological division of layouts of structural remains at supposed site of Oharida-no-miya
8. Topographical map of total area of Fujiwara-kyu site
9. Area 6AJH-J
10. Area 6AJF-E
11. Area 6AJF-E, F, M, N
12. Area 5BTU-K
PLATES
1. Aerial view of region including Asuka and Fujiwara-kyo.
2. Area 5AOH and 5BTU : General view, 1) Seen from Amakashi-no-oka. 2) Seen from southeast.
3. Area 5AOH-I : General view, 1) Seen from south. 2) Seen from north.
4. Area 5AOH-I : 1) General view seen from east. 2) Ditch SD050 seen from east.
5. Area 5AOH-I : 1) Ditch SD050 at intersection with Trench 26 seen from east. 2) Strata in ditch SD050 seen from east. 3) Part of ditch SD050 seen from south.
6. Area 5AOH-I : 1) Ditch SD060, stone pavement SX065 and garden pond SG070 seen from north. 2) Ditch SD050, ditch SD060, stone pavement SX065 and garden pond SG070 seen from south.
ASUKA, AND FUJIWARA IMPERIAL PALACE
ASUKA AND FUJIWARA IMPERIAL PALACE SITES IN ASUKA AND AT FUJIWARA-KYU, RESEARCH REPORT I
From the winter of 1969 through the spring of 1970, the Nara National Cultural Properties Research Institute carried out its First Excavation Survey at the site of the Fujiwara Palace (Fujiwara-kyu) in Kashihara-shi, Nara-ken. The Fujiwara capital (Fujiwara-kyo), located in the southeast corner of the Nara basin, was the political capital of Japan between 694 and 710. This city was Japan's first political capital combining in one urban aggregate on the one hand a palace area (miya) containing governmental organs and the sovereign's living quarters and, on the other hand, a residential zone (kyo) for nobility and commoners. It copied much from the Chinese system of capital construction which was imported to Japan together with the ritsuryo legal system.
While the Fujiwara palace was assumed to have been bud in the north-central part of the urban aggregate (kyo), the greater part of the area of the palace remains slept until recent years, beneath a wide expanse of paddy fields. In the latter part of the 1960’s, factories and private houses gradually began to encroach on the area believed to form the western part of the palace site, and fears arose lest the palace remains be destroyed. Thus the carrying out of excavation studies was urgently necessitated both for the purpose of elucidating the precise location and other details of the palace and also for purposes of preservation. Under these circumstances, it was decided that our Nara National Cultural Properties Research Institute would undertake systematic and large-scale excavation surveys there. From the results of excavation surveys at the Fujiwara-kyu site carried out previously by the Nihon Kobunka Kenkyujo between 1934 and 1943 and by the Nara-ken Kyoiku Iinkai (Nara Prefectural Educational Committee) between 1966 and 1968, we were from the outset able to have a rough idea of the scale of the palace area and the arrangement of buildings within it. We knew, for example, that the palace area occupied a square space of approximately 1 km per side, having in its central part the daigokuden, or imperial council hall, serving as the center of court politics, flanked on the south by the courtyard of the chodoin, an area containing the offices of various ministries. We also knew that behind the daigokuden compound there was the dairi, where the sovereign led his everyday life, and that around these center structures there very likely existed various other offices (kanga) of the central government. However, the southern limit of the palace area had not yet been determined, and details concerning the dairi and the arrangement of the various government offices awaited elucidation through excavation surveys.
Our Research Institute has carried out 18 surveys at the site of the Fujiwara-kyu from the time of its No.1 Survey until the autumn of 1975. And we consider that further surveys ought to be continued for many years. By means of the many valuable material remains and other valuable data uncovered thereby, it should be possible to draw a clearer and more accurate picture of the culture which flourished in the capital city at the time, that is to say, during the formative period of the ancient nation-state, which incorporated a centralized authority based on the practice of the ritsuryo legal system.
During the summer and autumn of 1970, our Research Institute carried out its No.1 Excavation Survey at the supposed site of the Oharida-no-miya in the Toyoura district of Asuka-mura, Takaichi-gun, Nara-ken. The Oharida-no-miya, which was the residence of Empress Suiko from 603 until 628, is one of the oldest among those palaces dating from the 7th century (when the sovereigns’ residences were for the most part in Asuka) whose locations have been approximately ascertained. The Nara National Cultural Properties Research Institute had previously, beginning in 1956, carried out excavation surveys in the Asuka region at the sites of the Asukadera, the Kaaradera, and the traditionally supposed site of the Asuka-Itabuki-no-miya, obtaining numerous positive results in each case. Afterwards, the same Institute expended its efforts primarily in systematic and large-scale excavations at the site of the Nara Palace and for that reason found itself obliged to discontinue for some time excavation surveys in the Asuka region. Surveys in the Asuka region were recommenced with the excavation at the site of the Oharida-no-miya in 1970, just at the time when the region bordering Asuka-mura on the west began to be affected by a sudden wave of new home construction. As part of the efforts needed to save the natural setting and the archaeological remains in Asuka, the carrying out of systematic and large-scale excavations there was seen to have become an urgent task. Henceforth, excavation surveys at the many palace and temple sites in the Asuka region should be continued over a long period of time, in parallel with excavation surveys at the Fujiwara-kyu site. From the numerous positive results to be produced from such surveys, it should become possible to speak with greater amplitude and precision about the culture that flourished in the capital region in the 7th century.
The present report gives an account primarily of the No.1 Survey at the supposed site of Oharida-no-miya (zone 5AOH-H, I, J) and the No.1 and No.2 Surveys at the site of Fujiwara-kyu (6AJH-J, K, L and 6AJF-E, respectively), but it also makes mention of the results obtained from the small-scale "excavation at the site of the Toyuradera (5BTU), in the Toyoura district of Asuka-mura. Summaries of these surveys are given as follows.
1. Survey at the Supposed Site of Oharida-no-miya.
The excavation survey was carried out in an area which includes the mound of earth locally known as the “furumiya dodan,” long thought to mark the remains of palace buildings, as well as the paddy fields surrounding this mound. The surface area surveyed was approximately 21.4 ares in size. Since the area in question had since ancient times been supposed to be the site of the Oharida-no-miya, it seemed one of the most promising choices for a survey. As this was the first excavation survey to have been carried out there, the initial step was to dig vertical and horizontal trial excavation trenches encompassing the various sectors of the selected area. The eastern part of the area, which as a result of these trial digs was expected to show a dense distribution of structural remains in association with stone pavement, was then subjected to a thorough excavation.
Structural remains were found at various different levels, extending over the whole area excavated. The earliest remains were from the Yayoi Period, followed by remains from various times up to the Heian Period. The most noteworthy structural remains were those indicating a hottate-bashira type building (supported by large wooden posts resting in holes in the ground), a garden and stone-paved ditches constructed in the 7th century. While these structural remains were distributed primarily in the eastern part of the area chosen for excavation, remains from the same period extended over a wide area. A garden was constructed in front, that is to say, to the south of the hottate-bashira building, and in the southern part of the garden area there was found a stone-paved water supply ditch 1.8 meters in width, running approximately from east to west. The garden contained a stone-paved pond and a narrow stone-paved ditch running out of it and following a winding course. The surrounding area was an open space paved with stones. It is evident that these remains, judging from the age of the pottery unearthed, were built during the first half of the 7th century. For residential quarters in emperors’ palaces and the homes of nobility during the Asuka Period, hottate-bashira buildings were universally used. It was the custom for such residential quarters to be surrounded by stone-paved ditches, and the laying out of stone-paved open spaces was popular. Thus, with respect to groups of structural remains in which hottate-bashira type buildings and gardens using stone pavements are found constructed as a unit, the possibility is strong that such remains from the Asuka Period are more likely to have belonged to imperial palaces or to the homes of nobility rather than to temples. During the Asuka Period, constructions with tile-covered roofs were entirely limited to temples, and the fact that in the present survey very few tiles were unearthed (and these all originally from the nearby Toyuradera) provides collaborative evidence for this assertion.
It must be said, however, that within the scope of the results obtained from the present excavation, no absolute proof was found that the remains discovered belong to the Oharida-no-miya, and the total extent of the remains and the arrangement of component buildings are, as before, unclear. But nonetheless, as a result of the present excavation and its shedding light on the whereabouts and structure of a likely palace compound, it has become possible to place high expectations on the results to be obtained from future surveys in the same vicinity.
From the end of the 7th century to the beginning of the 8th century, other hottate-bashira type buildings were newly erected on the same site. The so-called “furumiya dodan” might not be associated with the remains of palace buildings from the Asuka Period, but rather with the Heian Period structural remains and surrounding ditch. In later times, the entire area was converted into rice fields, and the remains of ancient times continued their slumber beneath the paddies.
Among the unearthed artifacts, we may list earthenware, tiles, shibi (an ornamental ridge-end tile), patterned sen (a decorative brick), an iron arrowhead, a spindle, magatama (a curved jewel), etc. The type of artifact uncovered in greatest quantity is earthenware, including Yayoi type ware, red pottery, grey pottery and black pottery (gaki). Especially important among the earthenware finds are those of the 7th century, in which changes in type and manufacturing technique are clearly and concretely in evidence, thus constituting valuable material for research into the chronological dating of 7th century pottery. Using as major clues the known facts accompanying the discovery of earthenware from the sites of such building compounds as the Asukadera and the Kaaradera whose construction dates are known, and also the relationships between earthenware and tiles unearthed in the same vicinity, it has been possible to estimate an absolute year-period for each type of pottery found. In this way, it is possible to give a fairly precise dating to the structural remains as well, enabling one to apply this important foundation of knowledge to Asuka Period archaeological research.
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2. Surveys at Fujiwara-kyu Site
The No.1 Survey at the Fujiwara-kyu site was carried out with the primary object of determining the palace compound's southern boundary, the only one of the four sides whose location remained unclear. The survey started with a reexcavation of gate site SB500, which had been, since the earlier excavation carried out by the Nihon Kobunka Kenkyujo, designated as “choshuden’in nanmon.” As the next step, a long trench was made southward from the gate site to ascertain whether or not there might be structural remains of a large fence or perhaps another gate that might indicate the beginning of the Fujiwara-kyu compound. As a result of this initial survey, there was discovered at a point approximately 20 meters to the south of the center line of the above-mentioned gate (SB500), a 5-meter-wide ditch (SD501) running east and west. This ditch was similar in relative position and scale to corresponding ditches previously excavated which marked the positions of large fences, surrounded by canals, which formed the west and north sides of the palace compound. Moreover, to the south of this ditch there were no other outstanding structural remains in evidence, adding to the probability that this ditch corresponded to an outer canal on the south side of the palace compound. As a result of the above finding, the above-mentioned gate site SB500 has come to be regarded as that of a central south-facing gate forming the principal entrance to the palace compound. Thus, in the case of the Fujiwara-kyu, it has been ascertained that this gate does not correspond to a “choshuden’in nanmon” and that the structure of the Fujiwara palace compound thus differed from that of the Nara Palace. Together with this confirmation of the gate in question as the south-facing main gate to the Fujiwara palace compound, it became virtually clear that the area of the Fujiwara-kyu formed a square measuring approximately 908 meters from north to south, and 928 meters from east to west.
Although the gate site SB500 had lost whatever concrete foundation structure it once had, holes for the fixing of foundation stones remained in several places. Only a part of the site of the gate building was on this occasion excavated, but giving consideration to the complementary results previously obtained from the Nihon Kobunka Kenkyujo excavation, it became clear that the scale of this building was 5 ken (in this case, approximately 25.5 meters) from east to west, and 2 ken (approximately 10.2 meters) from north to south.
In the present survey, the north-south center axis running through the central south-facing gate of the palace compound was made clear, and on this basis it has been virtually possible to reconstruct the line running through the center of the chodoin, forming the center axis and line of reference for the entire palace construction. Also as a result, the likelihood has arisen that the daigokuden, which had tentatively been assigned the dimensions of a building measuring 7 ken from east to west and 4 ken from north to south, in reality measured 9 ken from east to west, if one assumes that it was emplaced symmetrically on either side, to the east and west, of the line corresponding to the center axis of the chodoin. A solution of this question will no doubt be achieved with the progress of future surveys.
The No.2 Survey at the Fujiwara-kyu site was carried out on an area approximately 130 meters to the southeast of the site of the daigokuden. The main purpose of this survey was to shed light on both the structures forming" the outer precincts of the dairi and the relation between these structures and the corridor surrounding the chodoin, and at the same time to learn the overall dimensions of the dairi. In this excavation, it was not possible to discover any structures bordering the dairi on the east, but from this and subsequent excavations it nevertheless became possible to surmise that the outside edge of the dairi was partitioned by fences of a hottate-bashira type construction, and that the position of the south-bordering fence was likely an extension of the line formed by the corridor along the north side of the chodoin. The dimensions of the outer precincts of the dairi thus appear to be similar to those of the dairi compound of Nara Palace. The dimensions of the Fujiwara-kyu dairi were determined to be approximately 300 meters from east to west, and approximately 380 meters from north to south. The excavation site here in question corresponds to the southeast corner of the eastern outer precinct of the dairi. Major structural remains discovered indicate a stone-foundation building SB530, stone-paved garden ponds SG529, SG520, and ditches. The stone-foundation building SB 530 adjoins the daigokuden’in on the east, another part of the same building having been discovered in earlier excavations by the Nihon Kobunka Kenkyujo. As a result of the survey here in question, it was determined that the building in question ran from east to west, measuring more than 6 ken (in this case, 27.6 meters) from east to west, and 4 ken (18.4 meters) from north to south, with overhanging eaves on all four sides. To the north of the stone-foundation building was a large pond with small stones laid around the banks. To the east of the same building was a rectangular pond with a stone-paved bottom, and this pond was connected to ditches on the south and north, for water supply and drainage, respectively. Besides these, no other obvious structural remains were found, suggesting that much of the area in question was left as open space. Compared with the outer precincts of the Nara Palace dairi, in which were arrayed a large number of palace offices belonging to the kunaisho (palace interior ministry), the Fujiwara-kyu was different in that there were not so many buildings, but rather, on the other hand, gardens, including ponds, which extended over a considerable area within the palace grounds.
Among the artifacts unearthed in the No.1 and No.2 Surveys at the Fujiwara-kyu site were wooden tablets, tiles, earthenware, etc. Tiles, which were the most numerous among these various artifacts, were discovered primarily in the vicinities of the central south-facing gate SB500 of the Lace compound and the stone-foundation building SB530 in the eastern outer precinct of the dairi, indicating that the buildings in question had tile roofs Five varieties of round roof-edge tiles (noki marugawara) and four varieties of curved roof-edge tiles (noki hiragawara) were found among the roof tiles from the stone-foundation building, but the greater part of this building’s eaves seem to have been covered with paired arrangements of round roof-edge tiles of Type 6275 and curved roof-edge tiles of Type 6643 These two types together make up 60-70% of the roof-edge tiles unearthed. The types of tiles used on the roof of the stone-foundation building differ from those used, for the most part, on the roofs of the buildings of the daigokuden’in and chodoin compounds.
3. Survey at the Site of the Toyuradera
The Toyuradera is one of the oldest among those temples constructed during the Asuka Period. It grew out of its predecessor, the Kogenji built by Soga-no-Iname. The present-day Kogenji (written with different characters) which is no doubt much smaller in scale than the Toyuradera of ancient times, has for long been thought to stand near the center of the former temple site.
The excavation in question was carried out in advance of the construction of a private residence in the vicinity. The survey site was a small paddy field with a surface area of 2ares, located 20 meters to the northwest of the precincts of the present-day Kogenji, and approximately 100 meters to the north of the supposed site of the Oharida-no-miya As a result of the survey, there was discovered, in addition to structures forming the western side of a temple enclosures pit dug in the earth and used at some time in the past for the disposal of debris, including foundation stones and a large number of tiles. It was evident that the area in question had been part of a temple enclosure until some time in the Edo Period, but it was impossible to make positive confirmation of any structural remains dating back to the Asuka Period.
昭和51年3月31日 発行
奈良国立文化財研究所学報 第27冊
飛鳥・藤原宮発掘調査報告I
‐ 小墾田宮推定地・藤原宮の調査 ‐
