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Yamato (大和) is a
province of Japan, which covers area of present
Nara Prefecture. Since the Imperial court rose into power there,
Yamato came to mean whole Japan too and that sense is referred to as
"Great Yamato".
"Yamato Damashi" or the Spirit of Yamato is used colloquially in a
nostalgic way by conservative Japanese to refer to a mysterious Golden Age
of Japanese Culture when life was simple and people were honest and worked
hard. The
Kofun Period of Japanese culture is also sometimes called the Yamato
Period by Western Scholars, since this local Chieftain ship eventually
rose up to become the Imperial Dynasty at the end of the
Kofun Period. Japanese archaeologists find this a little
predeterministic and emphasise the fact that in the early half of the
Kofun Period other regional Chieftainships, such as
Kibi near modern day
Okayama were in close contention for the crown.
The Okinawans sometimes use it to refer to Mainland Japan in contrast
to
Okinawa, which is Uchinaa in their dialect.
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