Presentation Information
[O05-P09]The Relationship Between the Formation Process of the Toyooka Basin and the Legend of Ame-no-Hiboko★Invited Papers
*Noritaka Matsubara1 (1.Graduate School of Regional Resource Management, University of Hyogo)
Keywords:
geopark,Ame-no-Hiboko,formation of the Sea of Japan,Genbudo cave,Toyooka basin
Genbudo Cave, a site of international scientific importance within the San'in Kaigan UNESCO Global Geopark, is the geological site where Dr Motonori Matsuyama first proposed the phenomenon of geomagnetic reversals (Matuyama, 1929). The Toyooka Basin, where Genbudo Cave is located, is associated with the myth of Ame-no-Hiboko, which connects the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The Legend of Ame-no-Hiboko is a myth recorded in texts such as the Nihon Shoki, Kojiki, and the Harima no Kuni Fudoki. It tells of Ame-no-Hiboko, a prince from the land of Silla (southeastern Korean Peninsula), who arrived by ship, travelled through various provinces, and entered Tajima Province (northern Hyogo Prefecture, Tajima region). The Harima no Kuni Fudoki states that Ame-no-Hiboko came to rule the land of Izushi (Izushi, Toyooka City) in Tajima. Izushi, located at the deepest part of the Toyooka Basin, is home to Izushi Shrine, the principal shrine of Tajima Province, where Ame-no-Hiboko is still enshrined as the principal deity. Why, then, did the legend of Ame-no-Hiboko originate in the Toyooka Basin? We wish to unravel this by examining the region's geoscientific characteristics: the presence of Genbudo Cave, the formation of the Sea of Japan, and the siltation of the Toyooka Basin, which was once a rias coast estuary.