Report on 2017 Autumn Conference of the JapaneseArchaeological Association
MIYAMOTO Kazuo1 & OKAYAMA Machiko2ABSTRACTThis short essay reports the proceedings and some highlights of the Japanese ArchaeologicalAssociation 2017 Autumn Conference, held between October 21–23, 2017, at Miyazaki MunicipalUniversity.
KEYWORDS: 2017 Conference, Japanese Archaeological Association

The 2017 Miyazaki Conference was held between Saturday, 21st and Monday, 23rd
October at Miyazaki Municipal University, Miyazaki Prefecture. Unfortunately, theTyphoon No. 21 of the year brought gusty wind and substantial rain. However, it did not
weaken the resolve of the local organising committee (the LOC) to make it a success,because a Japanese Archaeological Association (JAA) conference was to be held for theﬁrst time in Miyazaki prefecture. Without any university archaeology department in theprefecture, the Miyazaki conference was meticulously organised by the LOC, headedby Kazuo Yanagisawa, the Emeritus Professor of Miyazaki University, and primarilycomprising association members residing in Miyazaki Prefecture. The conference wasextremely successful for a JAA regional conference, with 240 people participating,despite the approaching typhoon.
On the afternoon of October 21st, following an address from JAA President Akio
Tanigawa, Miyazaki Municipal University President Shinsaku Arima and Professor
Yanagisawa, the LOC chair, addressed to the participants. Two commemorative lectures
followed. JAA Member Takeshi Noto (formerly on the Gunma Prefecture Board ofEducation) gave a lecture entitled ‘Methods and the development of disaster archaeology’
focusing on the Kuroimine site of Gun’ma Prefecture, where a Kofun period village
buried by volcanic ash was excavated. Noto described how communities dealt with andovercame disasters. In the second lecture, the LOC chair Professor Yanagisawa gavea talk entitled ‘The Yokoana-bo-type tunnel tombs of Korea and Kyushu.’ He gave anoverview of this tomb type primarily distributed at certain regions across the Japanese
1 Committee Member (General Affairs), The Japanese Arcaheological Association, 4th Floor, 5–15–5Hirai, Edogawa Ward, Tokyo 132–0035, Japan (jjarch@archaeology.jp)
2 Committee Member (Planning), The Japanese Arcaheological Association, 4th Floor, 5–15–5 Hirai,
Edogawa Ward, Tokyo 132–0035, Japan (jjarch@archaeology.jp)
Category: Report (solicited) Received: 2 February 2018

JAPANESE JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 5 (2018): 107–110

MIYAMOTO Kazuo & OKAYAMA Machikoarchipelago and discovered recently in the Baekje region of Korea, and investigated
its origin. Referring to an entry in the Nihon-shoki imperial chronicle describing ‘500
soldiers from Tsukushi were dispatched to send back a Baekje prince,’ he concluded that
the Yokoana-bo-type tunnel tombs excavated in the Baekje region were the graves ofsoldiers from the ancient province of Hyuga who were sent to Baekje via the Tsukushi
province.
Three sessions on topics of especial relevance to the ancient Hyuga province, presentday Miyazaki Prefecture and the Kyushu region were organised. Session I, ‘New
developments in volcanic ash archaeology,’ organised and co-ordinated by JAA member
Mitsuhiro Kuwahata, showcased some latest achievements of volcanic ash archaeology
by examining the outcomes of the excavations of sites devastated by volcanic eruptions
and events iginited by them. Session II, ‘The variability, regionality, and hierarchy of thechambered and tunnel tomb types in the Middle and Late Kofun Periods,’ was organisedand coordinated by Professor Yanagisawa. By making comparisosns between chambered
tomb and tunnel tomb types, including a distinct underground tunnel tomb typecalled ‘Chika-shiki yokoana (underground tunnel tomb type)’ uniquely distributing insouthern Kyushu, one of the objectives of the session was to clarify the uniqueness andcommonality of these tomb types. These sessions examined distinctive archaeologicalmaterials in southern Kyushu.
After the closing of day’s proceeding, a conference party was held. Following awelcome speech from President Tanigawa, Miyazaki Prefecture Archaeological Society
advisor Shigeru Tanaka gave an address, and the party began with a toast from LOCchair Professor Yanagisawa. The atmosphere was friendly and lively, and a mid-partyspeech from Professor Hideshi Ishikawa of Meiji University announced the 84th Annual
General Meeting to be held at Meiji University, and another speech from Shohachi
Uematsu announced JAA 2019 Autumn Conference to be held at Shizuoka city. Theparty was closed with an speech from JAA Vice President Hideo Kondo.
On October 22nd, when the typhoon came closest to Miyazaki, Sessions I and II
continued, and Session III commenced, entitled ‘the Ritsuryo-era society in southern
Kyushu,’ organised and coordinated by JAA member Masanori Yoshimoto. Session
I, ‘New developments in volcanic ash archaeology,’ further presented cases of thepractice of volcanic ash archaeology from across the country, many of which involve
interdisciplinary collaborations, reconstructing damages caused by volcanic activity anderuption-related events in detail. At the discussion part toward the end, Takeshi Noto,
who had given the opening commemorative lecture the previous day, commented that
there should be more problem-oriented micro-analyses including the reconstruction ofseasonality and minute spatial differences in disaster damage. Noto argued that to doso would provide clearly focussed research topics for the future development of disaster© Japanese Archaeological Association108

REPORT ON 2017 AUTUMN CONFERENCE OF THE JAPANESE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

archaeology.
Session II further summarised the developments of the study of the chambered
and tunnel tomb types with an especial focus on southern Kyushu. Session III tried
to elucidate the distinctiveness and regionality of Ritsuryo-era southern Kyushu. The
session tackled various issues concerning settlements and temple construction insouthern Kyushu during the Ritsuryo era by referring to historical documents and otherwritten materials.
In addition to the sessions, three posters were presented by committees of the JAA.
They were ‘The state of training for the next generation of archaeological researchers
III: summary and outlook’ by the Research Environment Investigation Committee, ‘How
should archaeological materials from the Middle Ages onward be treated in current
elementary and middle school textbooks’ by the Social Sciences and History Textbook
Investigation Committee, and ‘The state of research on buried cultural properties rescueexcavated in Great Tohoku Earthquake Reconstruction Projects (V)’ by the Buried
Cultural Property Preservation Committee.
An excursion was held on October 23. The typhoon had passed, and the weather
was beautiful. Although two tours had been planned, one was cancelled owing to thenumber of participants. The tour to Miyakonojo City offered a wide variety of visits,
including the sites of ancient Hyuga Provincial ofﬁce, the Saitobaru tumuli cluster, theOshima Hatakeda site, and the Iwayoshigosho site. With the help of the members of theLOC, the tour went smoothly. At 8:30 a.m., 25 people gathered at the east entrance ofMiyazaki Station and set off, led by the LOC member Masanori Yoshimoto. The ﬁrst
stop was at the ancient Hyuga Provincial ofﬁce site, where Daisuke Tsumagari from
Saito City, the LOC member, who toured around the site which was situated on a lowterrace. Next, the group visited the Miyazaki Prefectural Saitobaru ArchaeologicalMuseum at 9:45 a.m. In addition to a remarkable display of artefacts excavated from theSaitobaru tumuli cluster and information concerning this great site, the display covered aremarkable range of topics including the famous and important Aira caldera eruption andthe world of the Hayato people. The museum also had a mock archaeology laboratory
corner, where visitors could have hands-on experience of basic archaeological researchmethods and skills. Besides, it was fortunate that the group could enjoy the special
international exchange exhibition ‘The best of Taiwanese Iron Age cultures’ which wason at the museum. Afterward, the group visited the Osahozuka and Mesahozuka tumuli,and explored the burial mound and stone burial chamber of the Oni-no-Iwaya, the onlytumulus in this remarkable tumuli cluster with a tunnel-style stone chamber as the burialfacility. A group photo was taken there. Then the group moved to Miyakonojo City. At
12:15 p.m., the group had lunch at Kirishima Factory Garden, which offered local sakeand shocyu tasting. Some of the participants took full advantage of it while others ﬁlled© Japanese Archaeological Association109

MIYAMOTO Kazuo & OKAYAMA Machikowater bottles with spring water from the Kirishima rock aquifer. The group departed at
1 p.m. and travelled to the Ooshima Hatakeda site, where a detailed dscription was givenby the LOC members Mitsuhiro Kuwahata and Jun’ichi Kaga, both from Miyakonojo
Municipal Board of Education. The traces of 9th to 10th-century provincial ofﬁce
buildings and ponds could be seen there, and it was clear that the scale of the building
complex had once been grand. The vista of the Kirishima mountain range from thesite was spectacular, suggesting the importance of the view in choosing the location.
The group visited the Iwayoshigosho site at 2 p.m. and also visited the Hakusanbaru
site, which was under excavation. Thanks to detailed explanations from Eiko Hara, incharge of the excavation, the participants were able to experience at ﬁrst hand the dense
Akahoya volcanic ash layer and unique remains of pit traps. Finally, Dr. Kuwahata
gave an on-site lecture about volcanic ash layers and their relationship with local site
distributions, his area of specialization. The excursion was very satisfying.
Due to the typhoon that was sweeping across the Japanese archipelago at the time,
ﬂights on October 22nd and 23rd were cancelled or rescheduled one after another, and themajority of participants from outside Kyushu needed to stay another day, giving themsome extra time at the end of this successful conference in Miyazaki.

© Japanese Archaeological Association110