Many years ago, I took two overseas guests to Asuka and explained, “Japan’s early civilization was created in this place. They asked me, “How come the early civilization of Japan was created in the area without any large rivers?”
I understood major early civilizations in the world occurred in the area with large rivers.
To tell the truth, I couldn’t answer the question at that time.
Now if they ask the same question, I’ll answer, “In ancient time, the Seto inland sea used to play the same role as the large river. In fact, it was a main route of traveling and trading. Osaka bay is the eastern end of the Seto inland sea and it used to be at the western foot of Mt. Ikoma.
It means crossing over the mountain to the east, they could get to Asuka easily.
何年も前のことですが外国からのお客さん二人を飛鳥に案内したとき、彼らの質問は、飛鳥には大河がないのになぜ古代文明があったのですか？でした。
なかなか鋭い質問ですね。
そのときは答えられなかった。
皆さんならこの質問にどう答えますか？