Fudoki

Fudoki (Feng Tu Ji ) 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.^[1] 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 ritsuryo and surveyed the provinces established by such codes to exert greater control over them.^[2]

In the narrower sense, Fudoki refer to the oldest records written in the Nara period, later called Old-Fudoki (Gu Feng Tu Ji , Kofudoki). Compilation of Kofudoki began in 713 and was completed over a 20-year period.^[1] Following the Taika Reform in 646 and the Code of Taiho 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 provincial government (ja:Guo Ya , kokuga) to collect and report the following information:^[1][3]

• 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

Empress Genmei ordered in 713 that place names in the provinces, districts, and townships be written in two kanji characters with positive connotations.^[4][1] This occasionally required name changes. For example, Hayatsuhime (Su Jin Yuan ) became Hayami (Su Jian ) and Ishinashi no Oki (Shi Wu Bao ) became Ishii (Shi Jing ).

At least 48 of the Gokishichido 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.^[1] Those of Harima and Hizen are designated National Treasures.

Below is a list of extant manuscripts and scattered passages.^[5][6]

In 1966 the Agency for Cultural Affairs called on the prefectural governments to build open-air museums and parks called Fudoki no Oka (Feng Tu Ji noQiu , "Fudoki Hills") near historic sites such as tombs (kofun) and provincial temples.^[7] These archaeological museums preserve and exhibit cultural properties to enhance public understanding of provincial history and culture.

• Japanese Historical Text Initiative

• Akimoto, Kichiro (1958). Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 2: Fudoki. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. ISBN 4-00-060002-8. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Sakamoto, Masaru (2011). Zusetsu Chizu to Arasuji de Wakaru! Fudoki. Seishun Publishing. ISBN 978-4-413-04301-4.
• Kojima, Noriyuki; Naoki, Kojiro; Nishimiya, Kazutami; Kuranaka, Susumu; Mori, Masamori; Uegaki, Setsuya (2007). Nihon no Koten wo Yomu 3 Nihon Shoki Ge * Fudoki. Shogakukan. ISBN 978-4-09-362173-1.

• Feng Tu Ji (Big5 Chinese) texts of the remaining Fudoki & scattered passages in other books.
• Manuscript scans at Waseda University Library: Hizen, 1800, Bungo, 1800, Bungo, unknown
• Tsukamoto, Tetsuzo (Zhong Ben Zhe San ) (1915). Kojiki, Norito, Fudoki (Gu Shi Ji *Zhu Ci *Feng Tu Ji ). Yuhodo Shoten (You Peng Tang Shu Dian ). pp. 383-586. Scan at the Internet Archive.
• Feng Tu Ji (in Japanese)
• Guo Tu toshitenoShi Yuan Shi ~Feng Tu Ji Yi Wen (in Japanese)

• Classical Japan
• Old Japanese texts
• Nara-period works
• Agriculture in Japan
• Japanese mythology
• Shinto texts
• Gazetteers

• Webarchive template archiveis links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2011
• All articles lacking in-text citations
• Articles containing Japanese-language text
• CS1 errors: ISBN date
• Articles with Internet Archive links
• Articles with Japanese-language sources (ja)