In the Edo era, the counties were ordered to submit the kuni-ezu (the county maps) to the Shogunate Government as many as four times. The muragata in the kuni-ezu, are the village symbols. In this paper, however the ezumura is a general term referring to the village, the edamura (the branch village), the umatsugi (the inn) etc.
The aim of this paper is to explicate the characteristic of the ezumura. Through this explication, we can obtain a glimpse into the difference of opinions between the Shogunate and the feudal clans.
Several types of edamura are found on Suoh and Nagato kuni-ezu compiled both in the Keicho and Shoho period. On these maps, we can also find some symbols indicating non-availability of information on the payment of tax (the edamura symbol similar to a bean grain which signifies the mametsubu-komuragata). On the Shoho kuni-ezu, there was the umatsugi.
On the Genroku maps, some of these do not appear. According to old manuscripts and previous research, the edamura on the Genroku maps were substituted for the edamura and the umatsugi on the Shoho maps. As for the edamura, they were isolated from the parent villages by mountains, rivers and roads. It is clear, however, that the isolation as such is never described on the Genroku kuni-ezu. They can be broadly classified into three types: (1) the umatsugi bearing the parent village name and the edamura name. (2) The island, which was more than 16 kilometers square, and had some houses. (3) The edamura placed near the county borders and the district borders on the Shoho kuni-ezu.
It is also clear that many branch villages were placed near these borders, and that this manner of drawing was followed in the Keicho, Shoho, and Genroku periods. The district areas were highlighted by applying the same color to the ezumura within the district and by stating the district name. In short, the trend that intends to show boundaries visually became clear in these maps.
It is obvious from the distribution pattern and contents of the ezumura entries that the interest of the Shogunate shifted from the coastal regions to the inland regions on the Genroku maps.
From the foregoing observations, we can conclude that the ezumura was an expression of much information on politics, military, economy, society and general location. By creating and presenting the kuni-ezu to the Tokugawa Shogunate, this signified that these counties were under the rule of the Shogunate. It was very important for the Shogunate to have sound knowledge of the counties in order to defend them from the feudal lords (the daimyo). From these maps one can obtain information such as the payment of tax, the umatsugi, outcaste areas and so on. Geographic location played a vital role in the selection of edamura. For example, on the map, the edamura near the border represents the boundary of the territory.
