Origin of the place name 'Inagi'

Birth of Inagi Village

On April 1, 1889, under the jurisdiction of the Higashi-Naganuma and five other villages' combined village office, the six villages of Higashi-Naganuma, Yanokuchi, Omaru, Momura, Sakahama, and Hirao were merged into one village due to the promulgation of the village system, resulting in the birth of "Inagi Village." The name Inagi was newly designated for the village at this time.
With the establishment of Inagi Village, an election for the village council was held on April 25 of the same year at Jorakuji Temple in Higashi-Naganuma, and 12 council members were elected.
Furthermore, on June 8, after the village council's decision, Kiyonosuke Mori was appointed as the first village mayor.
At that time, Oshitate Village, which was under the jurisdiction of the Kamizomeya Village Headman's Office in Kitakama District, became part of the newly established "Tama Village".
In this way, the village system promulgated in the 21st year of the Meiji era led to the establishment of Inagi Village and Tama Village in the following 22nd year, abolishing the villages that had existed since the Edo period, and they continued to exist as districts within the village.

When municipalities merge, the government instructed that for absorption mergers, the name of the new municipality should be the name of the larger municipality, and for equal mergers, the name should be designated by "mutual consultation" of the former village names.
In the case of Inagi Village, among the six villages that will form the new village, there was no particularly large village, and it is believed that discussions on a new village name through equal merger were conducted from the beginning.
As the merger progresses, various candidates for the new village name have been proposed and considered, but unfortunately, there are currently no historical documents related to the naming of the new village name, so it is not possible to clarify the origin of the place name "Inagi."
However, there are legends and old studies that remain, and we will introduce them.

Two Theories on the Origin of the Name 'Inagi'

Mr. Takuo Kawashima of Higashi-Naganuma conveys the story of his father, Yoshizo Kawashima, as a legend.
According to this, it was suggested by Mori Kiyonosuke, the head of the Higashi-Naganuma and five other villages union, who later became the first village chief, to Kubota Zenryo, the founder of the Keigi School, regarding the new village name. He presented two candidates: "Inaho" and "Inagi," and ultimately, "Inagi" was selected.
In selecting "Inagi", it is said that historical facts were considered, such as the presence of fortresses (Ozawa Castle, Naganuma Castle, Omaru Castle) in the areas of Yanokuchi, Higashi-Naganuma, and Omaru, as well as the fact that this region has been a rice-producing area known for its good quality rice since ancient times. (Takuzo Kawashima, from "Mr. Kubozanryo and the Keigi School", published in Showa 61)

In addition, in the "Musashino Village Place Name Draft (Draft)" written by the late Masayoshi Ishii of Komae around 1932 and 1933 (Showa 7 and 8), which is held by the city of Komae and the late Ishii Kanjo, it states, "Inagi Village should be allowed to be called Inage Village, and Inagi is named with the meaning of Inage."
It is not clear what basis this document was stated from, but initially the name "Inage Village" was chosen and submitted to Kanagawa Prefecture, but permission was not granted, and it is said that it was named "Inagi Village" which conveys the meaning.

The only confirmed sources regarding the origin of the village name "Inagi" are the two points mentioned above. Next, I will examine these two theories.

The historical background of the six villages within the city area is recorded in the historical section of the 'Geographical Editing Investigation Book' created in the 19th year of the Meiji era (1886), three years before the establishment of Inagi Village.
Looking at this, it can be seen that each village has almost the same text, with descriptions such as, "The details of ancient events are unclear, during the Kamakura period, Inage Saburo Shigenari held it, and later Shigenari's relative, Kozawa Sakon Shogen Nobushige, was given it, and around the Oan period, Kozawa Saemon no Jo Kunitaka held it."
It is recorded that this area was the territory of the Inage and Ozawa clans during the Kamakura period.
During this time, it can be considered that the people of the village shared a common historical recognition of "Inage" and "Ozawa."
Given these circumstances, it seems reasonable that the new village name could have been chosen as 'Inage', but it was not approved, and it is unclear why it later became 'Inagi'.

In any case, the birth of the new village may have settled on "Inagi" after much consideration and the thoughts of many people.
At present, we cannot clarify the origin of the place name "Inagi", but we hope that new specific historical materials will be discovered in the future.

Note: For more details, please refer to the following materials.
Volume 2 of the Inagi City History (Published by Inagi City in 1991)
"History of Inagi" (Published by Inagi City in 1991)