ARCHAEOLOGIA JAPONICA

Medieval
NAKAI Atsushi
In the past few years, diversification of studied subjects and directions is remarkable in thestudy of Japanese medieval archaeology.
As city and village study has always been a field for interdisciplinary research, this year
saw many research conferences attended by document historians and archaeologists. On
the other hand, research of village sites stayed low-key although it had been popular in
relation to epoch theory of the medieval.
Castle study has always been active and many symposia were held. Especially in
Bungo-funai, which used to be the headquarters of the Otomo Clan, a feudal lord in theWarring States period, multiple large-scale excavations were conducted and research
results were actively presented.
It can be said that the study of religious sites, especially mountain temples, is the mostactive field of medieval archaeology in recent years. An interdisciplinary study group
was inaugurated in this field, actively promoting compilation of study examples, and there
are steady results based on local research. Currently there are various issues being
discussed, giving an impression of a lack of focal points. However, it is expected thatissues will be organized through further exchanges of information.
Pottery and ceramic study was the field that became the foundation of the Japanese
medieval archaeology for material and academic history. Although it seems less active
than other research fields, there were studies striving for solving distribution structures forboth pottery and ceramics.
However, they are quite different in methods of approach.
As pottery was regarded as a commodity not to be distributed, the latest pottery study tries
to evaluate transportability in elements such as shapes and manufacturing methods;
whereas ceramic study stresses examination of peripheral regions such as small islands
and Southeast Asian ceramics, as it is trying to enlarge the extent of discussion on
distribution theory by solving regional aspects and data. It can be said that they stand on
opposite viewpoints, looking inward and outward. If these standpoints are correct, the socalled distribution base is important to connect the two studies. However, the current
1

Research institute of history, Otemae university, 8-17 Gomen-cho, Nishinomiya City, Hyogo 662-0095,
Japan(anakai@otemae.ac.jp)
JAPANESE JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 1 (2013): 72-73© Japanese Archaeological Association72

TRENDS IN ARCHAEOLOGY IN JAPANarchaeological recognition of distribution bases is clustered to elements such as geologicalenvironment and uniqueness of archaeological sites. In the future, evaluation ofarchaeological sites based on artifacts is necessary from the viewpoint of uniting pottery
and ceramic studies.
Other than these, progress of stone monument study was remarkable. It seems that for along time stone monument study was placed between art history and archaeology.
However, research based on archaeological methods has increased in the past few years,
and the viewpoint of stone monuments as archaeological data is becoming more firm.
In the end, as an overall trend, special attention should be given to activities of study
groups. It has been about 20 years since medieval study gained a certain place in theJapanese archaeology, backed by activities of study groups. However, due to generation
change of archaeologists, some study groups are facing difficulties to continue. It is oneof the issues for Japanese medieval archaeology to focus on assembling and nurturing of
the younger generation, such as undergraduate and graduate school students.

© Japanese Archaeological Association73