Kozukata

Kozukata (不来方 or 古志方^[1]) is an old name for the area that is now occupied by the center of the city of Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, Japan.^[2] Nanbu Toshinao (1576 – 1632), head of the Nanbu clan, took control of Kozukata after his participation in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Toshinao disliked the name "Kozukata", and changed it first to "Morigaoka" and later "Morioka" early in the Edo period (1603 – 1868).^[3]

Literally meaning "come-not-way", a folk etymology for the name states that it derives from the legend that the demon Rasetsu, after he was driven out of the area, will never return.^[4]

References

1. "Place-name etymologies of Iwate Prefecture". Iwate Prefecture homepage. Iwate Prefectural Government. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
2. "不来方" [不来方]. Dijitaru Daijisen (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2013. OCLC 56431036. Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
3. "岩手県：盛岡市 ＞ 盛岡城下 ＞ 〔築城以前の盛岡〕" [Iwate Prefecture: Morioka, Morioka Castle, Morioka prior to the construction of the castle]. Nihon Rekishi Chimei Taikei (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2013. OCLC 173191044. dlc 2009238904. Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
4. Hirano, Tadashi (1976). "Mitsuishi no Oni no Tegata" [The Handprint of the Mitsuishi Demon]. Iwate no Densetu [The Legends of Iwate] (in Japanese). Hirosaki: Tsugaru Shobō. p. 15.