During the Yayoi period of Japanese history (3 c B.C. to 3 c A.D.) both the cultivation of red-grained rice and the shift from a nomadic lifestyle to permanent settlements, both very important cultural developments, occurred.
The largest ruin among all the Yayoi ruins excavated in Japan, Yoshinogari spreads throughout the Kanzaki area of Saga Prefecture (Kanzaki town, Mitagawa town and Higashisefuri village). The Yoshinogari ruins, as the center of the "nation state", have proved invaluable as a source of understanding of the approximately 600 years covering the Yayoi period.
The country of "Yamatai", modern day Japan, was first mentioned in the Chinese chronicles "Gishi Wajinden". Corresponding in both period and location, the Yoshinogari ruins are believed to be this ancient country making it a national site of special historic importance.
Furthermore, relics found at the site, including copper/bronze knives and decorative glass beads, show the extremely high academic value of Yoshinogari.
The History of Yoshinogari
The Yayoi period was a long era spanning approximately 600 years.
At the Yoshinogari ruins, structures and relics from every part of this lengthy period have been discovered. Moreover, these ruins are of extremely high academic value: at this site, we have found relics that clearly show the characteristics of the different stages of this era, allowing us to understand how society evolved during this period.
[EARLY YAYOI PERIOD (3c. B.C.- 2c. B.C.)]
In the early Yayoi period, villages formed sporadically along a stretch of hills in Yoshinogari.
A moated village appeared along the southern edge of the area, and signs of development from "village" to "nation state" are apparent.
Excavated relics
[MIDDLE YAYOI PERIOD (2c. B.C.- 1c. A.D.)]
In the middle Yayoi period, a large circular outer moat was dug around the southern part of the hills.
Burial mounds built for leaders, as well as cemeteries full of burial jars have been discovered. As the village developed so did its defenses, indicating that fighting had escalated.
Burial mound
[LATE YAYOI PERIOD (1c. A.D. - 3c. A.D.)]
In the late Yayoi period, Yoshinogari developed into the largest moated village in the country, encircled by a large outer moat dug down in a "V" shape.
The village also came to feature two special inner areas (the "Northern Inner Enclosure" and the "Southern Inner Enclosure"). Particularly in the Northern Inner Enclosure, large buildings appeared as Yoshinogari entered its golden age.
Remnants of a large building in the Northern Inner Enclosure
Burial Jar RowsResting Place
The burial jar is a distinctive type of coffin found only in the northern part of Kyushu. A body was bent into an unglazed jar and then the jar was buried in the ground, which seems to have been a popular means of burial for about 200 years, during the middle of the Yayoi period.
Approximately 15,000 jars are supposed to have been buried in mounds in Yoshinogari. Among them, over 2,000 jars are buried in a 600-meter long row on both sides of the path in the middle of the northern mounds. (The path is thought to have been a way to visit the graves or a line to separate them by ranks.) People at the time seem to have paid homage to the deceased.
No comments:
Post a Comment