"NIHON KÔKOGAKU" 10 Abstracts
[A] : Article, [RN] : Research Note, [PR] : Preliminary Report of Excavation, [SL] : Special Lecture
| [A] | KOBAYASHI Ken'ichi | 
Design Layout System of Middle Jomon Pottery | 1-24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| [A] | NISHIKAWA Toshikatsu |
Imported Mirrors of 2000 Years Ago: Yayoi Kings and Inscription Band Mirrors with Non-Standard Characters | 25-40 |
| [A] | HIGAMI Noboru |
Inter-regional Exchange from the Third to Fifth Centuries: The Spread and Development of the Tokai Style Curved-handled Hoe | 41-70 |
| [A] | OGASAWARA Yoshihiko |
The Founder of the Abandoned Temple at Ninji, and Its Nature as seen from Duplicate Eave Tiles and Same Type Tiles: Temples Built by the Uji Clan | 71-85 |
| [SL] | Rabi M. Sami Al-KAISI | Archaeological Excavations in Iraq after the Gulf War: New Discoveries in Mesopotamia from Sites of the Early Dynastic through Islamic Periods | 87-96 |
| [PR] | OKI Noriaki |
Excavation in the Kanmuri Site Group, Yoshiwa Village and Saiki Town, Hiroshima Prefecture | 97-105 |
| [PR] | MAMETANI Kazuyuki |
Karako-Kagi Site, Excavation No. 74: Discovery of a Large-scaled Embedded Pillar Building | 107-116 |
| [PR] | ITO Hiroyuki |
Excavation of the Remains of the Structure "Denmon" at the Izawa Castle Site | 117-126 |
| [PR] | ITO Takeshi |
Results of Excavations at the Akita Castle Site | 127-137 |
Design Layout System of Middle Jomon Pottery
KOBAYASHI Ken'ichiAbstract:
The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the operational sequence followed in applying decoration to Jomon pottery, based on an analysis of the layout of the design. In particular, analysis is made of design layout systems of Middle Jomon pottery of the Kanto region of Japan. These consist of Goryogadai, Katsusaka, and Kasori-E types. There is considerable variation between these types in terms of their decoration, which may have complex elements and motifs. However, the regularity of the arrangement of these elements is what helps us to classify the design system for each type.
In principle, Goryogadai type pottery decoration consists of four motifs applied around the circumference of the vessel. Almost all Goryogadai pottery has four repetitive motifs in the upper decoration zone, evenly spaced. The motifs of the lower zone were also often spaced evenly and used in sets of four, with their positions following the layout of those in the upper zone. The standard number for Katsusaka type pots is also four, but there is some variability, with two, three, and five motifs also being used. Some pots were made with an evenly spaced design, and some not. Kasori-E3 pots have seven or more motifs, especially in the lower decoration zone, and the numbers are not constant.
There is considerable variation in the manner of applying decoration. In some instances the potter laid out the spacing of design elements in advance (Fig. 2a, c, e). In examples shown in Fig. 2a the spacing is exact, in Fig. 2c priority appears to have been given to a standard number of divisions rather than even spacing, and in Fig. 2e there appears to have been a deviation for some reason from an intended pattern of regularity. In others instances (Fig. 2d) the potter simply applied evenly spaced elements in sequence without dividing the total circumference beforehand, leaving a single unevenly spaced or partial motif at the end. Figure 2b shows examples in which the unevenness in spacing appears intentional.
Most of Goryogadai, Katsusaka 1, and Katsusaka 2 pottery are of the pattern shown in Fig. 2a. Kasori-E3 and E4 pots take the arrangement of Fig. 2d. It is also interesting to note that the Katsusaka 3 and Kasori-E1 types, chronologically intermediate to the two groups just mentioned, take the patterns of Fig. 2a, b, c, and e.
As is commonly known, Jomon potters did not use the wheel and built their pottery by beating and coiling the clay by hand. But the design arrangement of Jomon pottery can show regularity nevertheless, suggesting that some standard such as the span of the fingers was used for laying out the design. It is also possible that they used a ruler made of sticks tied in the form of a cross, or a measuring tape of plaited rope.
This reconstruction analysis of the operational sequence of design layout reveals norms in the pottery production system of the Jomon period. It is possible to have differences in layout between the norm, or product model, and the performative results. Studies like this of the design layout systems and motif arrangements of Jomon pots should contribute to a better understanding of the stylistic character of Jomon culture.
Keywords:Design layout system; operational sequence of pottery decoration; cognitive structure; Middle Jomon period; Kanto region; Japan
Imported Mirrors of 2000 Years Ago: Yayoi Kings and Inscription Band Mirrors with Non-Standard Characters
NISHIKAWA ToshikatsuAbstract:
The importation of Han style mirrors to Japan began in the Middle Yayoi period. The greater half of these imports are known as non-standard-character inscription band mirrors, from the latter half of the Early Han period. Large numbers of these items are sometimes found in a limited number of jar burials of the northern Kyushu region. The interred figures, in possession of such preeminent grave goods, are thought to be kings who commanded their local regions. Detailed evaluations are still not established, however, of the dates of manufacture and distribution, and of the values attached to these interred mirrors, which serve as basis for such claims. Moreover, no advances have been made in research placing these materials within the larger context of Early Han mirrors on the continent.
The author made a reexamination of more than 700 non-standard-character inscription band mirrors found to date in China and Japan, dividing both the outer sectors and orthographic styles into three types each, and attempted a typology for seven types established in terms of the combination of these two elements. In addition, the value attached to mirrors of each type was assessed, and it was confirmed that the type assigned the highest value in this exercise was a large style of mirror recovered from the tombs of princes and nobles of the realm, and of governors of regional commanderies.
As the result of an overview of the non-standard-character inscription band mirrors found in Japan, based upon conditions pertaining to these items on the continent, it is possible to see a major change in both the types and distributions of these materials around the start of the present era, approximately 2000 years ago (at the end of the Middle Yayoi or the beginning of the Late Yayoi). With regard to its significance, it is thought to reflect a decline in the Late Yayoi of the influence of the Genkai coastal region, which had flourished in the Middle Yayoi, and the emergence of new forces in other parts of Western Japan at this time.
Keywords:
Non-standard-character inscription band mirrors; royal tombs; imported mirrors; Yayoi period; Early Han period; Japan; China; Korean peninsula
Inter-regional Exchange from the Third to Fifth Centuries: The Spread and Development of the Tokai Style Curved-handled Hoe
HIGAMI NoboruAbstract:
The Tokai style curved-handled hoe derived from the Ise Bay type curved-handled hoe, which appeared from the second part of the Yayoi V ware to the Hasama I ware periods, and from the Hasama II ware period the Tokai style diffused across a wide area extending from the Kinki to the central Tohoku regions. In this study, broad typologies were established for Tokai style curved-handled hoes recovered from various locations, and analyses made of the outlines of their blades and of the techniques used for their production, making a number of regional differences apparent in these materials. First, the technique of preparing the blade tip differs between the Ise Bay region and the central and eastern portions of Shizuoka, and whereas the southern Kanto and central Tohoku regions were heavily influenced by Shizuoka in this regard, the Kinki, northern Nagano, and northern Kanto regions were similarly influenced by the Ise Bay area. Comparing the outline of the wooden blade and the spindle with which it was attached to the handle, the Ise Bay and the northern Kanto and Kinki regions showed extremely high similarities, as did the southern Kanto and central Tohoku regions. Also, in the northern Nagano region, the change from Tokai style to the nasubi (eggplant) shape of blade occurred earlier than in other regions. Taking these findings together, it becomes evident that the spread of Tokai style hoes was not uniform, and that in the same manner of explanation given for the diffusion of S-shape rimmed cooking vessels, it cannot be understood merely in terms of the movement of human groups. In other words, in addition to the organized migration from the Ise Bay region, there was also a diffusion of information alone, unaccompanied by direct human movement, concerning the shape of the Tokai style curved-handled hoe.
In recent years it has become evident that when the Ise Bay style hoe emerged, during the time from the latter part of the Yayoi V ware to the Hasama I ware periods, the Ise Bay region saw a considerable amount of digging of large ditches, river control work, and large-scale construction of rice fields on low-lying alluvial plains. The Ise style hoe was developed by the chiefs in this region for this type of large-scale development, and was produced and used in large numbers. The diffusion of the derivatively shaped Tokai style was accompanied by this land-developing technology, or rather it is highly possible that the latter was what chiefs in other regions needed for the redevelopment of low-lying alluvial areas, and diffusion took place from the Ise Bay area directly, or in secondary or tertiary fashion. For this reason the Tokai style curved-handled hoe, in contrast to the straight-handled hoe that functioned primarily as a tool for cultivation, was invested with a highly political nature. This is to say, at nearly the same time as it appeared, the Ise Bay style curved-handled hoe diffused to the Kinki and Hokuriku regions, where it developed into standardized nasubi-shaped forms, and these two shapes subsequently diffused over wide areas as if competing for spheres of influence, thereby becoming established in the various regions.
Keywords:
Tokai style curved-handled hoe; nasubi shape curved-handled hoe; land development technology; Yayoi and Kofun periods; Kinki to Tohoku regions
The Founder of the Abandoned Temple at Ninji, and Its Nature as seen from Duplicate Eave Tiles and Same Type Tiles: Temples Built by the Uji Clan
OGASAWARA YoshihikoAbstract:
Ancient Buddhist temple remains are located in Ninji, Kashiba City, in the northwest part of Yamato. Identified by some as the Kataoka niji temple remains, they have for a long time been known to consist of two locations where the same style of eave tile can be found: the vicinity of the present Hannyain temple, and the area around the remains of a pagoda podium lying east of Shiroyamahime shrine, just to its north. These remains have also been hypothesized as related to Hannyaji temple. In recent years investigations have been conducted at both locations, with the pagoda remains to the north being excavated, and an extremely large central foundation stone, with seats carved for the main and supporting pillars, have been found together with items treated as relics. With this discovery, these remains became the attention of renewed interest, prompting new opinions likening it to Katsuragi niji temple, or the view put forward by those involved in its investigation, based on the use at this temple of round eave tiles made from the same mold those used for roofing Sakatadera temple in Asuka, that it was constructed by royalty descended from Emperor Bidatsu.
However, if this temple was indeed constructed by descendants of Bidatsu, then no clear explanation exists for the process of its construction, in which it was later brought close to completion using tiles of the Kawaradera style. The lack of clear knowledge about the specific activities of the builder is another difficulty left by this view.
In considering the identity of the builder of the abandoned temple at Ninji, despite the limitation of not being able to clarify fully the relation between the northern and southern precincts, if the distributions of same type eave tiles as the Sakatadera style tile used at the time of the temple’s founding are included in the examination, along with those of same mold (duplicate) tiles, it will be noted that same type round eave tiles were concentrated at early temples in the Ki River drainage area, such as the abandoned temples at Nishikokubu, Mogami, and Kitayama. Accordingly, it is highly possible that the clan that built these three temples in the Ki River area and the one that constructed the temple at Ninji were members of the same extended clan organization. If this type of relationship can be admitted, then the possibility of seeing it as the Ki clan, which had its main base in Yamato, becomes high. In the vicinity of the abandoned Ninji temple there are Late Kofun period tombs like Misato Kofun, having a stone niche which is a prominent feature of horizontal chambers of the Ki River region, as well as the Heguri niimasu Ki shrine, an Engishiki registered shrine, where the Ki clan deity is worshiped. Also, from the relationship between the Ki and Heguri clans noted on a Ki clan genealogy, it may be inferred that the Ninji temple was a clan temple closely related to the establishment from the sixth century on of the headquarters of the entire Ki clan organization in this region. Further, if this is indeed seen as a clan temple of the Ki family, it becomes necessary to take a renewed look at Kidera temple located in the Asuka region.
Keywords:
Temple at Ninji; Kataoka niji temple; duplicate eave tiles; same type eave tiles; Sakatadera type round eave tile; Kawaradera type round eave tile; clan temples; Heguri niimasu Ki shrine; Kuratsukuri clan; Ki clan; Hakuho period; Yamato; Kii; Kawachi; Kinai
Preliminary Excavation Reports
Excavation in the Kanmuri Site Group, Yoshiwa Village and Saiki Town, Hiroshima Prefecture
OKI NoriakiAbstract:
This preliminary report summarizes the main results of an excavation in the Kanmuri site group of Yoshiwa Village and Saiki Town, Hiroshima Prefecture, in southwestern Japan, dating from about 30,000 to 6,000 years before the present (from the early part of the Late Paleolithic to the Early Jomon era). This site group consists of many stone tool production sites, located in an andesite producing region.
The staff of the Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education has carried out excavations in this site group from 1991 (although the Archaeological Investigation Center of Hiroshima Prefecture has been entrusted with the work of excavation since 1992, and is carrying out the project in joint fashion). The purpose of the project is to gain more knowledge about this site group, and to devise a plan for protecting it from destruction due to development.
Our excavation in 1998 identified a location where raw materials were obtained for lithic artifacts, and where stone tool production was conducted, at a time which can be dated to about 30,000 B.P (at the start of the Late Paleolithic). At this site, approximately 2,500 stone artifacts including trapezoids, were found under the Aira-Tanzawa volcanic ash layer, attributed to an eruption in Kyushu around 23,000 - 24,000 B.P. The ground surface at the time when the tools were deposited is thought to have been dotted with large outcrops of andesite boulders, up to one meter on a side. Materials thought to have come from one of these, which was pulled up to the surface for utilization, were refitted to form a block approximately 80 cm long and equally wide, and 60 cm thick, with a weight of 108 kg.
Through this excavation, a precise locality where material for stone tools was quarried was determined for the first time for this site group. It may be expected that as a result, techniques of obtaining material for stone tools in the Late Paleolithic, and the content of work conducted at such locations, will become clearer. Also, in addition to places where stone tools were made and materials for them obtained, it is believed that other localities exist within this site group where curated tools were retouched and other types of implements made, and where the emphasis was more on the daily routines of eating and sleeping, and that these will provide materials for a better understanding of quarry sites in the future.
Keywords:
Andesite producing region; quarrying and stone tool production sites; Late Paleolithic; Yoshiwa Village and Saiki Town
Preliminary Excavation Reports
Karako-Kagi Site, Excavation No. 74: Discovery of a Large-scale Embedded Pillar Building
MAMETANI KazuyukiAbstract:
The Karako-Kagi site is a representative Yayoi period moated circular settlement, located close to the center of the Nara basin in Tawaramoto Town, Shiki County, Nara Prefecture. The multiple encircling moats are 600 m across in both north-south and east-west directions, and the 300,000 m2 area covered by the site puts it in the highest rank among Yayoi settlements nationwide. Excavations conducted at this site range from the first in 1936 to No. 78 at present. The first excavation was especially famous in the history of archaeological research, as large numbers of wooden agricultural implements were recovered from the bottom of Karako Pond, demonstrating that the Yayoi period had an early farming culture. On 27 January 1999, the site was designated a National Historic Monument.
Excavation No. 74, reported herein, was conducted from 14 July to 25 December 1999 within the hamlet of Kagi, on the western side of Route 24 which divides the site east-west, by the Tawaramoto Town Board of Education. Although no occupation surfaces remained, structural features ranging from the Early Yayoi through the Medieval and Early Modern periods were detected at the same level. For the interior of the Karako-Kagi Site, the density of features was low. Postholes were scarce, with large pits such as wells and storage facilities for wooden implements making up the greater portion. Among these, of particular note are the remains of a large-scale embedded-pillar building. Having a north-south ridge with independent external ridge posts, its two-bay transverse width was 7.0 m, and length parallel to the ridge was at least 11.4 m over five or more bays. Also, from the presence of postholes along the central ridge line within the interior of the building, it is thought that the building had an elevated floor supported in part by internal struts. The surviving pillar stumps were approximately 60 cm in diameter. Gaps separating the bottoms of the postholes and the bases of the pillars were filled with layers of wood fragments or logs. The wood fragments showed signs of being worked, and are thought to be re-utilized wood chips produced when the pillars were dressed.
The age of this large-scale embedded pillar building can be placed at the start of the Middle Yayoi, on the basis of the relations of overlap among features, and from the pottery they contained. That date is the oldest for both a building with independent ridge posts, and for one with a raised floor supported by internal struts. The Karako-Kagi Site at the start of the Early Yayoi antedates the building of moats around the settlement, and is thought to have been divided into three residential sections of north, south, and east. Excavation No. 74 was conducted near the center of the western section. Compared to the site as a whole, relatively old Early Yayoi pottery accompanies features of this sector, which is thought to have been the earliest area where settlement occurred. It probably held a central role in the Karako-Kagi community before the establishment of the moats. The discovery of a large-scale building at its center, prior to the building of the moat, is of considerable significance.
Keywords:
Large-scale embedded-pillar buildings, Yayoi period, Nara basin, Kinki region
Preliminary Excavation Reports
Excavation of the Remains of the Structure "Denmon" at the Isawa Castle Site
ITO HiroyukiAbstract
In Excavation No. 77 at the site of Isawa Castle, Headquarters for Pacification and Defence, the remains of a building designated "gate remains SB1250" were uncovered at a point 30 m south of the southern gate of the administrative compound, standing in a manner as to block the compound’s southern entrance. It was located as one of the main structures of Isawa Castle, facing south along its central north-south axis, and while it was built to the same standard in terms of size as the tile-roofed south gate of the outer compound, and the main and eastern halls of the administrative headquarters, a difference in rank can be noted regarding its structure, as a single-storied embedded-pillar building not provided with a tile roof. The construction of this building dates from the Isawa II phase or later, belonging to a period of great transition within the history of the castle as a whole. It is surmised that the building was called denmon, and as background to its establishment it is thought to have resulted from a reorganization of the fortified government offices of northern Mutsu province from the middle decades of the ninth century, and the concentration of the system for control of the Emishi at the single focus of Isawa Castle. For this reason the Headquarters for Pacification and Defense sought to divest part of its administrative functions, and establish a new facility in the plaza opening to the south of the headquarters compound, which would bear those responsibilities. This facility was denmon. Also, as a result of this divestiture, a reorganization of the government offices in the vicinity of the administrative headquarters was carried out.
From that point on, this building served as a symbol of the system for control of the Emishi maintained by the Headquarters for Pacification and Defense, having its own facilities and organization independent of the provincial headquarters at Taga Castle.
Keywords:
Ancient fortified government office sites; Headquarters for Pacification and Defense; Emishi policy; Heian period; northern Japan (ancient Mutsu province)
Preliminary Excavation Reports
Results of Excavations at the Akita Castle Site
ITO TakeshiAbstract:
The Akita Castle Site, located in Akita City, Akita Prefecture, is the northernmost fortified government office site of ancient Japan.
First built by the Ritsuryo state as Dewa no saku in the year 733, the name was later changed to Akita Castle. From the first half of the eighth century, and continuing into the tenth, it served as the military and governmental base of Dewa province for the control and governance of the Emishi and of immigrants to the region. It is thought that in the Nara period a Dewa provincial headquarters was established, and in recent years its role as a base for diplomacy and exchange with the country of Bohai on the continent, across the Sea of Japan, has been the subject of attention.
The Akita Castle Site has been under continuous investigation by the Board of Education of Akita City since 1972, and the locations and changes over time of its external fortifications, as well as those of central facilities such as administrative headquarters and various governmental offices, have been confirmed, and thus the manner in which both the internal and external portions of the site were used is gradually becoming clear.
In the excavations of recent years, with regard to diplomatic exchange, administration, and military affairs, there have been important discoveries concerning the special characteristics of the Akita Castle Site and the role it played as a fortified government office.
The remains of a toilet, together with the structure housing it and superb facilities for flushing, were discovered in Excavation No. 63, in the Unoki precinct. From an analysis of the eggs of intestinal parasites found in the toilet remains, the possibility has been pointed out that it was used by a visitor from the continent, for whom pork was a regular item in the diet, focusing attention on the connections of this find with the role played by Akita Castle as a base for diplomacy, and with the envoys from Bohai who came to Dewa during the Nara period.
In Excavation No. 72, administrative documents that had become permeated with lacquer were recovered in unprecedented amounts. These were death and family registers, and tax registers, etc., kept for the purpose of controlling residents who consisted of immigrants, Emishi, and others, and for governing them in accordance with Ritsuryo law, making this a highly valuable discovery for learning about the regional administrative system, and the composition and lifeways of the residents, for a region having a fortified government office under the ancient Ritsuryo state order. Also recovered in Excavation No. 72 were non-ferrous lamellar plates for body armor, dating from the first half of the ninth century. As no other examples, excavated or otherwise, of non-ferrous lamellar armor are known for the first half of the Heian period, this is a significant discovery for studying changes in ancient Japanese armor. The discoveries of lacquer-permeated documents and lamellar armor are suggestive of the role played by Akita Castle as a pivotal administrative and military institution in the Heian period.
In future investigations of the Akita Castle Site, in addition to continuing to pursue the administrative and military roles constituting its basic functions as a fortified government office, it is also necessary to continue throwing light on its particular characteristics as the northernmost of such facilities in Japan.
Keywords:
Ancient fortified government offices; flush toilet remains; lacquer-permeated documents; lamellar armor; Nara and Heian periods; Tohoku region; Akita plain.
JAA