Fudoki (description of regional climate, culture, etc.) (風土記)
"Fudoki" is a title of Chinese books. Along with 'Zhou Chu fudoki' written by Zhou Chu under the General Who pacified the West in the Western Jin Dynasty, it is thought that 'Ji zhou fudoki' written by Lu Zhi, 'Rinkai fudoki' written by Shen Ying, and 'Northern Wei fudoki' exist as fudoki which are believed to have been written by Kyoshi RIKU. These books are thought to carry the summary of what was observed and heard about people's lives in remote regions, but the details are uncertain.
It is an item in which the information of the culture, climate, topography, etc of each province was recorded and compiled in the Nara Period in Japan. It is also called 'Kofudoki' (ancient fudoki compiled by imperial order in 713 CE) to differentiate it from other fudoki, although it is not an official name. Fudoki is thought to have been prepared for each province under the ritsuryo system (a system of centralized government based on the ritsuryo code) and some fudoki's manuscripts have been restored. This article discusses this.
Some fudoki were lost or missing, and they were compiled again in later years. Or, it is the general name of a book in which the history and products of culture of a certain region are described. Mikawa Go Fudoki (the Topographical Records of Mikawa Province), Tohoku Go Fudoki (Updated Geographical Description of the Tohoku region), Hida Go Fudoki (Updated Geographical Description of Hida Province), and fudoki of nowadays.
Kofudoki
Fudoki is a local report which was compiled by imperial order in the early Nara period. At Emperor Genmei's order, it was compiled by Kokucho (local government) in ryoseikoku (province) and mostly written in classical Chinese.
The description of Kasshi (June 3, 713) in "Shoku Nihongi" (Chronicle of Japan Continued) is thought to have been an imperial order directing compilation of a fudoki. However, the name fudoki was not used at that time. Items or information to be reported are as follows.
Name of Gun (county) and Go (village) (using auspicious characters)
Products
Fertility level of the land
Origin of the name of the place
Other matters which were told for a long time.
Although a complete style of fudoki does not exist, Izumo no kuni fudoki remains almost complete, and Harima no kuni fudoki, Hizen no kuni fudoki, Hitachi no kuni fudoki, and Bungo no kuni fudoki exist with some parts missing. Other provinces' fudoki should have existed, but at present, some of such fudoki can be known only in the itsubun (lost writings) referred to in books of later era. Among so-called itsubun, there are some which are thought skeptical about the credibility that those descriptions were contained in fudoki in the Nara period.
Fudoki of each province
*' shows that the manuscripts are restored in a certain level, 'O' shows that itsubun is restored in other books, and no mark means that it is itsubun, only skeptical itsubun exists, or itsubun has not been discovered.