{"id":99,"date":"2025-05-16T17:04:46","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T08:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geo-itoigawa.com\/en\/?page_id=99"},"modified":"2026-08-26T09:25:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T00:25:23","slug":"culture","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/geo-itoigawa.com\/en\/igp\/culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Ancient History & Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n

Ancient History & Culture<\/h2>\n\tItoigawa’s location and geological heritage has always made it a valuable and attractive place to live.
\nThe history of our city is counted in millennia, stretching back to time immemorial.\n

\n\t\t\tThe Jade Princess – Nunakawa-hime\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t

Princess Nunakawa and Her Son, Takeminakata<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tCradle of Jade Culture\t<\/h4>\n\t

Today, Itoigawa is most famously known as Japan’s largest source of gemstone quality jade. While jade was rediscovered in Itoigawa in 1938, ancient knowledge of Itoigawa’s jade dates back thousands of years to Japan’s prehistoric Jomon period.<\/p>\n

In ancient times, the land we now call Itoigawa was called Nunakawa and it was from here that the wise and beautiful Princess Nunakawa ruled. Legends say she controlled jade, using its power to protect her people.<\/p>\n

These legends traveled across land and sea to the distant land of Izumo and its ruler \u014ckuninushi-no-Mikoto. As the most powerful and de facto leader of the kami, \u014ckuninushi decided he must have this Princess as his bride and so the story of his journey across the country to claim Princess Nunakawa\u2015and her jade\u2015is recorded in folklore and legend and even appears in the Kojiki<\/b><\/em>, Japan’s oldest written record and one of Shinto’s most sacred texts.<\/p>\n

Many sites around Itoigawa Geopark are related to this legend.\u00a0Nageiwa<\/em> <\/strong>in the Oyashirazu Area<\/a><\/strong> is said to be where \u014ckuninushi defeated a local ogre in a contest of strength. Mt. Komagatake<\/strong> in the Umidani Gorge Area<\/strong><\/a> is also connected to a contest between \u014ckuninushi and a local deity. A large, unusually shaped boulder near the base of Mt. Shind\u014d<\/strong> in the Shind\u014dsan Area<\/strong><\/a> is venerated as the place where Princess Nunakawa was born.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tAn Ancient Road along a Massive Fault\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t

Utou<\/em> are U-shaped Cuts Characteristic of the Old Matsumoto Road<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tLinking Inland Provinces to the Sea\t<\/h4>\n\t

The local people have long used the lowlands which developed along the Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line<\/strong> as an important trading route. Archaeological evidence suggests that our prehistoric ancestors traded jade beads and stone axes for obsidian along this route.<\/p>\n

In Japan’s Feudal Period, this route began to develop into the\u00a0Matsumoto Road<\/strong>, also called the Salt Trail<\/strong>, a vital lifeline which supplied the inland provinces with salt, fish and other marine produce. Itoigawa flourished as a\u00a0shukubamachi<\/strong>, a staging post town with inns, restaurants and merchants where travelers could rest and resupply.<\/p>\n

As people mixed and culture’s mingled, Itoigawa’s unique culture and traditions began to take shape.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tItoigawa: Where East Meets West\t<\/h3>\n\tThe Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line splits Japan between two continental plates.
\nThe rugged terrain along this massive fault has caused Japan to also split into Eastern and Western Cultures with a variety of differences.\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t

(Hokkaido and Okinawa have different cultures of their own)<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ancient History & Culture Itoigawa’s location and geological heritage has always made it a valuable and attractive place to live. The history of our city is counted in millennia, stretching back to time immemorial. The Jade Princess – Nunakawa-hime Princess Nunakawa and Her Son, Takeminakata Cradle of Jade Culture Today, Itoigawa is most famously known as Japan’s largest source of gemstone quality jade. While jade was rediscovered in Itoigawa in 1938, ancient knowledge of Itoigawa’s jade dates back thousands of years to Japan’s prehistoric Jomon period. In ancient times, the land we now call Itoigawa was called Nunakawa and it was from here that the wise and beautiful Princess Nunakawa […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":31,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-99","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","no-featured-image"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t