Historical ethnic group inhabiting southern Kyūshū
The Kumaso (熊襲) were a mythical people of ancient
Japan mentioned in the Kojiki,[1][2] believed to have lived in the south of
Kyūshū[3] until at least the
Nara period. The last leader of the Kumaso, Torishi-Kaya was killed by
Yamato Takeru in 397. The name of
Kumamoto Prefecture originates from the Kumaso people.
Origins
Scholars, such as Kakubayashi Fumio, "although information is extremely limited" concluded that they were of
Austronesian origin based on some linguistic and cultural evidence, theorising that the word kaya, present in personal names or titles, such as Torishi-Kaya, has the same root as
Tagalog"
kaya", meaning "ability; capability; competence; resources; wealth" and
Malay and
Indonesian"
kaya", meaning "rich, wealthy, having wealth". The So present in Kumaso was also theorised to have the same origins as tsuo, tsau, thau, sau, tau,
tao supposedly meaning "people" in
Austronesian languages.[4]
Overview
William George Aston, in his translation of the Nihongi, says Kumaso refers to two separate tribes, Kuma (meaning "bear") and So (written with the character for "attack" or "layer on").[3] In his translation of the Kojiki,
Basil Hall Chamberlain records that the region is also known simply as So district, and elaborates on the
Yamato-centric description of a "bear-like" people, based on their violent interactions or physical distinctiveness.[5] (The people called tsuchigumo by the Yamato people provide a better-known example of the transformation of other tribes into legendary monsters. Tsuchigumo—the monstrous "ground spider" of legend—is speculated to refer originally to the native pit dwellings of that people.)
Geographically, Aston records that the Kumaso domain encompassed the historical provinces of
Hyūga,
Ōsumi, and
Satsuma (contemporaneous with Aston's translation), or present-day
Miyazaki and
Kagoshima prefectures.
The last leader of the Kumaso, Torishi-Kaya, aka Brave of Kahakami, was assassinated in the winter of 397 by Prince
Yamato Takeru of Yamato,[6] who was disguised for this as a woman at a banquet.
Legacy
The word Kuma ('Bear') survives today as
Kumamoto Prefecture ('source of the bear'), and
Kuma District, Kumamoto. Kuma District is known for a distinct dialect, Kuma Dialect.
People of the Kumaso mentioned in the Nihongi
Torishi-Kaya (aka Brave of Kahakami): a leader of the Kumaso[7]
Ichi-fukaya:
Emperor Keikō married her 82 AD and in the same year put her to death, since she was involved in the assassination which killed her father.[10]
^Kakubayashi, Fumio. 隼人 : オーストロネシア系の古代日本部族' Hayato : An Austronesian speaking tribe in southern Japan.'. The bulletin of the Institute for Japanese Culture, Kyoto Sangyo University, 3, pp.15-31 ISSN 1341-7207
^Chamberlain, Basil Hall (1882). "Sect. V" . Kojiki: Records of Ancient Matters.
Asiatic Society of Japan. p. 23, note 17 – via
Wikisource. Toyo means "luxuriant" or "fertile." Hi appears to signify "fire" or "sun." Kumaso is properly a compound, Kuma-so, as the district is often mentioned by the simple name of So. Kuma signifies "bear," and Motowori suggests that the use of the name of this the fiercest of beasts as a prefix may be traced to the evil reputation of that part of the country for robbers and outlaws. He quotes similar compounds with kuma in support of this view. [scan http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj012.htm#fn_173
^Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697, translated from the original Chinese and Japanese by
William George Aston. Book VII, page 200ff. Tuttle Publishing. Tra edition (July 2005). First edition published 1972.
ISBN978-0-8048-3674-6
^Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697, translated from the original Chinese and Japanese by
William George Aston. Book VII, page 201. Tuttle Publishing. Tra edition (July 2005). First edition published 1972.
ISBN978-0-8048-3674-6
^Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697, translated from the original Chinese and Japanese by
William George Aston. Book VII, page 195. Tuttle Publishing. Tra edition (July 2005). First edition published 1972.
ISBN978-0-8048-3674-6
^Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697, translated from the original Chinese and Japanese by
William George Aston. Book VII, page 195. Tuttle Publishing. Tra edition (July 2005). First edition published 1972.
ISBN978-0-8048-3674-6
^Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697, translated from the original Chinese and Japanese by
William George Aston. Book VII, page 196. Tuttle Publishing. Tra edition (July 2005). First edition published 1972.
ISBN978-0-8048-3674-6
^Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697, translated from the original Chinese and Japanese by
William George Aston. Book VII, page 196. Tuttle Publishing. Tra edition (July 2005). First edition published 1972.
ISBN978-0-8048-3674-6