A Journey Through History: Jōmon – Part Two (Late to Latest Jōmon)
8 minutes read
In the conclusive paragraph of the previous article, we left our settlers in the process of adapting to drastic changes in climate. Rudimentary social structures were appearing throughout the archipelago in the shape of proto-villages. Pottery was mastered: crafts became progressively more elaborate and varied in form as their functions were diversifying. Settlements grew and some individuals assumed specific roles within the community, like that of a shaman, whose tasks were to understand nature and mediate between the spiritual world and the world of the living. New crafting techniques enabled the settlers to better express their conception of the world. Archaeologists have noticed a significant increase in ritual tools and figurative crafts discovered on the sites associated with the Middle Jōmon period. This trend continued during the Late and Latest Jōmon period, when a proper ritual art was established in the form of dogū 土偶: clay statues of human figures with decorative patterns, which were becoming more and more complex. Spiritual awareness developed alongside technical improvements, and both shaped lifestyle and behavioural patterns.
Reconstruction of a half-buried habitation from the Middle Jōmon period, Goshono, Ichinoe (Iwate prefecture). ©小池隆
The Latest Jōmon period marks a bifurcation between the development of the southern regions and the northern ones. Rice cultivation was first introduced in the south, most likely by continental migrants who settled in Kyūshū and progressively colonized the western regions of Honshū. Rice culture, both for its cultivation and continental origin, implied a social and cultural revolution that was identified as a marker for a new era called Yayoi (yayoi jidai 弥生時代, 800/400 BC – AD 250). However, due to the distance to the continent, the northern populations adopted rice culture significantly later and continued the Jōmon lifestyle until at least the 4th century BC. As a consequence, Latest Jōmon sites are richer in the North, with elaborate cultural and spiritual features specific to those regions. Scholars suggest that this longer Jōmon period might have influenced some traits of Ainu cultures, who inhabit Hokkaidō and the Eastern regions of Honshū.
Late Jōmon (2000–1000 BC)
By the 2nd millennium BC, rains became more frequent and disruptive, destroying crops and making mountainous regions a difficult place to acquire food. People progressively migrated toward shores, establishing settlements closer to rivers as soon as fertile soils were identified. Fishing villages started to emerge, focusing their efforts on obtaining resources from the sea. Clams were a staple food, but as people developed new skills, such as crafting fishhooks and harpoons, they started seeking food further from the coast. It appears that those advanced fishing techniques were first adopted in the northern regions, where primitive canoes were used to catch deep-sea fish like tuna and bonito. By observing the archaeological remains of northern sites, scholars have suggested the hypothesis of a certain scarcity of food due to overhunting. As a matter of fact, deer and boar bones are quite rare in northern sites related to the Late and Latest Jōmon period.
Needles, hooks, and harpoons from the Late Jōmon period. ©The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Based on the number of archaeological sites related to the Late Jōmon period, the main destination of the exodus from the central mountains of Honshū was the south, where climate was probably more welcoming. Kyūshū, Shikoku and western Honshū show a significant increase in sites belonging to these latter Jōmon stages. These new internal flows of migration made it possible for improved craftsmanship skills and knowledge as well as specific biological traits to circulate throughout the archipelago. By the Late Jōmon period, cord-marking pottery was introduced to Kyūshū, while some regional decorative patterns known as erased cord marking (Surikeshi Jōmon 磨消縄文) were adopted all over the islands. Settlers became used to a certain sedentary lifestyle, as suggested by the continual occupation of villages. Once a prosperous area with good access to water and food supplies was found, it tended to be inhabited for generations, which led to a complexification of social relationships. The first buildings dedicated to ritualistic purposes emerged in this period.
Stone phallus, Late Jōmon. ©The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Some huts featured stone floors and contained peculiarly shaped pots and stone phalli, leading specialists to believe them to be the homes of shamans, who probably endorsed a leading role within their communities. Another component of those villages were large structures believed to have communal functions, allowing several inhabitants to gather. The structuring of a village was carefully considered in order for it to fulfil the needs of the community. As mentioned before, some buildings were dedicated to ritual purposes, while burial grounds progressively moved beyond the perimeter of the villages. This was a clear attempt to establish a delimitation between the realm of the dead and the world of the living. Scholars assume that this separation was part of the development of a spiritual awareness. However, some correlations with the sedentary lifestyle and diseases brought about by burial grounds close to villages could also be found.
Late Jōmon clay statue Kazahari I Aomoriken. ©PHGCOM
Nonetheless, there is no doubt that the complexification of the settlers’ worldview translated into a structuring factor for the village building rationale and, arguably, for social interactions. People used their craftsmanship to express themselves and their beliefs: zoomorphic idols were popularized and could be found in every household. This can be taken as a sign that some sort of individual cult was in development. The features of those statues progressively became more human and this process has been interpreted as the growing interest in both nature’s and humans’ fertility. A predominant theme of those figures, commonly found in northern sites, is a flexed position, reminiscent of childbirth and burial practices.
An example of tooth ablation, Harunari (1979) from the anthropology blog post ‘Bones, Teeth and Climate Change in Japan’.
People of the time not only expressed their customs through crafts but also through their appearance, by filing or removing teeth. These practices were usually performed on young males, as some sort of coming-of-age initiation or to mark special achievements. However, since skulls with missing or filed teeth have not been found on a consistent basis, scholars believe that this custom is a peculiarity of some settlers.
Lastly, also the layout of villages points to the introduction of ritual practices. Researchers found that a recurrent characteristic of the northern sites are circular areas marked with stones and probably of sacred nature. In regard to their regionality and specific pattern, scholars speculate that those areas were connected to salmon-fishing seasons, thus being some sort of a calendar marking. It is also assumed that ‘the acquisition of food had a seasonal cycle, beginning with clamming in the spring and continuing with fishing in the summer, nut gathering in the fall, and hunting in the winter’[i].
The ancient ruins of the Ōyu Stone Circles are located in Kazuno City, Akita, Japan. ©掬茶
Latest Jōmon (ca. 1000–300 BC)
The Latest Jōmon is regarded as a natural continuation of the previous era. As the use of ritual figurines dogū 土偶 was democratised, they became more elaborate and abstract in patterns. We will dedicate an entire article to this ritual form of art to better elaborate on its evolution and functions.
A dogū from the Latest Jōmon period. ©The Metropolitan Museum of Art
That being stated, we should be mindful that the Latest Jōmon is a transitory period intertwining with the Yayoi period. The Latest Jōmon is traditionally dated 1000–300 BC, but this time frame overlaps with the Yayoi period dated 800/400 BC–AD 250. Rice culture was about to be adopted in all the major islands but Hokkaidō, as it was introduced by continental migrants. Many Jōmon villages coexisted with newly settled rice-focused villages that first appeared in Kyūshū and progressively made their way to Shikoku and to a significant portion of Honshū.
An important change of developmental paths between southern and northern settlers occurred during this last period, as rice was making its way to the north. Being closer to the continent, Kyūshū implemented life-changing habits such as rice crops and metal trading significantly earlier than the northern regions. By the 6th century BC Kyūshū had adopted rice culture, while populations in Tōhoku and Hokkaidō regions still dwelt in Jōmonesque lifestyles.
The North: Tōhoku and Hokkaidō
For a very long time, Ainu tribes have been associated with Jōmon people who migrated from central and western Honshū. Recent works tend to associate Ainu and their cultures with dwellings in Tōhoku and Hokkaidō, giving them a long enough history of residence to be considered indigenous. As such, Ainu retained some hunter-gatherer characteristics of Jōmon culture. However, as suggested by The Cambridge History of Japan: ‘Ainu skeletons are distant from those of modern Japanese, but physical anthropologists regard the Jōmon population as osteologically rather close to the Hokkaido Ainu and the upper Paleolithic Eurasian population’[i].
Ainu houses, from Popular Science Monthly Volume 33, 1888.
The South: Kyūshū to Kantō
Kyūshū experienced a proper revolution in lifestyle and culture related to the adoption of rice culture as well as the migrants’ habits, which will further be elaborated on in an article dedicated to the Yayoi period. Improved life conditions resulted in significant demographic growth, whose pressure sparked migration to the north in a quest to find new exploitable grounds. While southerners were seeking new lands toward the north, movements from the Kantō region to the south, caused by the over-exploitation of the plain and food sources becoming scare, were also important. The South offered the best conditions for settlers, mainly due to its welcoming climate. The first signs of any kind of rice cultivation in Kyūshū date back to the 5th century BC and are in the form of rice marked potteries. Migrants brought along new customs; for example, The Cambridge History of Japan presents distinct footprints in rice fields found in Itazuke (Fukuoka prefecture), suggesting new forms of footwear.
The ancient Yoshinogari ruins of a Yayoi village.
Thus, our journey through the first inhabitation of the Japanese archipelago comes to an end. After a brief detour dedicated to dogū, we will set sails for the Yayoi period, rice culture and the elaboration of the first national myths. Stay tuned!
________________________________________________________________________________________________
[i] Brown, Delmer M., ed. 2008. The Cambridge History of Japan: Volume 1: Ancient Japan. Vol. 1. The Cambridge History of Japan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Written by Marty Borsotti