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The History of Ikoma

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The History of Ikoma: To the Edo Period

The Ikoma area has a long history, and the first flowers of culture bloomed here early. The Emperor Yuryaku established the Ikoma Shinto Shrine, and Shotoku Taishi founded the Chofukuji Temple.
From the Burial Mound period to the Nara period, the area was home to such people as En-no-Gyoja, the monk Gyoki, Arima-no-Miko, and Mino-no-Okamaro, and Heguri extended his influence here. Temples said to have been founded by Gyoki—Enpukuji Temple, Hodoji Temple, Horakuji Temple, and Inakuraji Temple —still stand today, and his grave is located on the grounds of Chikurinji Temple. During the Heian period, the manor system flourished, and such settlements as Takayama-sho, Ikoma-sho, Shoda, Komyo, Nabata, and Hagihara were established.
Also, the worship of mountains and the bodhisattva Jizo flourished from the end of the Heian period to the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, and the eight great dragon kings and stone Buddhas were worshipped throughout the country.
Takayama, who ruled the northern part of Ikoma during the Muromachi period, conceived of the use of tea whisks in the tea ceremony during the time of Sozei. These are the Takayama tea whisks still being made today.
After the Onin War, the local peasantry tried to create a family-based village of squires and local samurai. From the end of the Warring States period, however, the area was successively ruled by Matsunaga Hisahide, Tsutsui Junkei, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and his brother Toyotomi Hidenaga. In addition, land surveys and edicts prohibiting the use of swords resulted in the return of the populace to the peasantry, and the local settlements were transformed into farming villages of the late Japanese middle ages. This is indicated by the creation of 17 villages in Heguri-no-kori and five villages in Sofunoshimo-no-kori.
In this environment, the feudal society became established in the latter part of the Tokugawa period, the feudal lord solidified his position, the system of rank grew more stringent, and the peasantry was squeezed by the high annual tribute. The feudal lord at that time combined the Koriyama domain and the Hatamoto territory. There were a small number of imperial fiefs in Otoda, and the tribute was nearly 50,000 bushels of rice.
Meanwhile, in 1678, Hozanji Temple, established by the monk Tankai, began receiving a large influx of parishioners from among the general public, owing to the influence of the strong faith of the emperor and the shogun. The Ikoma Shrine also flourished as the tutelary deity of the 17 villages in the Ikoma Valley. During the Genroku period, Daitsu Shonin propagated the Yuzunenbutsu sect, with the result that many affiliated temples were built here.
The turmoil at the end of the feudal period led many to come to the peaceful mountain villages. In the Hotta territory of the Takayama area, there were the so-called “kago appeals” to the feudal lord, and the Yano peasant uprising occurred in the Matsudaira territory controlled by Ikoma Jinya.

(Data: Ikoma History Records: Material Volume)

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The History of Ikoma: The Meiji period to the present

After the beginning of the Meiji period, the turmoil and reform in governmental structures continued. The extent of change in governmental organizations within the prefecture up to 1887 was astonishing; not only were there Nara Prefecture, Nara-fu, Sakai Prefecture, Osaka-fu, Nara Prefecture and local governments included four different kinds of jurisdictional districts.
Modernization reached Ikoma, and the municipal reorganization of 1889 resulted in the merger of 22 villages in Ikoma area into the three villages of Kita-Ikoma, Minami-Ikoma, and Kitayamato, each of which began separate courses of development. There was a further consolidation in 1897, and Heguri and Soejimo merged to create the new Ikoma-gun.
After a great deal of difficulty, the Ikoma Tunnel was completed in 1914, and the Osaka Denki Kido, the present-day Kintetsu Railway, began operating between Osaka and Nara. The village deep in the mountains became more accessible to the outside world, and the road leading from the Ikoma Station to Hozanji Temple on the mountainside became lined with commercial establishments, including eating and drinking places, Japanese-style inns, and souvenir shops. It flourished both as a temple town and as a red light district on a par with Imazato Shinchi.
Kita-Ikoma-mura rapidly grew, as electric streetlights and telephones were installed, and Japan’s first cable car was built in 1918 to link the station with Hozanji Temple. A new municipal system was introduced in 1922. Subsequently, a mountain road to Hozanji Temple for automobiles was built in 1925, and Shigi Ikoma Dentetsu opened what is now the Kintetsu Ikoma Line in 1927, which passed through Minami-Ikoma and ended in Oji.
The cable car was extended to the summit of Mt. Ikomayama in 1929, leading to the construction of an amusement park there. A water supply system, long a goal of the residents, was finished in 1931. These additions created a sense of urbanity in the area, albeit on a small scale. The local government also evolved in tandem with this development. But suddenly, the nation was plunged into World War II in 1941, and a dark period began for Ikoma as well.
Though Ikoma fortunately escaped war damage, the town grew more desolate as the hardships of the war years led to a reduction in the number of visitors. The later evacuation from the cities to the countryside during the war resulted in an increase in the number of residents, however, and the local government instituted a policy of “government for the people, by the people” with a new constitution. The village eventually merged with Minami-Ikoma on March 10, 1955, and with Kitayamato on March 31, 1957.
The opening of the Hanna road in June 1959 and the new Ikoma Tunnel in July 1964 brought Ikoma closer to Osaka. The population soared with the rise in residential housing, and Ikoma formally became classified a city on November 1, 1971, making it the ninth city in the prefecture.
(Data: Ikoma History Records: Material Volume)

Inquiries: Planning and Coordination Division

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