The surviving Boso Heishi clan Soma ~ JUN, 2025 ~

Soma Ota Shrine in Haramachi (present Minamisoma City) was built when Soma Shigetane moved with his family and retainers from Moriya Castle (present Moriya City, Ibaraki Prefecture) at the end of the Kamakura period. The current Soma region in Fukushima Prefecture was originally given by Minamoto no Yoritomo to Chiba Tsunetane for his contribution to the Oshu Conquest, and was inherited by Tsunetane's second son, Soma Morotsune, who ruled Soma County in Shimousa Province. Shigetane is Michitsune's grandson five generations down, and the Soma clan ruled the northern part of Hamadori, Fukushima Prefecture until the Meiji Restoration. Incidentally, Soma County in Fukushima Prefecture is a "new" name that was created by the consolidation and abolition of counties in 1896, and its origins lie in Soma County in Shimousa Province (Ibaraki Prefecture and northwestern Chiba Prefecture west of the Kogai River). Due to this background, Soma City and Nagareyama City are sister cities. 

The Soma clan is a branch of the Chiba clan, and they also believed in Myoken Bosatsu (the North Star and the Big Dipper), so Shigetane built Soma Ota Shrine to enshrine the same god from Shimousa. The famous "Soma Nomaoi" is a festival of three shrines: Soma Ota shrine, Soma Odaka Shrine, and Soma Nakamura Shrine. Soma Odaka Shrine is located at the site of Odaka Castle, the original base of the Soma clan, and Soma Nakamura Shrine is located at the site of Nakamura Castle, the base of the Soma clan since the Edo period. The cavalry troops are made up of the three shrines, but according to someone who attended the festival, the cavalry troops from Minamisoma were well-organized and impressive, and I imagined that the people living near Odaka Castle, who survived the Northern and Southern Courts and the Warring States period, must have inherited the real soul of Soma. I haven't actually watched the festival, so I'll check it out for myself next time.

Odaka Castle was built shortly after Shigetane moved to Sōma, but the Sōma clan, which sided with the Northern Court, faced their first trial when the Northern Court period began. Kitabatake Akiie, a famous general of the Southern Court, received Prince Yoshinaga and used Mount Ryozen (Date City, Fukushima Prefecture) as a base to capture Odaka Castle, killing Shigetane. However, the Southern Court was at a disadvantage and had no choice but to rely on Akiie's bravery, and while he was forced to fight in Kamakura, Ise, Kinai and other places across Japan, Shigetane's grandson Taneyori recaptured Odaka Castle and overcame the crisis.

The Abukuma Mountains, which separate the Hamadori and Nakadori regions, were an obstacle to the expansion of the Soma territory, and the only way was to invade the Date territory to the north or the Iwaki territory to the south. During the Sengoku period, the Soma clan destroyed the Shimeha clan, a branch of the Iwaki clan, and expanded their territory to the south. Shosaiji Temple in Namie Town was originally founded by a retainer of the Shimeha clan, and was moved to the site during the Edo period, but there was previously a temple called Kakoin. During the Battle of Sekigahara, Date Masamune set up camp here to attack Uesugi Kagekatsu. Yoshitane, the head of the Soma clan, had a legitimate son in Osaka, so he decided to wait and see what would happen without indicating his intentions to Ieyasu, but Masamune, his arch enemy, requested passage through the Soma territory, and Yoshitane allowed him to pass, even though he could have blocked the request. After the war, Ieyasu temporarily abolished the Soma clan, but Masamune mediated on this matter, and the Soma clan was able to survive the Edo period. The main Chiba clan was eventually absorbed into the Hojo clan and was effectively destroyed as a result of Hideyoshi's siege of Odawara.

The former Soma domain included the cities of Soma and Minamisoma, excluding the current town of Shinchi, as well as the towns of Futaba and Okuma, which are still designated as specific areas where it is difficult to return home due to the nuclear accident. Like other Tohoku domains, the Soma domain was severely damaged by the Tenmei famine. During the Genroku period, the population was just under 90,000, but by the Tenmei period, it had dropped sharply to one-third of that, just over 30,000. After that, the domain's top priority was to restore the population and improve its finances. What was unique about the domain was that it allowed the propagation of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, and it is said that it actively invited immigrants from Hokuriku and other areas where there are many Shinshu followers, accepting about 10,000 people. In addition, they actively adopted Ninomiya Sontoku's rural restoration policy called "

Goshiho", and were able to restore the population to about 20,000 (there was a statue of Ninomiya Sontoku in Nakamura Castle).

The Soma domain provided generous support to temples and shrines, and visited several related temples and shrines, but I think that many of the temples and shrines were there to pray for the growth of children and for memorial services for unborn children in connection with the famine.

During the Genroku period, Masatane Souma built Kunitama Shrine to enshrine his beloved son Kunitane, who died at the age of five. During the Tenmei famine, many people died of starvation, and infanticide and crushing of infants became widespread. The clan built Koyasu Shrine on the shrine grounds as a place to pray for the safety of mothers and children, and borrowed money from the shogunate to distribute child support.

The Iwaki clan's base is currently within the city limits of Iwaki City, and is home to the famous national treasure, Shiramizu Amida Hall, built by Tokuhime, the daughter of Fujiwara Kiyohira, who married Iwaki Norimichi. I was able to visit it before the flood two years ago, and it is a Pure Land style garden strongly influenced by Hiraizumi, and I was impressed that the influence of the Oshu Fujiwara clan had reached this far (fortunately the Buddha statue was spared from the flood, and it seems that viewing resumed last year). 

Near J Village, in Naraha Town close to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, there is a large 850-year-old ginkgo tree that was also planted by Tokuhime, and it is speculated that this area is close to the border between Soma and the Iwaki clan.

The Soma area has many Jomon and Yayoi period ruins, proving that human activity has existed since ancient times. This time, I was particularly moved by Sakurai Tomb, the largest square front and square back mound-shaped tomb in the Tohoku region. There are many theories about the historical background of square front and square back mound shaped tombs and keyhole-shaped tombs, but it is still unclear. The so-called "mysterious fourth century" is thought to have been the period when the Yamato Imperial Court was in the process of unifying the nation, but Sakurai Tomb dates from the second half of the fourth century, and one can imagine many dramatic events. At the very least, the Soma region must have had a rival force to rival Yamato, or a respected chieftain.

I visited Ukedo Elementary School, which was swept away by the tsunami in the Great Tohoku Earthquake. The area was hit by a tsunami with a maximum height of 9 meters, and seawater reached the handrails on the second floor of the elementary school. Fortunately, disaster prevention measures and training were in place, and the 93 students lined up at the teacher's command and escaped to the designated location, Mt. Ohira, 1 km away, and were safe. Perhaps it is because Japan is a country that has overcome many disasters, but I think many people felt that the orderly evacuation and generous cooperation in the midst of chaos were typical Japanese virtues. However, I am worried about whether what was done in Tohoku can be done in the city. As the ties of local communities and the culture of caring for others become weaker, I think that Japan should reflect on what kind of country and society it was in the first place, and instead of just throwing things away, we should try to restore what is good.