Yamato period in the context of "Goguryeo"

Fukuoka (福岡市, Fukuoka-shi; [ɸɯ̥.kɯꜜ.o.ka, -kɯ.o.kaꜜ.ɕi] ) is a designated city in the Kyushu region of Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. The area has long been considered the gateway to the country, as it is the nearest point among Japan's main islands to the Asian mainland. Although humans have occupied the area since the Jomon period, some of the earliest settlers of the Yayoi period arrived in the Fukuoka area. The city rose to prominence during the Yamato period, and because of the cross-cultural exposure, and relatively great distance from the social and political centers of Kyoto, Osaka, and later, Edo (Tokyo), Fukuoka gained a distinctive local culture and dialect that has persisted to the present day.

Fukuoka is the most populous city on Kyūshū island, followed by Kitakyushu. It is the largest city and metropolitan area west of Keihanshin. The city was designated by government ordinance on April 1, 1972. Greater Fukuoka, with a population of 2.5 million people (2005 census), is part of the heavily industrialized Fukuoka–Kitakyushu zone.

The Kofun period (古墳時代, Kofun jidai) is an era in the history of Japan from about 258/300 to 538/710 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is the earliest era of recorded history in Japan, but studies depend heavily on archaeology since the chronology of historical sources tends to be distorted. Kofun is Japanese for the type of burial mound dating from this era.

It was a period of cultural import. Continuing from the Yayoi period, the Kofun period is characterized by influence from China and the Korean peninsula; archaeologists consider it a shared culture across the southern Korean peninsula, Kyushu and Honshu. On the other hand, the most prosperous keyhole-shaped burial mounds in Japan during this period were approximately 5,000 in Japan from the middle of the 3rd century in the Yayoi period to the 7th century in the Asuka period, and many of them had huge tombs, but in the southern Korean peninsula there were only 13 from the 5th century to the 6th century, and the tombs were small. Wall decorations and Japanese-style armor, which are characteristic of older Japanese burial mounds, were excavated from 5th century burial mounds in the southern Korean peninsula. This shows that Japan and the southern Korean peninsula influenced each other.

The Asuka period (飛鳥時代, Asuka jidai; Japanese pronunciation: [a.sɯ̥.ka ((d)ʑiꜜ.dai)]) was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710, although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after the Asuka region, about 25 km (16 mi) south of the modern city of Nara.

The Asuka period is characterized by its significant artistic, social, and political transformations, having their origins in the late Kofun period. The introduction of Buddhism marked a change in Japanese society. The Asuka period is also distinguished by the change in the name of the country from Wa (倭) to Nippon (日本).

The Soga clan (Japanese: 蘇我氏, Hepburn: Soga-shi) was one of the most powerful aristocratic kin groups (uji) of the Asuka period of the early Japanese state—the Yamato polity—and played a major role in the spread of Buddhism in Japan. Through the 5th and 7th centuries, the Soga monopolized the kabane or hereditary rank of Great Omi and was the first of many families to dominate the Imperial House of Japan by influencing the order of succession and government policy.

Ōkuninushi (大国主（おおくにぬし）; historical orthography: オホクニヌシ, 'Ohokuninushi'), also known as Ō(a)namuchi (Oho(a)namuchi) or Ō(a)namochi (Oho(a)namochi) among other variants, is a kami in Japanese mythology. He is one of the central deities in the cycle of myths recorded in the Kojiki (c. 712 CE) and the Nihon Shoki (720 CE) alongside the sun goddess Amaterasu and her brother, the wild god Susanoo, who is reckoned to be either Ōkuninushi's distant ancestor or father. In these texts, Ōkuninushi (Ōnamuchi) is portrayed as the head of the kunitsukami, the gods of the earth, and the original ruler of the terrestrial world, named Ashihara no Nakatsukuni (葦原中国, the "Central Land of Reed Plains"). When the heavenly deities (amatsukami) headed by Amaterasu demanded that he relinquish his rule over the land, Ōkuninushi agreed to their terms and withdrew into the unseen world (幽世, kakuriyo), which was given to him to rule over in exchange. Amaterasu's grandson Ninigi then came down from heaven to govern Ashihara no Nakatsukuni and eventually became the ancestor of the Japanese imperial line.

Ōkuninushi is closely associated with the province of Izumo (modern Shimane Prefecture) in western Japan; indeed, the myth of his surrender to the gods of heaven may reflect the subjugation and absorption of this area by the Yamato court based in what is now Nara Prefecture. Aside from the Kojiki and the Shoki, the imperially-commissioned gazetteer report (Fudoki) of this province dating from the early 7th century contain many myths concerning Ōkuninushi (there named 'Ōanamochi') and related deities. Myths which feature Ōkuninushi (or deities equated with him) are also found in the Fudoki of other provinces such as those of Harima (modern southwestern Hyōgo Prefecture). He is also known for his romantic escapades with a number of goddesses which resulted in many divine offspring, including the gods Kotoshironushi and Takeminakata.