Funaokayama

Japanese: 船岡山 - ふなおかやま

<br /> A hill in Kitafunacho, Murasakino, Kita Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture. Located in Murasakino, in the area surrounding Daitokuji Temple, this hill is 112m above sea level, stretches 200m east to west, and 100m north to south. It has been called Funaoka since ancient times because its topography resembles the shape of a ship. When Heian-kyo was built, it was the northern base point, and the Daigokuden was built directly south of the mountain, and Suzaku -oji was built as the central axis of the capital. It was loved as a place for strolls by royalty and aristocrats in the Heian period, and many waka poems have been written about it as a place of leisure for picking young leaves and bracken , and Sei Shonagon also praised it in her "Pillow Book," saying, "The hill is Funaoka..." From the mid-Heian period onwards, the surrounding area seems to have become a place of burial, and it is said that the stone Buddha statues scattered on the mountainside are remnants of this. In the Middle Ages, a mountain castle was built on this mountain as a strategic point, and during the Onin War, the Western Army used this mountain as their base, and the area around Funaokayama came to be called "Nishijin." The dry moat that still exists today, stretching 300 meters on the middle slope, is a vestige of the medieval mountain castle. Oda Nobunaga is the deity enshrined at Takeisao Shrine in the southeast part of the mountain, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi originally received imperial permission from Emperor Ogimachi after the Honnoji Incident to designate Funaokayama as the mausoleum of his lord, Oda Nobunaga. As a result, the natural environment has been left intact, and the tree fauna unique to the Kyoto Basin has been well preserved, with an extremely wide variety of tree species, making it one of the few precious forests in Kyoto City with almost no naturalized plants. It was designated a national historic site in 1968 (Showa 43), and the northwestern part was opened as Funaokayama Park, a place of relaxation for the city's residents. From JR Tokaido Shinkansen or other lines at Kyoto Station, take the city bus to "Senbon Kitaoji" stop, then walk for about 4 minutes.

Source: Kodansha National Historic Site Guide Information

Japanese:

京都府京都市北区紫野北舟町にある丘陵。大徳寺周辺一帯の紫野に位置する、標高112m、東西200m、南北100mにわたる丘陵で、地形が船の形に似ていることから、古来、船岡と呼ばれてきた。平安京造営の際には北の基点となり、山の真南に大極殿が建てられて都の中心軸として朱雀大路(すざくおおじ)が造られたという。平安時代の王侯貴族からは散策の地として愛され、若菜摘(つ)みやわらび採りに興じる清遊の地として多くの和歌が残されており、清少納言も『枕草子』に「岡は船岡……」と讃えている。平安時代中期以降は付近一帯が葬送の地となったようで、山腹に石仏が散在するのはその名残ではないかといわれる。中世になると戦略上の要所としてこの山に山城が築かれ、応仁の乱では西軍がこの山を陣地としたため、その後、船岡山周辺一帯を「西陣」と呼ぶようになった。中腹に300mにわたって現存する空堀は、中世の山城の痕跡である。山の南東部分にある建勲(たけいさお)神社の祭神は織田信長で、そもそも本能寺の変の後に豊臣秀吉が正親町(おおぎまち)天皇の勅許を受け、船岡山を主君である織田信長の廟堂と定めていた。このことから自然がそのまま残され、京都盆地特有の樹相がよく保たれて樹種もきわめて多く、帰化植物がほとんど入りこんでいない京都市内でも数少ない貴重な森になっている。1968年（昭和43）に国の史跡に指定され、北西部分は船岡山公園として開設されて市民の憩いの場となっている。JR東海道新幹線ほか京都駅から市バス「千本北大路」下車、徒歩約4分。

出典　講談社国指定史跡ガイドについて　情報

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