Introduction: Shrinking Japan, the Goki-Shichido, the Sannindo, the Municipal Power, and the Methodology

This is the fifth volume of Shrinking Japan and Regional Variations from the current author, focused along the Sannindo under the Goki-Shichido. The Japanese population has been declining, with “shrinking Japan” started in 2008. The recent report of the Regional Population Projections (RPP) for Japan: 2020–2050 reveals that by 2050 shrinking Japan will be accelerated with a high level of monopolar population concentration in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Demographic outcomes of shrinking Japan are increasing in the living alone households, especially for the living alone older adults. By now, we are strongly aware of the fact that the degree of shrinking Japan differs from one prefecture to another, and even within the same prefecture, it varies from the east to the west, and from the north to the south. In other words, Japanese society today is appropriately described as shrinking Japan with regional variations. There are outstanding scholars of Japan studies who have emphasized regional variations. Among them, AMINO Yoshihiko questions the common belief that the Japanese are a single ethnic group composed of the same language and race, and he explores the differences between Eastern and Western Japan. OONO Susumu, whose linguistic perspective sheds light on historical variations between Eastern and Western Japan, suggests that regional distinctiveness shaped the history of the Japanese archipelago. MIYAMOTO Tsuneichi was a folklorist, who emphasized the everyday life and culture of common people. His work often highlighted regional variations, suggesting that local distinctiveness played a significant role in shaping historical developments. Then, what is the situation of the shrinking population in the Sannindo? In contrast to the Sannyodo, the Sannindo in ancient times was located in the northern part of the Chugoku region. It comprised eight ancient provinces, and has four prefectures today. The eight provinces were Tango, Tamba, Tajima, Inaba, Houki, Izumo, Iwami, and Oki. In modern times, the four present-day prefectures to which these eight provinces belong are Kyoto (Tango and Tamba), Hyogo (Tajima), Tottori (Inaba, Houki), and Shimane (Izumo, Iwami, and Oki) prefectures. The Sannin provinces had long been active in exchanges with the Korean Peninsula because most of the provinces along the Sannindo faced the Sea of Japan. Furthermore, with the transition of diplomatic relations with the Korean Peninsula, the region occupied an important military position for the Ritsuryo government. The Sannindo was based along a government road with a station system. The Engi-Shiki records that there were 37 stations (“Shoro”) in total, with five horses at each station. For the in-depth study of along the Sannindo, both the Kyoto and Tottori prefectures have been selected. It should be noted, however, of the entire Kyoto Prefecture, only the northern (Tango) and the central (Tamba) regions belong to the Sannindo.