Home Region:  Northeast Asia (East Asia)

Kansai - Yayoi Period

300 BCE 250 CE

D G SC WF HS CC PT EQ 2020  jp_yayoi / JpYayoi



Preceding Entity: Add one more here.
1200 BCE 300 BCE Japan - Final Jomon (jp_jomon_6)    [population replacement]

Succeeding Entity: Add one more here.
250 CE 537 CE Kansai - Kofun Period (jp_kofun)    [continuity]

The Yayoi period in the Kansai region (Yayoi period in the Kinki region) is an Iron Age period in Japan marked by the introduction of rice farming, metalworking, cloth making, and new forms of pottery from continental Asia. [1] The beginning of the Yayoi period was characterized by substantial changes and the introduction of new cultural features in the daily life. In the early Yayoi period (ca. 400 BCE - 200 BCE; 300 - 100 BCE) such innovations consisted of new type of houses, burial practices, settlement structures and more importantly of the introduction of full scale farming. [2] [3] The new type of house, consisting of a rectangular or round sub-types,spread throughout western Japan (from Kyushu to Kansai) by the end of the Early Yayoi period. In this period settlements started being enclosed by V-sectioned ditches. [4] Another important change was that, in a given settlement, burial grounds were separated by the dwelling area. The dead were mostly buried in rectangular ditch-enclosed burial compounds covered by low earthen mounds. The introduction of rice paddy field agriculture had big impact in the social structure of the Japanese Yayoi communities. The archaeological evidence of paddy fields suggest that Yayoi communities were able to set up paddies in different topographic and climatic environments. Their maintenance and construction required an unprecedented scale of collaboration and social organization. [5]
The Middle Yayoi period saw also an increase of stone and metal tools, bronze mirrors and weapons deposited mainly as grave goods and Dokatu bronze bells deposited as ritual tools. The spread of bronze mirrors and metal objects can be interpreted as the result of trade contacts between western japanese chiefdoms and the Chinese Lelang commandery in Korean peninsula. [6] During the Late Yayoi period (1/50-200 CE; 100 - 300 CE) we have marked evidence of social stratification. [7]
During the Yayoi/Kofun Transition Period (200-250/75 CE), according to Mizoguchi’s periodization, [8] or the final Late Yayoi period, according to Barnes’ periodization, in western Japan emerged the polity (perhaps a chiefdom) of Yamatai ruled by the queen Himiko. Unfortunately, the evidence of the presence of this polity come from the Chinese dynastic histories and there is not agreement among the scholars about the location of Yamatai. Some scholars located Yamatai in northern Kyushu, [9] while others located it in Kansai. [10] [11] The queen Himiko may have seized the power between the 189 and the 238 CE and her death could be dated to the 248 CE. [12]
Population and political organization
In the Early Yayoi period, significant features such as ditch-enclosed settlements, paddy fields and irrigation systems required a hierarchical structure able to mobilize the needed labour force and coordinate different tasks. As consequence, the Early Yayoi period saw the emergence of a ranked society, where members of a "warrior class" were responsible for guaranteeing and protecting communal interests. [13]
In the Middle Yayoi period (ca. 200 BCE - 1/50 CE; 100 BCE - 100 CE) there is a significant increase in the population, which results in the emergence of large central-type settlements. Hence, there is a two-tiered settlement hierarchy characterized by larger villages acting as regional centres and smaller satellite settlements. A Middle Yayoi settlement was composed of several residential units (hamlets)that were part of a larger kin-based corporate group cross-cutting several different villages. [5] This would have favoured the relations and cooperation between villages on regional scale. There is a peer-polity interaction between the chiefdoms distributed in Western Japan. Each hamlet had its own burial ground and storage facilities and perhaps was occupied by 30 individuals. The regional centres of Western Japan often contained more than 3-4 hamlets and could reach an overall population higher than 200 inhabitants. More research is needed on total Yayoi population.
We know from the Chinese documents that the Japanese chiefs acquired the title of wang (king) ad consequence of the tribute they submitted to the Chinese Han dynasty trough the Lelang commandery. [14] In the Middle Yayoi period burial compounds, mortuary rectangular allotments usually enclosed by a ditch and covered by an earth mound, are introduced. The spatial distribution of these burial features (usually located beside large regional centres), their skeletal remains (almost all adult males) and their grave good assemblages (bronze weapons, bronze mirrors, cylindrical beads, etc.) suggest that the individuals buried in the compounds were regional chiefs or leaders belonging to a number of corporate groups. [15] [16] Overall, the evidence suggest that the status of the elite was achieved rather than being ascribed.
In the Late Yayoi period, the elites started showing their dominance within a settlement by living in clear marked compounds enclosed by ditches and containing raised-floor storage buildings. In addition, clustering of iron tools have been found in proximity of the elites compounds. This evidence suggest that the elites controlled the means of production and the storage and distribution of products. [7] In this period in the rectangular burial compounds, not only adults, but also children and infants were buried, suggesting that the elite status was no longer achieved during their lifetimes but inherited at birth. The population saw also an intensification of inter-communal competition.

[1]: (Mason 1997, 22) Mason, R,H.P and J.G. Caiger. 1997. A History of Japan. Vermont: Tuttle Publishing. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HC5A5QFR

[2]: K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 79-80.

[3]: Hudson, M. J., 2007. "Japanese beginnings."In: W. Tsutsui (ed.), A Companion to Japanese History. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 20.

[4]: K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 84-85.

[5]: K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 120.

[6]: G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 61-65.

[7]: K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 202-203.

[8]: K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 214.

[9]: Takemoto, T. 1983. ‘The Kyishi Dynasty’. Japan Quarterly 30 (4): 383-97.

[10]: Miller, R. 1967. The Japanese language. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 16-18.

[11]: Edwards, W., 1999. ‘Mirrors on ancient Yamato’. Monumenta Nipponica 54 (1, spring): 75-110.

[12]: Kidder, J. E., 2007. Himiko and Japan’s elusive chiefdom of Yamatai: archaeology, history, and mythology. University of Hawaii Press, 161.

[13]: K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 102.

[14]: G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 71.

[15]: Mizoguchi, K., 2002. An archaeological history of Japan, 30,000 B.P. to A.D. 700. University of Pennsylvania Press, 142-47.

[16]: K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 150-154.

General Variables
Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Hierarchical Complexity
Professions
Bureaucracy Characteristics
Law
Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Transport Infrastructure
Special-purpose Sites
Information / Writing System
Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Information / Money
Information / Postal System
Information / Measurement System
Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Religion Tolerance Coding in Progress.
Human Sacrifice Coding in Progress.
Crisis Consequences Coding in Progress.
Power Transitions Coding in Progress.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range Kansai - Yayoi Period (jp_yayoi) was in:
 (300 BCE 249 CE)   Kansai
Home NGA: Kansai

General Variables
Identity and Location
Utm Zone:
53 S

Original Name:
Kansai - Yayoi Period

Capital:
Karako

{Karako; Ikegami-Sone} These two settlements cannot be properly defined as capital cities of a given polity. Rather, they were the largest regional centres in Kansai region. Karako (Nara prefecture) had an extent of about 30 hectares (14.8 hectares excluding circumference ditches). Ikegami-Sone’s size was about 25 hectares (7.2 hectares excluding circumference ditches) [1] .

[1]: K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages tthe Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 134.

Capital:
Ikegami-Sone

{Karako; Ikegami-Sone} These two settlements cannot be properly defined as capital cities of a given polity. Rather, they were the largest regional centres in Kansai region. Karako (Nara prefecture) had an extent of about 30 hectares (14.8 hectares excluding circumference ditches). Ikegami-Sone’s size was about 25 hectares (7.2 hectares excluding circumference ditches) [1] .

[1]: K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages tthe Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 134.


Alternative Name:
Yayoi Period in Kinki region
Alternative Name:
Yayoi Period in Kinai region

Temporal Bounds
Peak Years:
125 CE
 

In this period large regional settlements expanded further. This nucleated settlement pattern is the result of the migration of people from smaller satellite settlements to larger regional centres [1] .

[1]: K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 183.


Duration:
[300 BCE ➜ 250 CE]
 

{400 BCE; 300 BCE}-{200 CE; 300 CE}. According to most scholars this period spans from around 300 BCE to 300 CE [1] [2] . According to Mizoguchi (2013) this period spans from ca. 400 BCE to ca. 200 CE. [3] . This period is divided into three sub-phases: Early Yayoi (400 BCE - 200 BCE; 300 - 100 BCE),Middle Yayoi (200 BCE - 1/50 CE; 100 BCE - 100 CE), and Late Yayoi (1/50 CE - 250 CE; 100 CE - 300 CE).

[1]: Barnes,G.,1999. The rise of civilization in East Asia : the archaeology of China, Korea and Japan. New York: Thames and Hudson, 25.

[2]: Hudson, M. J., 2007. Japanese beginnings.In: W. Tsutsui (ed.), A Companion to Japanese History. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 13.

[3]: K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,53


Political and Cultural Relations
Suprapolity Relations:
jp_yayoi nominal allegiance to cn_eastern_han_dyn
57 CE 107 CE

Possible nominal allegiance to China? From the chinese dynastic histories Houhanshu and Weizhi it is known that people from western Japan sent envoys to the Han Dynasty court probably through the Lelang commandery in Korea in 57 and 107 CE. Also, between 238 and 247 BC four envoys were sent from western Japan to Taifang for submitting tribute, which consisted of cloths, jade, pearls, bows and arrows, cinnabar, and slaves. They returned with several gifts from the court: silk, gold, swords, bronze mirrors, read beads. [1] .

[1]: Barnes, G. L., 1993. China, Korea and Japan. The Rise of Civilization in East Asia. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 218.

Suprapolity Relations:
jp_yayoi nominal allegiance to cn_wei_k
238 CE 247 CE

Possible nominal allegiance to China? From the chinese dynastic histories Houhanshu and Weizhi it is known that people from western Japan sent envoys to the Han Dynasty court probably through the Lelang commandery in Korea in 57 and 107 CE. Also, between 238 and 247 BC four envoys were sent from western Japan to Taifang for submitting tribute, which consisted of cloths, jade, pearls, bows and arrows, cinnabar, and slaves. They returned with several gifts from the court: silk, gold, swords, bronze mirrors, read beads. [1] .

[1]: Barnes, G. L., 1993. China, Korea and Japan. The Rise of Civilization in East Asia. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 218.


Supracultural Entity:
Western horizon

Mizoguchi (2013) characterize three different broad regional cultural units: the Kyushu,the western and eastern horizons. These units developed different sets of material culture (pottery, metal object) burial practice and settlement hierarchy. The western horizon comprises the regions of Kansai (Kinki), Chugoku and Shikoku [1] .

[1]: K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 104-124.


Succeeding Entity:
Kansai - Kofun Period

Scale of Supracultural Interaction:
78,000 km2

km squared


Relationship to Preceding Entity:
population migration

"Dental evidence links Jomon to the living Ainu and Yayoi and Kofun period skeletons to the recent population of Japan." [1]

[1]: (Scott and Turner 2000) Scott, Richard G. Turner, Christy G. 2000. The Anthropology of Modern Human Teeth: Dental Morphology and Its Variation in Recent Human Populations. Cambridge University Press.


Succeeding Entity:
250 CE 537 CE Kansai - Kofun Period (jp_kofun)    [continuity]  
 
Preceding Entity:
1200 BCE 300 BCE Japan - Final Jomon (jp_jomon_6)    [population replacement]  
 

"Dental evidence links Jomon to the living Ainu and Yayoi and Kofun period skeletons to the recent population of Japan." [1]

[1]: (Scott and Turner 2000) Scott, Richard G. Turner, Christy G. 2000. The Anthropology of Modern Human Teeth: Dental Morphology and Its Variation in Recent Human Populations. Cambridge University Press.


Degree of Centralization:
quasi-polity

i.e. not a unitary state.


Language
Linguistic Family:
Japonic

Language:
Japanese

It seems that the agricultural immigrants of the Yayoi period brought the Japanese language from the Korean peninsula [1] .

[1]: Hudson, M. J., 2007. "Japanese beginnings."In: W. Tsutsui (ed.), A Companion to Japanese History. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 16.


Religion

Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Population of the Largest Settlement:
[1,000 to 2,000] people

Estimate assuming roughly 50 persons per hectare; 30ha regional centre would have 1500 people
The largest regional centres in this period are Karako and Ikegami-Sone that respectively have an extent of 30 and 25 hectares.
Many regional centres exceeded the number of 200 inhabitants. [1] - presumably this would be a unrealistically conservative estimate for the very largest regional centers of 30ha

[1]: K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 126.


Polity Population:
[1,500 to 3,000] people

Estiamte based on size of regional center + a few satellite villages
50 person per hectare, 30ha regional centre would have 1500 people. Could use a person-per-hectare estimate much higher than this but Mizoguchi says many regional centres exceeded the number of 200 inhabitants, which suggests lower densities. [1]
The largest regional centres in this period are Karako and Ikegami-Sone that respectively have an extent of 30 and 25 hectares.
450,000: 250 CE an estimation of the population size in Japan between 300 BCE-700 CE was provided by Koyama [2] on the basis of his demographic study on the forty-seven-volume "National Site Maps" published by the Japanese government in 1965.During the Yayoi and Kofun periods around 16.8 % of Japan’s population lived in the Kansai region [3]
The population size increased strongly from the Early Yayoi (ca. 300 BCE-100 BCE) period to the Late Yayoi period (ca. 100CE-300 CE). Different rates of annual growth’s local population and migrants have been estimated by scholars in order to assess how endogenous and exogenous factors shaped population size across time [4]

[1]: K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 126.

[2]: Koyama, S., 1978. Jomon Subsistence and Population. Senri Ethnological Studies 2. Osaka: National Museum of Ethnology

[3]: Kidder, J. E., 2007. Himiko and Japan’s elusive chiefdom of Yamatai: archaeology, history, and mythology. University of Hawaii Press, 60.

[4]: Hanihara, K., 1987. Estimation of the Number of Early Migrants to Japan: A Simulative Study. Journal of the Anthropological Society of Nippon 95, no. 3, 391-403.


Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
2

1. large settlements (estimated size around 30-20 hectares)
2. small villages (estimated size around 2-0.5 hectares)
The large regional centres were surrounded by smaller satellite villages [1]

[1]: K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 123.


Religious Level:
1

Level 1: shamanistic local figures, having religious and social authority, mediating the relationship between the commoners and "the supernaturalas an Other" [1] .

[1]: Mizoguchi, K., 2002. An archaeological history of Japan, 30,000 B.P. to A.D. 700Mizoguchi, K., 2002. An archaeological history of Japan, 30,000 B.P. to A.D. 700. University of Pennsylvania Press, 153-154.


Military Level:
[2 to 3]

2. warrior leader.
1. Soldier.
The discovery of bronze weapons in the tombs of people, which likely belonging to the local elite, suggests the presence of war leaders. The Yayoi period was characterized by heated competition and conflict among different communities.


Administrative Level:
[1 to 2]

2. leader/chief of the local chiefdom.
1. leader of a small village?
Note that the earliest evidence for a “bureaucratic machinery” appears to date to the late fifth century CE [1]

[1]: (Steenstrup 2011, 11)


Professions
Professional Soldier:
present

Transition from absent in JpJomo6 to present in JpYayoi

Professional Soldier:
absent

Transition from absent in JpJomo6 to present in JpYayoi


Professional Priesthood:
unknown

It is unclear whether shamans were full-time professionals.


Professional Military Officer:
present

Transition from absent in JpJomo6 to present in JpYayoi

Professional Military Officer:
absent

Transition from absent in JpJomo6 to present in JpYayoi


Bureaucracy Characteristics
Specialized Government Building:
absent

The earliest evidence for a “bureaucratic machinery” dates to the late fifth century CE. [1]

[1]: (Steenstrup 1996: 11) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7YDV5KGG


Merit Promotion:
absent

The earliest evidence for a “bureaucratic machinery” dates to the late fifth century CE. [1]

[1]: (Steenstrup 1996: 11) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7YDV5KGG


Full Time Bureaucrat:
absent

The earliest evidence for a “bureaucratic machinery” dates to the late fifth century CE. [1]

[1]: (Steenstrup 1996: 11) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7YDV5KGG


Examination System:
absent

The earliest evidence for a “bureaucratic machinery” dates to the late fifth century CE. [1]

[1]: (Steenstrup 1996: 11) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7YDV5KGG


Law
Professional Lawyer:
absent

professional lawyers were not present until the Meiji Restoration. [1]

[1]: Hood, David 1997. ‘Exclusivity and the Japanese Bar: Ethics or Self-Interest?’. Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal (Pacific Rim Law & Policy Association) 6 (1).p.201.


Judge:
absent

Formal Legal Code:
absent

"To all appearances, writing as such, in the form of Chinese Classics, was introduced into Japan early in the fifth century as part of the great cultural influx from Paekche." [1] "no evidence of a formal specialized legal system" [2]

[1]: (Frellesvig 2010, 11)

[2]: Interview with Mark Hudson by Thomas Currie, 7/4/2017 in Shizuoka, Japan


Court:
absent

Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Irrigation System:
present

Food Storage Site:
unknown

Transport Infrastructure
Port:
absent

Canal:
absent

The Yayoi villages have yielded evidence of rice paddy fields, irrigation system canals and ditches. -- irrigation canals don’t count as transport infrastructure


Special-purpose Sites
Mines or Quarry:
present

by Kofun period metal tools "abundantly being used as well as produced." [1]

[1]: (Mizoguchi 2013, 22) Mizoguchi, Koji. 2013. The Archaeology of Japan: From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge University Press.


Information / Writing System
Written Record:
present

"To all appearances, writing as such, in the form of Chinese Classics, was introduced into Japan early in the fifth century as part of the great cultural influx from Paekche." [1] However, ’now and then Chinese characters appeared on Yayoi pottery, showing a degree of literacy among craftsmen.’ [2]

[1]: (Frellesvig 2010, 11)

[2]: Kidder Jr., J. Edward, 2007. Himiko and Japan’s Elusive Kingdom of Yamatai Honolulu: Hawaii University Press. p. 113


Script:
present

"To all appearances, writing as such, in the form of Chinese Classics, was introduced into Japan early in the fifth century as part of the great cultural influx from Paekche." [1] However, ’now and then Chinese characters appeared on Yayoi pottery, showing a degree of literacy among craftsmen.’ [2]

[1]: (Frellesvig 2010, 11)

[2]: Kidder Jr., J. Edward, 2007. Himiko and Japan’s Elusive Kingdom of Yamatai Honolulu: Hawaii University Press. p. 113


Phonetic Alphabetic Writing:
absent

"To all appearances, writing as such, in the form of Chinese Classics, was introduced into Japan early in the fifth century as part of the great cultural influx from Paekche." [1]

[1]: (Frellesvig 2010, 11)


Nonwritten Record:
unknown

"To all appearances, writing as such, in the form of Chinese Classics, was introduced into Japan early in the fifth century as part of the great cultural influx from Paekche." [1] However, ’now and then Chinese characters appeared on Yayoi pottery, showing a degree of literacy among craftsmen.’ [2]

[1]: (Frellesvig 2010, 11)

[2]: Kidder Jr., J. Edward, 2007. Himiko and Japan’s Elusive Kingdom of Yamatai Honolulu: Hawaii University Press. p. 113


Non Phonetic Writing:
present

"To all appearances, writing as such, in the form of Chinese Classics, was introduced into Japan early in the fifth century as part of the great cultural influx from Paekche." [1] However, ’now and then Chinese characters appeared on Yayoi pottery, showing a degree of literacy among craftsmen.’ [2]

[1]: (Frellesvig 2010, 11)

[2]: Kidder Jr., J. Edward, 2007. Himiko and Japan’s Elusive Kingdom of Yamatai Honolulu: Hawaii University Press. p. 113


Mnemonic Device:
unknown

’now and then Chinese characters appeared on Yayoi pottery, showing a degree of literacy among craftsmen.’ [1]

[1]: Kidder Jr., J. Edward, 2007. Himiko and Japan’s Elusive Kingdom of Yamatai Honolulu: Hawaii University Press. p. 113


Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Scientific Literature:
absent

"To all appearances, writing as such, in the form of Chinese Classics, was introduced into Japan early in the fifth century as part of the great cultural influx from Paekche." [1]

[1]: (Frellesvig 2010, 11)


Sacred Text:
absent

"To all appearances, writing as such, in the form of Chinese Classics, was introduced into Japan early in the fifth century as part of the great cultural influx from Paekche." [1]

[1]: (Frellesvig 2010, 11)


Religious Literature:
absent

"To all appearances, writing as such, in the form of Chinese Classics, was introduced into Japan early in the fifth century as part of the great cultural influx from Paekche." [1]

[1]: (Frellesvig 2010, 11)


Practical Literature:
absent

"To all appearances, writing as such, in the form of Chinese Classics, was introduced into Japan early in the fifth century as part of the great cultural influx from Paekche." [1]

[1]: (Frellesvig 2010, 11)


Philosophy:
absent

"To all appearances, writing as such, in the form of Chinese Classics, was introduced into Japan early in the fifth century as part of the great cultural influx from Paekche." [1]

[1]: (Frellesvig 2010, 11)


Lists Tables and Classification:
absent

"To all appearances, writing as such, in the form of Chinese Classics, was introduced into Japan early in the fifth century as part of the great cultural influx from Paekche." [1]

[1]: (Frellesvig 2010, 11)


History:
absent

"To all appearances, writing as such, in the form of Chinese Classics, was introduced into Japan early in the fifth century as part of the great cultural influx from Paekche." [1]

[1]: (Frellesvig 2010, 11)


Fiction:
absent

"To all appearances, writing as such, in the form of Chinese Classics, was introduced into Japan early in the fifth century as part of the great cultural influx from Paekche." [1]

[1]: (Frellesvig 2010, 11)


Calendar:
absent

"To all appearances, writing as such, in the form of Chinese Classics, was introduced into Japan early in the fifth century as part of the great cultural influx from Paekche." [1]

[1]: (Frellesvig 2010, 11)


Information / Money
Token:
unknown

no data.


Precious Metal:
unknown

"The earliest coins from Japan date to the Yayoi period (300 B.C.E.-300 C.E.), but these were Chinese imports and were probably regarded as ornaments of no monetary value." [1]

[1]: (Higham 2009, 84) Higham, Charles. 2009. Encylopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. Infobase Publishing.


Paper Currency:
absent

The Fukui domain was the first to issue paper currency, doing so in 1661, and other domains followed this practice.’ [1]

[1]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.126.


Indigenous Coin:
absent

"The earliest coins from Japan date to the Yayoi period (300 B.C.E.-300 C.E.), but these were Chinese imports and were probably regarded as ornaments of no monetary value." [1]

[1]: (Higham 2009, 84) Higham, Charles. 2009. Encylopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. Infobase Publishing.


Foreign Coin:
present

"The earliest coins from Japan date to the Yayoi period (300 B.C.E.-300 C.E.), but these were Chinese imports and were probably regarded as ornaments of no monetary value." [1]

[1]: (Higham 2009, 84) Higham, Charles. 2009. Encylopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. Infobase Publishing.


Article:
present

fish, rice, iron, bronze


Information / Postal System
Postal Station:
absent

General Postal Service:
absent

Courier:
unknown

Not mentioned by sources.


Information / Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
Wooden Palisade:
unknown
300 BCE 99 CE

Wooden stakes were used to outline rice fields. A long, surrounding ditch has been identified as either a water supply system or a defensive moat. [1] Chinese texts (3rd century CE) refer to defensive stockades. [2]

[1]: J. Edward Kidder, Jr., ‘The earliest societies in Japan’, in Delmer M. Brown The Cambridge History of Japan, Cambrudge: Cambridge University Press, 1993, p. 85

[2]: (Barnes 2007, 98) Gina L Barnes. 2007. State Formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-Century Ruling Elite. Routledge. London.

Wooden Palisade:
present
100 CE 250 CE

Wooden stakes were used to outline rice fields. A long, surrounding ditch has been identified as either a water supply system or a defensive moat. [1] Chinese texts (3rd century CE) refer to defensive stockades. [2]

[1]: J. Edward Kidder, Jr., ‘The earliest societies in Japan’, in Delmer M. Brown The Cambridge History of Japan, Cambrudge: Cambridge University Press, 1993, p. 85

[2]: (Barnes 2007, 98) Gina L Barnes. 2007. State Formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-Century Ruling Elite. Routledge. London.


Stone Walls Non Mortared:
unknown

Stone Walls Mortared:
unknown

Settlements in a Defensive Position:
present

Settlements were surrounded by ditches that could have been used for defensive purposes [1] .

[1]: K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 200


Modern Fortification:
absent

not possible at this time


Moat:
unknown
300 BCE 99 CE

Site at Yoshinogari (3rd century CE) had surrounding ditch and ramparts, watchtower and inner moat. [1] Kofun succeeded the Yayoi era: "In the Kofun era, settlements were no longer enclosed by moats, but elites began to reside in mansions, enclosed by moats and spatially distinct from ordinary settlements." [2]

[1]: (Barnes 2007, 98-99) Gina L Barnes. 2007. State Formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-Century Ruling Elite. Routledge. London.

[2]: (Saski 2017, 68) Ken’ichi Saski. The Kofun era and early state formation. Karl F Friday. ed. 2017. Routledge Handbook of Premodern Japanese History. Routledge. Abingdon.

Moat:
present
100 CE 250 CE

Site at Yoshinogari (3rd century CE) had surrounding ditch and ramparts, watchtower and inner moat. [1] Kofun succeeded the Yayoi era: "In the Kofun era, settlements were no longer enclosed by moats, but elites began to reside in mansions, enclosed by moats and spatially distinct from ordinary settlements." [2]

[1]: (Barnes 2007, 98-99) Gina L Barnes. 2007. State Formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-Century Ruling Elite. Routledge. London.

[2]: (Saski 2017, 68) Ken’ichi Saski. The Kofun era and early state formation. Karl F Friday. ed. 2017. Routledge Handbook of Premodern Japanese History. Routledge. Abingdon.


Fortified Camp:
unknown

Earth Rampart:
unknown
300 BCE 99 CE

Site at Yoshinogari (3rd century CE) had surrounding ditch and ramparts, watchtower and inner moat. [1]

[1]: (Barnes 2007, 98-99) Gina L Barnes. 2007. State Formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-Century Ruling Elite. Routledge. London.

Earth Rampart:
present
100 CE 250 CE

Site at Yoshinogari (3rd century CE) had surrounding ditch and ramparts, watchtower and inner moat. [1]

[1]: (Barnes 2007, 98-99) Gina L Barnes. 2007. State Formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-Century Ruling Elite. Routledge. London.


Ditch:
present

Settlements were surrounded by ditches that could have been used for defensive purposes [1] .

[1]: K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 200


Complex Fortification:
absent

no evidence of fortresses with multiple rings of fortifications


Long Wall:
absent

Military use of Metals
Steel:
absent

Tatara furnaces, or versions thereof, existed since 300 BCE. Not sure when this steel was first produced. It is unlikely the best steel was produced from the very earliest times. Asuka period seems likely. "If black sand was used it would contain hypter-eutectoid steel (carbon content 1.2-1.7 percent) called tama hagane and pieces of iron with a lower carbon content (less than 0.8 percent). The tama hagane was the first quality steel used in swords." [1] References that support tamahagane steel being better than the first steels produced in Japan: "Present study elucidates that the tatara iron and its manufacturing procedure gives distinctive features to Japanese swords which is different from ordinary steel. It is also notable that Japanese swordsmith utilized lath martensite without knowing details about it." [2] Tamahagane steel (metal investigated was crafted by a modern swordsmith) has been "investigated with optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and electron probe micro analysis methods. Microstructures have been found to be a combination of ferrite and pearlite with a lot of nonmetallic inclusions." [3]

[1]: (Wittner 2008, 25) David G Wittner. 2008. Technology and the Culture of Progress in Meiji Japan. Routledge. Abingdon.

[2]: Ananda Kumar Das. Takuya Ohba. Shigakazu Morito. Muneo Yaso. "Evidence of Lath Martensite in High-C Japanese Sword Produced from Tamahagane Steel by Tatara Process." 2010. Materials Science Forum. Vols. 654-656. Trans Tech Publications. pp. 138-141

[3]: Go Takami. Takuya Ohba. Shigekazu Morito. Ananda Kumar Das. "Microstructural Observation on Materials of the Japanese Sword under Fold-Forging Process. 2010. Materials Science Forum. Vols. 654-656. Trans Tech Publications. pp. 134-137


Iron:
present

According to a military historian, Japanese ’kuni’ warriors mentioned by early Han annals "fought with iron and bronze weapons against other kuni and other less advanced peoples, the emishi or ’toad barbarians.’ on their frontiers" [1] - are these early Han annals considered a reliable source by polity/region specialists? "The scarcity of iron tools in Yayoi sites (except in northern Kyushu) may be explained by the continual recycling of broken iron tools as well as by their rare placement and consequent rare discovery in graves or ceremonial underground deposits, and there is no possible explanation for the disappearance of stone tools in the Late Yayoi phase other than the prevalence of Iron. If we exclude bronze weapon-like ceremonial goods from the list of edged tools, the sequence of cutting-tools in Japan is as follows: stone --> stone and iron --> the complete replacement of stone by iron." [2] "The earliest arrowheads made by iron appeared during Middle Yayoi, and almost all of them are from northern Kyushu. The arrowheads in Kyushu were 3 -4 cm long and shaped like a narrow triangle with a vault-shaped base. This shape is the traditional shape of stone arrowheads." [3] ’By the Yayoi Period (50-250 CE) iron tools became more plentiful, as is evidenced by advances in woodworking technologies. By the last century of the Yayoi, iron-working technologies spread quickly across the central region of Japan from west to east. Over the course of the next several hundred years, iron completely replaced stone as the mineral of choice. Iron swords, armor, and arrowheads came to occupy prominent places in the tombs of the Kofun period. From that time onward, iron and its alloy with carbon, steel, were Japan’s pre-eminent proto-industrial metals.’ [4]

[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 316) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.

[2]: Keiji Imamura. 1996. Prehistoric Japan: New Perspectives On Insular East Asia. Routledge. UCL Press.

[3]: Lars Vargo. 1982. Social and economic conditions for the formation of the early Japanese state. Stockholm University.

[4]: David G Wittner. 2008. Technology and the Culture of Progress in Meiji Japan. Routledge. Abingdon. p.24


Copper:
present

According to a military historian, Japanese ’kuni’ warriors mentioned by early Han annals "fought with iron and bronze weapons against other kuni and other less advanced peoples, the emishi or ’toad barbarians.’ on their frontiers" [1] - are these early Han annals considered a reliable source by polity/region specialists?

[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 316) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


Bronze:
present

According to a military historian, Japanese ’kuni’ warriors mentioned by early Han annals "fought with iron and bronze weapons against other kuni and other less advanced peoples, the emishi or ’toad barbarians.’ on their frontiers" [1] - are these early Han annals considered a reliable source by polity/region specialists? “Over 150 Yayoi period skeletons are known with embedded arrowheads, cut marks, or decapitated skulls.” [2] "The establishment of Chinese provinces in the northern Korean Peninsula conveyed knowledge of bronze and iron closer to the Japanese islands, and with Yayoi bronze spears, halberds, swords, mirrors, and bells appeared. In each case, the imported items were transformed by local bronze casters into forms more suited to local tastes and requirements. Thus the weapons were enlarged and broadened." [3]

[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 316) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.

[2]: (Hudson, Mark. 2007. Japanese Beginnings. In A Companion to Japanese History, edited by William M. Tsutsui. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing. 21.)

[3]: Charles F W Higham. 2004. Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. Facts On File, Inc. New York. p.404


Projectiles
Tension Siege Engine:
absent

"unlike the crossbows that were used as anti-personnel weapons, there does not appear to be any record of trebuchet use in Japan, simply because the siege situation did not demand it." [1] ‘it is not until 1468[CE] that we find an unambiguous reference to the use of traction trebuchets in Japan.’ [2]

[1]: (Turnball 2002) Turnball, S. 2002. Siege Weapons of the Far East (1): AD 612-1300. Osprey Publishing.

[2]: Turnbull, Stephen. 2012. Siege Weapons of the Far East (1): AD 612-1300. Vol. 43. Osprey Publishing.p.23.


Sling Siege Engine:
absent

Could find no reference to support the presence of siege engines.


Sling:
present

"Slings, used to hurl fist-sized rocks or spheres of clay shaped roughly like miniature rugby balls, also appeared during the Yaoi age, distributed in a geographic pattern that suggests mutually exclusive regional preferences for the sling or the bow." [1]

[1]: (Friday 2004, 68) Karl F Friday. 2005. Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan. Routledge. New York.


Self Bow:
present

"Instead, without ready access to supplies of bone and horn, the Japanese fashioned their bows from wood or from laminates of wood and bamboo. The earliest designs were of plain wood ... " [1] "The earliest arrowheads made by iron appeared during Middle Yayoi, and almost all of them are from northern Kyushu. The arrowheads in Kyushu were 3-4 cm long and shaped like a narrow triangle with a vault-shaped base. This shape is the traditional shape of stone arrowheads." [2]

[1]: (Friday 2004, 68) Karl F Friday. 2005. Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan. Routledge. New York.

[2]: Lars Vargo. 1982. Social and economic conditions for the formation of the early Japanese state. Stockholm University.


Javelin:
absent

Spears (probably handheld but could also be thrown?). ’The sizes and shapes of spears cast in middle Yayoi Japan, moreover, suggest that they had a ritual function. These, in contrast with the small spears imported from Korea in the early Yayoi period, ranged in length from fifty to ninety centimeters, to large and unwieldly for combat. Some were placed in graves as ritual objects that symbolized authority and power, but the longest were buried elsewhere, as if for some religious purpose.’ [1]

[1]: Okazaki Takashi. Japan and the continent in the Jomon and Yayoi periods. Janet Goodwin trans. Delmer M Brown. ed. 1993. The Cambridge History of Japan. Volume 1. Ancient Japan. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. p. 279


Handheld Firearm:
absent

not in widespread use until 1543 CE [1]

[1]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.163-64.


Gunpowder Siege Artillery:
absent

before use of gunpowder in Japan


Crossbow:
unknown

Crossbow known and used in Japan sometime after the invention in China (from date not stated) "but neither the ritsuryo armies nor the bushi appear to have developed much interest in it, preferring to rely instead on the long bow. The ritsuryo military statutes provided for only two soldiers from each fifty-man company to be trained as oyumi operators, and no later source indicates that this ratio was ever increased. Hand-held crossbows and crossbowmen are not mentioned in the statutes at all." "The bow staves of Chinese crossbows were composites of wood, bone, sinew and glue ... But, as we have observed, the Japanese lacked supplies of animal products, and fashioned their bows from wood and bamboo instead, which required that the weapons be long. Manufacturing crossbows with composite bow staves of wood and bamboo comparable in length to those of regular bows would have resulted in a weapon too unwieldy to be practical". However some crossbows were imported. [1]

[1]: (Friday 2004, 74-76) Karl F Friday. 2005. Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan. Routledge. New York.


Composite Bow:
absent

"Compound or composite bows of the sort favored on the Asian continent - made by laminating together layers of wood, animal tendon and horn - were known in Japan by the late ninth century, but never widely adopted. Instead, without ready access to supplies of bone and horn, the Japanese fashioned their bows from wood or from laminates of wood and bamboo. The earliest designs were of plain wood ... " [1] "These first compound bows, called fusetake yumi, featured a single strip of bamboo laminated to the outside face of the wood, using a paster (called nibe) made from fish bladders. Sometime around the turn of the thirteenth century, a second bamboo laminate was added to the inside face of the bow, to create the sammai uchi yumi. In the fifteenth century, two additional bamboo slats were addeded to the sides, so that the wooden core was now completely encased, producing the shiochiku yumi. The higo yumi used for traditional Japanese archery today appeared sometime during the seventeenth century." [2]

[1]: (Friday 2004, 68) Karl F Friday. 2005. Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan. Routledge. New York.

[2]: (Friday 2004, 69) Karl F Friday. 2005. Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan. Routledge. New York.


Atlatl:
absent

Weapon of the Americas, no evidence of use


Handheld weapons
War Club:
unknown

Kanabou (金棒) is noted as being a club weapon in use: ’Sort of iron club used by warriors in ancient times, and a favorite weapon of some monk-warriors (Heisou) in the Heian and Kamakura periods’ [1]

[1]: Louis Frederick, Japan Encyclopedia, translated by Kathe Roth, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 202, p. 466


Sword:
present

"The establishment of Chinese provinces in the northern Korean Peninsula conveyed knowledge of bronze and iron closer to the Japanese islands, and with Yayoi bronze spears, halberds, swords, mirrors, and bells appeared. In each case, the imported items were transformed by local bronze casters into forms more suited to local tastes and requirements. Thus the weapons were enlarged and broadened." [1]

[1]: Charles F W Higham. 2004. Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. Facts On File, Inc. New York. p.404


Spear:
present

"The establishment of Chinese provinces in the northern Korean Peninsula conveyed knowledge of bronze and iron closer to the Japanese islands, and with Yayoi bronze spears, halberds, swords, mirrors, and bells appeared. In each case, the imported items were transformed by local bronze casters into forms more suited to local tastes and requirements. Thus the weapons were enlarged and broadened." [1] ’The sizes and shapes of spears cast in middle Yayoi Japan, moreover, suggest that they had a ritual function. These, in contrast with the small spears imported from Korea in the early Yayoi period, ranged in length from fifty to ninety centimeters, to large and unwieldly for combat. Some were placed in graves as ritual objects that symbolized authority and power, but the longest were buried elsewhere, as if for some religious purpose.’ [2]

[1]: Charles F W Higham. 2004. Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. Facts On File, Inc. New York. p.404

[2]: Okazaki Takashi. Japan and the continent in the Jomon and Yayoi periods. Janet Goodwin trans. Delmer M Brown. ed. 1993. The Cambridge History of Japan. Volume 1. Ancient Japan. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. p. 279


Polearm:
present

"The establishment of Chinese provinces in the northern Korean Peninsula conveyed knowledge of bronze and iron closer to the Japanese islands, and with Yayoi bronze spears, halberds, swords, mirrors, and bells appeared. In each case, the imported items were transformed by local bronze casters into forms more suited to local tastes and requirements. Thus the weapons were enlarged and broadened." [1]

[1]: Charles F W Higham. 2004. Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. Facts On File, Inc. New York. p.404


Dagger:
present

“Over 150 Yayoi period skeletons are known with embedded arrowheads, cut marks, or decapitated skulls.” [1]

[1]: (Hudson, Mark. 2007. Japanese Beginnings. In A Companion to Japanese History, edited by William M. Tsutsui. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing. 21.)


Battle Axe:
present

long halberds, some almost 50 centimeters that were produced in Japan. [1] These would have functioned as battle axes rather than polearms.

[1]: Okazaki Takashi. Japan and the continent in the Jomon and Yayoi periods. Janet Goodwin trans. Delmer M Brown. ed. 1993. The Cambridge History of Japan. Volume 1. Ancient Japan. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. p. 279


Animals used in warfare
Horse:
unknown

Horses were used in warfare from the 4th century CE onwards. [1]

[1]: Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). "Horses" in Japan Encyclopedia, pp. 354-355.


Elephant:
absent

I could find no evidence of elephants - but no sources saying that they were not used either (although I think this is a very safe bet)


Donkey:
unknown

Dog:
unknown

Camel:
absent

I could find no evidence of camels - but no sources saying that they were not used either (although I think this is a very safe bet)


Armor
Wood Bark Etc:
present

[1]

[1]: Kidder Jr., J. Edward, 2007. Himiko and Japan’s Elusive Kingdom of Yamatai (Honolulu: Hawaii University Press). p. 81


Shield:
present

’Shields were commonly used in nearly all military contexts in Japan, beginning with prehistory’. [1] According to a military historian,wWarriors of the Land of Was (Japan) mentioned by early Han annals used shields. [2] - are these early Han annals considered a reliable source by polity/region specialists?

[1]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.172.

[2]: (Gabriel 2002, 316) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


Scaled Armor:
absent

Scaled armors started being widely used in the 6th century CE [1] .

[1]: Bryant, Anthony J. 1991. Early Samurai: 200-1500 AD. Vol. 35. Osprey Publishing.p.46.


Plate Armor:
unknown

Limb Protection:
unknown

Leather Cloth:
present

"The earliest armor used in Japan, as elsewhere, was padded or made of scales or rings sewn on cloth." [1] [2]

[1]: (Stone 1999, 60-61) George Cameron Stone. 1999. Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times. Dover Publications, Inc. Mineola.

[2]: Kidder Jr., J. Edward, 2007. Himiko and Japan’s Elusive Kingdom of Yamatai (Honolulu: Hawaii University Press). p. 81


Laminar Armor:
absent

Laminar armors were introduced in the 4th century CE [1] .

[1]: Farris, W. W., 1998. Sacred texts and buried treasures: issues in the historical archaeology of ancient Japan.University of Hawaii Press, p.75


Helmet:
absent

The helmets were introduced in Japan in the 5th century CE [1] . "The earliest armor used in Japan, as elsewhere, was padded or made of scales or rings sewn on cloth." [2]

[1]: Bryant, Anthony J. 1991. Early Samurai: 200-1500 AD. Vol. 35. Osprey Publishing.p.45.

[2]: (Stone 1999, 60-61) George Cameron Stone. 1999. Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times. Dover Publications, Inc. Mineola.


Chainmail:
absent

Before the time of ’definite’ knowledge "The earliest armor used in Japan, as elsewhere, was padded or made of scales or rings sewn on cloth. By the 10th century, the earliest time of which we have definite knowledge, it had assumed a characteristic form which it retained until armor was abandoned in the middle of the 19th century." [1]

[1]: (Stone 1999, 60-61) George Cameron Stone. 1999. Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times. Dover Publications, Inc. Mineola.


Breastplate:
absent

Japanese breastplates (Do) started being manufactered in the 4th century CE. [1] .

[1]: Farris, W. W., 1998. Sacred texts and buried treasures: issues in the historical archaeology of ancient Japan.University of Hawaii Press,P.75


Naval technology
Specialized Military Vessel:
unknown

low amount of trade and polities of Japan/Korea did not attempt to control sea routes at this time.


Small Vessels Canoes Etc:
unknown

rivers are present, likely to have had the technology.


Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service:
unknown

low level of merchant activity.



Human Sacrifice Data
Human Sacrifice is the deliberate and ritualized killing of a person to please or placate supernatural entities (including gods, spirits, and ancestors) or gain other supernatural benefits.
Coding in Progress.
Power Transitions