The place you should not come and the phantom checkpoint "Nakura no Seki" written in waka poetry [Fukushima Prefecture]

Nakoso-no-seki (Nakoso-no-seki) is the remains of an ancient checkpoint that is said to have been located around the border between Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures

In the days when the Tohoku region was known as the Emishi, the Imperial Court established three checkpoints to prevent the Emishi from invading Yamato Province (the area ruled by the Imperial Courts of Nara and Kyoto)

These checkpoints are known as the "Three Checkpoints of Oshu," and are Nezugaseki (Nenjuseki/Nezugaseki) (Yamagata Prefecture, around the border between Yamagata and Niigata prefectures), Shirakawaseki (Shirakawanoseki, around the border between Fukushima and Tochigi prefectures), and Nakoso no Seki, but the remains of any of these checkpoints have yet to be identified

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Border checkpoints established along the ancient Tokaido

The location where Nakoso Barrier is believed to have been located is on the Tokaido (Sea Route), one of the main ancient highways that ran from Kyoto along the Pacific coast to Mutsu Province (Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, and Aomori prefectures), on the border with Hitachi Province (Ibaraki Prefecture)

The road to Nakoso Barrier was a highway heading towards Tagajo (Miyagi Prefecture), the center of Tohoku, and during the Edo period it was called the Mito Kaido from Edo to Mito (Ibaraki Prefecture), and the Iwaki Kaido, Iwaki Soma Kaido, Edo Hama Kaido, and other names north of Mito.It was a major highway connecting Edo with the Tohoku region, linking it to the Mito, Sendai, and Nanbu domains of major feudal lords

It is thought that many officials traveling between Nara, Kyoto and forts in the Tohoku region such as Taga Castle passed through this border, so it is not surprising that there was a checkpoint there, but the name only appears in waka poetry and there are no traces of the checkpoint

For this reason, a theory has recently emerged that Nakore no Barrier was not a checkpoint but merely a border crossing, or that Nakore no Barrier itself never existed

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"Nakoso Pass" has been used as a utamakura in over 100 waka poems

Why did Nakora Barrier become the focus of so many people's attention during the Edo period?

During the Edo period, "Nakoso Barrier" did not actually exist. However, many poetry collections from the Heian to Muromachi periods featured "Nakoso Barrier" as a utamakura (famous place), so people were curious about what it was like and used their imaginations to their advantage

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The remains of Nakoso Barrier, which was developed by the Iwakidaira Domain for tourism purposes during the Edo period

During the Edo period, the Iwaki Taira Domain, which ruled the southern part of Mutsu Province, which borders Hitachi Province, inferred from the waka poem that the post town of Sekida-juku (Sekida, Nakoso-cho, Iwaki City), located on the border with Hitachi Province, was the location of Nakoso Barrier, and developed it as the "Nakoso Barrier Site."

As a result, many people from Edo began to visit the remains of Nakoso Barrier, and Nakoso Barrier became popular as a literary landmark

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"Nakore no Barrier" as depicted in waka poetry from the Heian period

"Nakoso Barrier" became famous when it was featured in the "Senzai Wakashu" (Collection of Poems) at the end of the Heian period

"I feel the wind blowing through the barrier, but the mountain cherry blossoms are falling along the way."

(I thought the wind that scatters the flowers would not come to Nakoso Pass, which is said to be "stay away," but (the wind blows) and the wild cherry blossoms are scattered all over the road.)

This is a waka poem by Minamoto no Yoshiie (1039-1106)

Minamoto no Yoshiie was a military commander known as "Hachiman Taro Yoshiie," who was appointed head of Mutsu Province (Mutsu no Kami) and Shogun of Chinjufu (a defensive fortress against the Emishi in Mutsu Province) in 1083, and later instigated the Gosannen War (1083-1087), in which he destroyed the powerful Kiyohara clan in Oshu

Yoshiie traveled back and forth between the Imperial Court in Kyoto and Taga Castle, passing through Nakoso Barrier many times. This poem is said to have been written to express the sadness of the soldiers who died in a place they should not have been in (Nakoso, the distant land of Oshu) when Yoshiie passed through Nakoso Barrier after the Gosannen War

Besides

Ono no Komachi (Early Heian period, birth and death unknown)

"On the port road where the female divers come and go, harvesting the fish, I will not be able to leave Nakoso Barrier" (New Imperial Collection of Waka Poetry)

(Although there is no barrier saying "Don't come" on the port road where fishermen come and go to harvest sea pine cloth, the eyes (opportunities to meet) are far away = I didn't say not to come, so why don't you come and see me?) (From the monument inscribed with a poem by Ono no Komachi at Nakono Pass Park) *Sea pine cloth: seaweed called miru (sea pine) / seaweed mill

Izumi Shikibu (mid-Heian period, birth and death unknown)

"No matter what someone has said, I will always remember it in my heart." (Gyokuyo Wakashu)

(Who told you not to come? No, no one did. You just created a barrier in your heart like Nakono-seki Pass and you didn't come to see me.) (From the monument inscribed with a poem by Izumi Shikibu at Nakono-seki Park)

Many famous poets have used "Nakoso Pass" as a central theme in their waka poems

The word "nakoso" in waka poetry is used to mean "kurunakare (do not come) = do not come." Furthermore, many waka poems use the "Nakoso Barrier" as an analogy to the barriers between loved ones, such as not being able to meet a loved one, a loved one not coming to see you (broken heart), or going to see them but not being able to see you, and it can be seen that the "Nakoso Barrier" became popular due to the interest that would be seen in a romantic drama today

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A literary stroll along the poetry path at Nakono-Seki Park, a famous cherry blossom spot

Nakoso-no-Seki Park is a park developed as the site of Nakoso-no-Seki, where cherry trees were planted by the Iwakidaira Domain during the Edo period. The park is home to the "Poetry Path," lined with monuments bearing poems from the Heian period to the early modern period, including those of Minamoto no Yoshiie, Ono no Komachi, Izumi Shikibu, Asukai Masanobu (a court noble and poet from the early Edo period), and Saito Mokichi (a poet from the Taisho to early Showa periods), as well as the hands-on learning facility "Fubukiden" and the "Nakoso-no-Seki Literature and History Museum." The cherry blossoms, which bloom in spring, are spectacular

Nakoso Pass <Information>

• Facility name: Nakono-Seki Park (Nakono-Seki site)
• Address: Sekita Nagasawa, Nakoso-cho, Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture
• Phone number: 0246-43-0033 (Iwaki City Park and Green Space Tourism Corporation)

• Facility name: Nakoso-seki Literary and Historical Museum
• Address: 6-1 Sekita Nagasawa, Nakoso-cho, Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture
• Phone number: 0246-65-6166
• Opening hours: 9:00-17:00 (last entry: 16:30)
• Admission fee: Adults 330 yen, Junior high/High school/Vocational school/University students 220 yen, Elementary school students 170 yen
• Closed: 3rd Wednesday (or the following weekday if it is a public holiday), January 1st
• URL: Nakono Seki Park and Nakono Seki Literary and Historical Museum

Google Map

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"Nakorai no Barrier" is a fountain of romance. Hopes are high that the mystery will be solved in the future

No formal excavation surveys have been conducted at Nakoso Barrier by the national government, local governments, or research institutions, so the truth remains a mystery to this day

There is also some doubt as to whether the character "Nakoso" has been in use since ancient times. In the world of waka poetry during the Heian period, the kanji "Nakoso" was not used, and instead hiragana or kanji such as "Nakoso" or "Nakoso" were used. However, since "Nakoso" was used to mean "Nakare" (not to come = Nakoso), it seems that at some point it became "Nakoso."

It seems likely that there will be many more discoveries in the future that will unravel the mystery of Nakono Barrier, and it is hoped that the time will come when the full picture of Nakono Barrier will be revealed

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