Omi Province - Oumi no Kuni

One of the provinces along the Tosando road. Currently Shiga Prefecture. It is bordered on all four sides by the provinces of Wakasa, Echizen, Mino, Ise, Iga, Yamashiro, and Tamba. To the east are the Ibuki and Suzuka mountains, to the west are the Hira and Hiei mountains, to the south is the Shigaraki plateau, and in the center is Lake Biwa.

Early Jomon ruins include Ishiyama Shell Mound (Otsu City), Shimo Toyoura Ruins (Omihachiman City), and Nishino Ruins (Maibara City), while Yayoi ruins include the Dainakano Kominami Ruins (Higashiomi City, Omihachiman City) and Koshinohara in Yasu City, where 24 bronze bells have been excavated. From the Kofun period, there are numerous scattered mass tombs, such as the Hyotanyama Tomb in Omihachiman City and the Inariyama Tomb in Takashima City. In the pre-Taika period, there was Yasunokuni no Miyatsuko, based near Yasu City, and Chikatsuoumi no Kuni no Miyatsuko, whose name coincides with the name of the province in the Ritsuryo system. After the Taika Reforms in 667 (the 6th year of Emperor Tenchi's reign), the capital was moved to Otsunomiya, and the following year, a poem about Prince Oama and Princess Nukata following Emperor Tenchi on a hunting expedition to Gamou-no was included in the Manyoshu. However, after the Omi army was defeated in the Jinshin War in 672 (the 1st year of Emperor Tenmu's reign), the capital was moved again to Asuka. According to the Engishiki, Omi was a large province, consisting of 12 districts: Shiga, Kurita, Koga, Yasu, Gamo, Kanzaki, Aichi, Inugami, Sakata, Asai, Ika, and Takashima, and the provincial government was located in Seta (Seta) in Kurita district. During the reign of Emperor Shomu, the capital was moved to Kuni-kyo in Yamashiro Province, and a villa was built in Shigaraki in Koga district in 742 (Tenpyo 14). However, when the capital was moved back to Heijo-kyo in 745, Shigaraki Palace was ravaged by bandits. When Emperor Kanmu moved the capital to Heian-kyo in 794 (Enryaku 13), Omi became its eastern gateway, and Tendai temples such as Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, which was built by the Buddhist monk Saicho, who had traveled to China in search of the law, Onjo-ji Temple, and the three temples of Koto-san flourished there.

Omi was also devastated by the Genpei War, but in the Kamakura period, the Omi Genji Sasaki clan held power and ruled as shugo for 400 years until the end of the Middle Ages. During the Jōkyū War (1221), shugo Sasaki Hirotsuna sided with the capital, but his younger brother Nobutsuna sided with the shogunate and obtained the post of shugo. From his descendants came the Kutsuki and Kyogoku clans, and Kyogoku Takauji (Sasaki Doyo) was active during the Northern and Southern Courts period. The main branch of the Sasaki Rokkaku clan established its residence in Kannonji Castle in the eastern part of the lake. Omi also has many historical documents showing the growth of soso (combinations) of medieval villages, and was the site of the Tsuchiikki and Ikko Ikki uprisings. In 1568 (Eiroku 11), Kannonji Castle fell to Oda Nobunaga, and in 1573 (Tensho 1), when the Azai clan was defeated by Nobunaga's army, Nobunaga built Azuchi Castle and made it his base. During the Sengoku period, Kohoku was engulfed in war, but Ishida Mitsunari, Kobori Enshu, Kano Sanraku and others emerged in succession and played an active role in the center. After Nobunaga was defeated in the Honnoji Incident and the era of Toyotomi Hideyoshi was replaced by that of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Omi was divided into small domains such as Hikone Domain, Minakuchi, Zeze, Yamagami, Miyakawa, Omizo, Ninshoji, and Katata. The total rice yield of Omi in the early modern period was 830,616 koku. Lake traffic also flourished, and Omi merchants were active throughout the country producing Omi rice and Omi linen. With the Meiji Restoration, feudal domains were abolished and prefectures were established (1871), and Otsu Prefecture, Zeze Prefecture, Minakuchi Prefecture, Nishioji Prefecture, and Yamagami Prefecture became Otsu Prefecture, and in January 1872 (Meiji 5), became Shiga Prefecture. Hikone Prefecture, Miyagawa Prefecture, and Asahiyama Prefecture became Nagahama Prefecture and Inugami Prefecture, before being incorporated into Shiga Prefecture in February of the same year.

[Watanabe, Moritoshi]

"Ota Ryo, 'Nihonkokushi Materials Collection: Omi' (1925, Isobe Koyodo)" ▽ "'Shiga Prefecture History' Complete 6 Volumes (1928, Shiga Prefecture)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

東山道(とうさんどう)の一国。現在の滋賀県。四周を若狭(わかさ)、越前(えちぜん)、美濃(みの)、伊勢(いせ)、伊賀(いが)、山城(やましろ)、丹波(たんば)の諸国に接する。東には伊吹(いぶき)・鈴鹿(すずか)、西には比良(ひら)・比叡(ひえい)の山が連なり、南には信楽(しがらき)の台地が続き、中央には琵琶(びわ)湖がある。

　縄文前期の遺跡には石山(いしやま)貝塚（大津市）や、下豊浦(しもといら)遺跡（近江八幡(おうみはちまん)市）、西野遺跡（米原(まいばら)市）などがあり、弥生(やよい)時代の遺跡には大中の湖南(だいなかのこみなみ)遺跡（東近江市、近江八幡市）や、銅鐸(どうたく)を24個も出土した野洲(やす)市小篠原(こしのはら)がある。古墳時代になると、近江八幡市の瓢箪山(ひょうたんやま)古墳や高島市の稲荷山(いなりやま)古墳など、数多くの群集墳が散在している。大化(たいか)前代には、野洲市付近を拠点とする安国造(やすのくにのみやつこ)や、律令(りつりょう)制の国名と一致する近淡海国造(ちかつおうみのくにのみやつこ)がいた。大化改新後の667年（天智天皇6）には都が大津宮に移され、その翌年、天智(てんじ)天皇に従って大海人皇子(おおあまのおうじ)や額田王(ぬかたのおおきみ)らが蒲生野(がもうの)に遊猟したときの歌が『万葉集』に収められている。しかし672年（天武天皇1）壬申(じんしん)の乱で近江軍が敗れると、ふたたび都は飛鳥(あすか)に移された。『延喜式(えんぎしき)』の規定によると近江は大国で、滋賀、栗太(くりた)、甲賀(こうが)、野洲、蒲生、神崎(かんざき)、愛智(えち)、犬上(いぬかみ)、坂田(さかた)、浅井(あさい)、伊香(いか)、高島(たかしま)の12郡からなり、国府は栗太郡勢多(せた)（瀬田）に置かれていた。聖武(しょうむ)天皇の時代には山城国恭仁(くに)京に遷都され、742年（天平14）甲賀郡紫香楽(しがらき)に離宮がつくられるが、745年ふたたび都が平城京に戻されるに及んで紫香楽宮は盗賊の荒らすところとなった。794年（延暦13）桓武(かんむ)天皇が都を平安京に移すと、近江はその東玄関となり、入唐求法僧(にっとうぐほうそう)最澄(さいちょう)によって建立された比叡山延暦寺(えんりゃくじ)をはじめ、園城寺(おんじょうじ)や湖東三山などの天台寺院が栄えた。

　源平の乱で近江も荒れたが、鎌倉時代になると近江源氏佐々木氏が力を有し、中世末まで400年にわたり守護として君臨した。承久(じょうきゅう)の乱（1221）のとき、守護佐々木広綱(ひろつな)は京方となったが、弟信綱(のぶつな)が幕府方につき守護職を得た。この子孫から朽木(くつき)氏や京極(きょうごく)氏が出、京極高氏(たかうじ)（佐々木導誉(どうよ)）は南北朝期に活躍した。本家佐々木六角(ろっかく)氏は湖東の観音寺(かんのんじ)城に居を構えた。また近江には中世村落の惣(そう)結合の成長を示す多くの史料が残されており、土一揆(つちいっき)や一向(いっこう)一揆の舞台ともなった。1568年（永禄11）には織田信長によって観音寺城が陥落し、1573年（天正1）浅井氏が信長軍に敗れると、信長は安土城を築き本拠とした。戦国時代の湖北は戦乱に明け暮れたが、石田三成(みつなり)、小堀遠州(こぼりえんしゅう)、狩野山楽(かのうさんらく)らが続々と中央に出て活躍した。本能寺の変で信長が倒れ、豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉から徳川家康の時代に移ると、近江は彦根(ひこね)藩のほかに、水口(みなくち)、膳所(ぜぜ)、山上(やまがみ)、宮川(みやかわ)、大溝(おおみぞ)、仁正寺(にんしょうじ)、堅田(かたた)などの小藩に分かれた。近世の近江の総石高は83万0616石であった。湖上交通も盛んとなり、近江米や近江麻布の生産で近江商人が全国に出て活躍した。明治維新を迎え廃藩置県（1871）により、大津県、膳所県、水口県、西大路県、山上県は、大津県となり1872年（明治5）1月滋賀県に、また彦根県、宮川県、朝日山県は、長浜県、犬上県を経て同年2月滋賀県に繰り入れられた。

［渡邊守順］

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