Directions of the Study on Hiraizumi Culture

　　 We studied Hiraizumi culture from the viewpoint of cultural history. We also dealt with the characteristics of the power of the Oshu Fujiwara family, putting an emphasis on the local history.
　　After 1988, the result of archaeological excavations on Hiraizumi and that of Yanaginogosho are correlated respectively by the archaeologists, which influences the historians. The work 'Hiraizumi, restoration of the medieval city' by Saito Toshio is a typical example. His successive works on the Hiraizumi city show a model and indicate a direction in the future.
　　We have correlated each result of excavation research to the study of Hiraizumi city, because the scale of excavation grows larger. Particularly the recent excavations of Shirayama and Izumiya site brought the great result about the study of development of roads that were the core of the city planning, and the town squares of Hiraiumi. It is possible to restore the town squares in those days which corresponds to the descriptions of Azuma kagami. We expect that the excavation at Honedera Shoen site in Ichinoseki started in 1999 will reveal the economic base and the power structure of the Oshu Fujiwra family.
　　Many archaeological excavations are carried out in the city area today, which overlapped the city of the 12th century. On the contrary, excavation researches are seldom conducted at the sites which show how the ordinary people lived in those days.
　　In other words, these sites were located outside the city area. We need to make excavations at them. As the number of the sites which produced the remains of the 12th century is increasing around Hiraizumi area, it is important to conduct excavations at these sites in order to get a clue to the expansion of the the Fujiwara family's power. We have to pursue our studies on the Oshu Fujiwara family and the Hiraizumi culture with the interdisciplinary cooperation.