Kuratoichi
This area is believed to have been Yoshinogari's commercial center, featuring a large market and storehouses for trade goods. The reasons are that the structure is very similar to ancient clay drawings of Chinese market; there used to be a big river nearby which a boat, an important means for transportation, could travel; and this whole area was completely surrounded with moats.
- Location of Transactions of Daily Commodity
- Location of Transactions of Valuables
- Residence of the Market Workers
- Place of Judgment
- Market Center
- Place of Festival
- Big Storehouse of the "Nation-state"
- Storehouse for Crop
Location of Transactions of Daily Commodity
This is believed to be where people from every village traded daily necessities.
Location of Transactions of Valuables
This place is believed to be where valuables from overseas and other areas of Japan were traded.
Residence of the Market Workers
It is assumed these used to be storehouses to keep commodities and the residences of the lower caste who watched the storehouses and market.
Place of Judgment
This is thought to have been the place where the slave class, called Seiko, was exchanged and trails were held.
Market Center
It is believed that a watchtower, the central building in Kura to Ichi, and storehouses which kept goods brought from domestic and foreign areas were located here. In addition, the residence of the market overseer called Ichiosa seems to have been here.
Place of Festival
Various festivals are supposed to have been held in front of the prayer hall where people prayed to the souls of ancestors. Also, people threshed in one corner of this area.
Big Storehouse of the "Nation-state"
This is thought to have been a special place where military and important tactical materials were stored. So it is believed because a big ditch surrounded the area, and soldiers continuously guarded the doorway.
Storehouse for Crop
This is located near the south gate leading to Kura to Ichi area from the Southern Inner Enclosure. A watchtower used as an enemy lookout post and storehouses to keep unhulled rice for the following year, are thought to have existed here.