| 地名には、その土地の地形や地質など自然の状態を表わしたものがあるが、それにもまして、人々の生活や歴史との結びつきを強く現わしているものが多い。 | Place names frequently describe specific features of an area, such as its terrain and geology, but above all, they often reflect the strong ties locals have with their way of life and history. |
| しかしながら、戦後の急激な変化は、かつてわれわれの祖先が呼び慣らして来た地名を表わす自然環境を変化させ、伝統ある地名を今日風にいいかえてしまった。 | However, rapid post-war changes transformed the natural environment that had been described by ancestral place names, and so those traditional designations gradually gave way to today's usage. |
| 西部地区の区画整理事業の進展や、新青梅街道の貫通等地域環境の変化は一段と加速して来た。この際瑞穂町に残っている地名について、その位置や由来をしらべ、その中からわれわれの祖先の生活を偲び、ありし日の村の生活に思いを駆せると共に、隣接他町村との結びつきについて知ることも有意義なことと思う。 | Changes to the local environment were particularly rapid along the pathway of developments, such as the Readjustment of the Western District Project and the completion of the Shin-Ome Kaido (New Ome Kaido) road which passes through the town. We believe that it is useful to take this opportunity to examine the locations and origins of Mizuho's remaining place names, and to thankfully reflect upon the lives of our ancestors in their village in bygone days, while also understanding their ties with neighboring towns and villages. |
| 今回の調査研究は、寛文八年から安永二年に至るまで数度の検地をうけたが、その際その土地の所在地として各筆毎に記された地名について抜出し、古地図を参考にし、また、土地の古老をたずねて、確認したものである。 | This research study was carried out first by extracting from the ledger the names which had been subjected to several 'Kenchi' (land surveys) between Kanbun 8 and An'ei 2 (1668-1773), and had each been filed at that time as an individual site ('fude') present in that location. Subsequently, these findings were confirmed after being cross-referenced against old maps and also by asking older authorities in the area. |
| 幸い皇国地誌の編集に関し、内田赫一郎氏が瑞穂町の旧村について調査し、検地帳に記載されている小字を書き出してあったので、各村々の地名についての確認がし易かった。 | Fortunately, it was not difficult to confirm the place names of each village because Uchida Kaku'ichiro had investigated the former villages of Mizuho and had extracted 'Ko-aza' (a small Aza, i.e., an administrative unit or subsection of a village) names out of the land ledger book, 'Kenchi-cho', in order to compile a book, 'Kokoku Chishi (The Empire's Regional Geography)'. |
| しかし、その地名が、どこの場所を指すものかという点については、確認が困難で六、七十歳の土地生え抜きの人に尋ねても自宅脇の道路の名称さえわからないという場合もあった。 | However, confirmation of the whereabouts that these names were meant to refer to was sometimes rather difficult: the problem being that even the name of a road could not be identified from asking a 60-70 year-old born and bred in the area and living right beside the road. |
| 最も便利だったのは、屋号を通して地名を探すことができたことと、その地区に畑を所有していた人から昔は、そこの畑のことを何んと呼んでいたかを問い合わせ、その地名や、街道名を探し出すことができたことである。 | The most convenient approach possible to find the place names and 'kaido' (main road or highway) names was through trade names (and house names) and also by asking farm owners of the district what they used to call their fields in the old days. |
| 各村々の初めの頁に示してあるように沢山の地名があるわけであるが、その全部について解明することがむずかしかったので、確実と思われるもの、その土地としておとすことのできない大事なものについてのみ記述した。 | While there were many place names, as are shown in the initial entry-pages for each village, only those whose authenticity were confirmed and/or those too important to be omitted are mentioned, since it was difficult to ascertain the entire set of names. |