alt="images"/>
A flatland building reconstructed at the Ikegami-sone prehistoric site, Osaka Prefecture, in which the thatched roof is supported on walls made of reed-covered poles.
Jōmon Period (10000–300 BCE)
About 12,000 years ago, when the Ice Age ended, the climate warmed and sea levels climbed, cutting Japan off from the mainland. A new culture was born in the rapidly spreading deciduous forests, and pottery came into use. These ceramic people are called Jōmon (meaning “rope-marked”) due to the practice of decorating their coil pottery by pressing a piece of rope into the damp surfaces of newly made vessels, some of which were utilitarian while others had wildly exuberant shapes.
The Jōmon people continued the hunting and gathering way of life of their ancestors, supplemented by small-scale horticulture, including some grains. Recent evidence suggests that toward the end of the Jōmon Period, inhabitants in temperate regions of Japan may have experimented with wet rice agriculture on a small scale.
Jōmon buildings can be classified in different ways. According to one classification system, heichi jūkyo (flatland dwellings), originally developed in the pre-ceramic period, were simple structures in which the ground served as the floor; tateana jūkyo (pit dwellings) were roofs, or walls with roofs, constructed over circular or rectangular pits; and hottatebashira tatemono (buildings with poles sunk in the ground) were larger buildings with a floor and a roof supported by a post-and-beam structure in which the posts were buried directly in the earth rather than resting on rocks as in much of the architecture in later periods. Sometimes, the floor of the latter was at ground level (hiraya tatemono), and at other times it was raised off the ground (takayuka), as in the case of storehouses or observation towers.
Pit houses were not suitable for wet areas or in places where there was inadequate drainage. Under the right conditions, however, pit houses helped provide protection against cold in the winter and heat in the summer.
Mound of Emperor Nintoku, the largest tomb mound in Japan. Surrounded by three moats, the mound has three terraces on which were placed rows of haniwa, ceramic figures in the shapes of humans, animals, buildings, etc. Drawing based on a model at the Osaka Prefectural Chikatsu Asuka Museum.
Elevated storehouses, used to protect rice, eventually developed into early Shinto shrines. Based on a model at the National Museum of Japanese History.
Temporary flatland structures, pit houses, and raised floor structures all continued to be employed in the Yayoi Period and even persisted into historic times for use by commoners. Until recently, it was believed that elevated storehouses were first developed in the Yayoi Period. Recent findings, however, indicate that storehouses had earlier, Jōmon origins.
Yayoi Period (300 BCE–300 CE)
Around 300 BCE, or a little earlier, new people and cultural influences arrived from the Korean Peninsula, bringing metallurgy, large-scale wet rice agriculture based on irrigation, and wheel-made pottery. Originally centered in northern Kyushu, the Yayoi people initially appear to have fought the indigenous Jōmon people, but eventually mingled and interbred with them. This mixture provided the basis for the present-day Japanese people and culture. Many of the distinctive traits of Japanese culture date from these People of Wa, as they were called in early Chinese historical records. Some scholars believe that the Ainu, currently found only in Hokkaido and Sakhalin, may be descendants of a northern branch of the Jōmon people that escaped physical and cultural blending with the Yayoi people. Their origins remain controversial.
The increased prosperity brought by the new way of life, with its intensive wet rice agriculture, created distinctions in wealth and an incipient class structure. An increase in population and social stratification eventually led to over 100 small states under the control of a variety of clans known as uji. The clan chief was both the secular and religious leader.
Tomb Mound Period (300–710 CE)
By 300 CE, one or more of the Yayoi uji appears to have gained some preeminence over the other clans, giving rise to a succession of imperial dynasties that culminated in the Yamato State of the mid-sixth century. The Yamato State, based in the area around the current cities of Nara, Kyoto, and Osaka (the Kinki area), controlled a large area, stretching from Kyushu in the west to the Kanto area in the east. The present imperial family of Japan, said to be the longest lived royal dynasty in the world, is believed to be descended from the ruling family of the Yamato State.
The Tomb Mound Period, which derives its name from the common practice of burying royalty and high-ranking clan officials in stone tombs covered with large earthen mounds, lasted from around 300 CE or a little earlier until 710. It thus overlaps with the coming of Buddhism in the middle of the sixth century. Buddhism, which was brought from China and Korea, introduced the advanced civilization of the continent, thereby bringing the prehistoric era to an end. Tomb mounds, however, continued to be built for another 200 years or so.
PIT DWELLINGS
A pit dwelling was constructed by digging a hole about a meter (3 feet) deep and leaning poles against a rectangular framework to create sides. Thatch was tied to the reinforced sides, leaving openings at the top for smoke to escape.
Reconstructed Jōmon and Yayoi Settlements
Reconstructing the past is popular in Japan. The Japanese are intensely interested in their origins and are willing to travel to out-of-the way places to visit archaeological sites. Various levels of government have responded by investing heavily in reconstructing buildings and other architectural features at prehistoric sites, the most important of which are designated as National Historic Remains.
Sannai Maruyama Iseki
Sannai Maruyama Iseki in Aomori Prefecture (iseki means “remains”) is the site of a Jōmon village that existed for around 1,500 years, from 3500 to 2000 BCE. Sannai Maruyama was situated on high ground overlooking Aomori Bay on the north. A road connected the center of the village and the eastern end of the high ground, with graves on both sides. In the center of the ceremonial space were a large pit dwelling, some smaller pit structures, and what may have been a large lookout tower, described below. So far, archaeologists have uncovered the remains of 800 pit dwellings, 120 post-and-beam structures (such as elevated storage buildings and observation towers), and over 10,000 holes, whose use is uncertain.
Though intact timbers no longer remain, a good deal can be inferred from excavated post holes. For example, excavated post holes indicate the circumference and height of the trees used. In one excava-tion, the bottoms of the holes slope in such a way that the poles must have leaned toward each other. Poles sloping in this way would have been unstable unless connected by a raised platform, and possi-bly a roof. It is inferred that this structure may have been used as a lookout tower. Remains of wood found in the holes are from large chestnut trees, probably raised for the nuts.
