The spread of rice agriculture during the Yayoi Period:
From the Shandong Peninsula to the JapaneseArchipelago via the Korean Peninsula
MIYAMOTO Kazuo1
ABSTRACT

According to the four phases theory of early agriculture based on the demic expansion theory, rice
agriculture is said to have spread to northern Kyushu via mainland Asia. In particular, during thefourth wave of early agricultural diffusion, irrigated rice agriculture spread from southern Korea
to northern Kyushu. During this fourth spread of early agriculture, two different diffusion routes
from southern Korea to northern Kyushu existed between the Yusu 1 and Yusu 2 periods due tocooler climatic conditions. Evidence for these two separate routes can be seen in differences in the
distribution of two kinds of burial systems and two kinds of polished stone daggers. The ﬁrst spreadfrom the Namgang River area of southern Korea to the Karatsu and Itoshima Plains in northern
Kyushu during the 9th and 8th centuries BC. At the same time, tropical Japonica rice spread mainly
to the Karatsu Plain from southern Korea along with rice paddies, agricultural tools and dolmens.
The second spread from the lower Nakdonggang area to the Fukuoka Plain during the 7th and 6th
centuries BC. At this time, a wooden cofﬁn burial system and moated settlements appeared on the
Fukuoka Plain. It is probable that temperate Japonica rice spread at this time. This is because riceseeds dating to between the 6th and 5th centuries BC discovered at Arita Site, Fukuoka City, wereproven to be temperate Japonica through the DNA analysis and size variation analysis of charred
rice grains. It is believed that the second wave also triggered the production of the Itazuke pottery
style on the Fukuoka Plain. The Itazuke Pottery style spread to western Japan between the 6th and5th centuries BC. This is the beginning of the Yayoi period in Japan.
KEYWORDS: rice agriculture, demic expansion theory, temperate Japonica, the beginning of the
Yayoi period

1.

Introduction

I have hypothesized the existence of four stages in the development of agriculture in
northeast Asia during prehistoric times based on the demic expansion theory (Figure 1)(Miyamoto 2014). Cooler climatic conditions were one of the main factors which triggered
the spread of agriculture in northeast Asia. The ﬁrst stage involved the spread of millet
1 Faculty of Humanities, Kyushu University, 744 Moto’oka, Nishi Ward, Fukuoka 819–0395, Japan(miyamoto@lit.kyushu-u.ac.jp)
Category: Original Article (solicited)

Accepted: 7 January 2019

JAPANESE JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 6 (2019): 109–124

MIYAMOTO Kazuo

Figure 1.

Four phases theory of agriculture in northeast Asia

agriculture from Northeast China to the southern Korean Peninsula and to the southern
Russian Far East in around 3400 BC (Miyamoto 2015). The second stage was the spread of
wet-rice agriculture from the Shandong Peninsula to the Liaodong Peninsula in around 2400
BC. At the same time, the Pianpu culture spread from the eastern Liaoxi district through the
Liaodong district to the northwestern Korean Peninsula (Miyamoto 2016). The third stage
was the spread of irrigated agriculture associated with new polished stone tools, including
reaping knives and ﬂat plano-convex stone adzes. The third phase saw the introduction ofa third agricultural system consisting of wet (rice) and dry (millet, wheat, etc.) ﬁelds. This
irrigated agriculture also spread from the Shandong Peninsula to the Korean Peninsula
via the Liaodong Peninsula in c.1500 BC. Finally, the fourth stage involved the spread ofirrigated agriculture to northern Kyushu, Japan, beginning around the 9th to 8th centuries
BC.
Rice agriculture spread from eastern Shandong Peninsula to the northern Japanesearchipelago from the second stage to the fourth stage. Archaeological evidence shows thatrice agriculture originated in the middle or lower Yangtze River basin. Domesticated rice isclassiﬁed botanically into Japonica and Indica. Charred rice grains found at archaeologicalsites in these areas show that, at least in prehistoric times, only Japonica existed in China
and northeast Asia, including the Korean Peninsula and Japanese archipelago. In prehistoric
times, only Japonica was cultivated in continental China and northeast Asia, although
Indica was also cultivated in historical times.
© Japanese Archaeological Association

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However, Japonica can be classiﬁed genetically into tropical Japonica and temperate
Japonica. DNA analysis of charred grains (Sato 1996) and phytolith analysis (Fujiwara
1998) conducted in the middle and lower Yangtze River basin conﬁrmed the presence oftropical Japonica only, although on these occasions few samples were taken and detailed
reports were not made, even concerning the analysis of data. On the other hand, charred
rice grains from the Yayoi period found in Japan, which arrived here with the spread ofrice agriculture from the southern Korean Peninsula during the Yayoi period, has been
identiﬁed genetically as belonging to both types: tropical Japonica and temperate Japonica(Tanaka et al. 2010). When considering this archaeological evidence, we are presented withthe following three questions. 1) When was temperate Japonica established in East Asia?
2) Where was temperate Japonica established in East Asia? 3) How did tropical Japonica
and temperate Japonica spread to the Japanese archipelago? I would like to answer thesequestions based on new archeological data. Furthermore, I will examine how and why rice
agriculture spread into northern Kyushu to establish the Yayoi culture.

2.

Hypothesis concerning the spread of temperate Japonica

Rice agriculture spread from the lower Yangtze River basin to the eastern Shandong
Peninsula, which includes Yangjiaquan Site, Qixia District, Shandong Province along
the Yellow Sea. Rice agriculture then spread to the Liaodong Peninsula in the Upper
Xiaozhushan culture. This is the second stage in the spread of early agriculture, in around2400 BC. In recent years, charred rice grains from the Upper Xiaozhushan culture dating
to between 2400 and 2000 BC were found at Wangjiacun Site, Dalian City on the Liaodong
Peninsula (Ma et al. 2015). Using a replica SEM method for seed impressions on pottery
at this same site, Prof. Hiroki Obata identiﬁed these seed impressions to be those of ricegrains (Obata et al. 2018). He also used this method to identify rice grains on pottery fromthe Upper Xiaozhushan culture at Wenjiadun Site, Dalian City on the Liaodong Peninsula(Obata 2019). Therefore, this proves the hypothesis that rice agriculture spread from the
Shandong Peninsula to the Liaodong Peninsula around c. 2400 BC.
In this case, we face the question of whether the rice found on the Liaodong Peninsula
at the second stage of the spread of agriculture in northeast Asia is tropical Japonica ortemperate Japonica, or both. There is the possibility that temperate Japonica became
established on the Shandong Peninsula, Liaodong Peninsula or Korean Peninsula, as
temperate Japonica is not found in the middle and lower Yangtze River basin area, theoriginal birthplace of domesticated rice.
Based on historical records, we can say that wild rice did not grow to the north of HuaiheRiver but to the south of Huaihe River. However, charred rice grains dating to 6060–5750
cal. BC were found using ﬂoatation analysis at Yuezhuang Site, Jinan City, Shandong© Japanese Archaeological Association

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Figure 2.

Charred rice grains found at Yuezhuang Site

Province to the north of the Huaihe River (Figure 2) (Crawford et al. 2006). Charredgrains from the same Houli culture have been found not only at Yuezhuang Site but alsoat Xihe Site, Zhangqiu City, Shandong Province. This means that rice grew during the
Houli culture period, which is the earliest Neolithic culture in Shandong district, although
the morphological analysis of charred rice grains does not show whether or not this rice isdomesticated. But it is interesting to note that rice disappeared in the next phase of Beixin
culture and Dawenkou culture to the north of the Huaihe River. Domesticated rice spreadbeyond the north of the Huaihe River later on in the Dawenkou culture period, and spread to
the Shandong Peninsula during the Longshan culture period along the Yellow Sea area. In
this case, rice from the Houli culture existed separately near to the lower Yellow River basin.
Controversy surrounds the discovery of charred rice grains at a Paleolithic site at Sorori
Site, Chunchong Pukudo, Korea (Figure 3). Charred rice grains believed to be wild ricedating to 12500±150 BP were found at this site (Kim et al. 2012). If wild rice grew on the
Korean Peninsula during the Paleolithic period, we can suppose that wild rice disappeared
from the Korean Peninsula and that domesticated rice spread from the Shandong Peninsula
to the Korean Peninsula via the Liaodong Peninsula during the third stage of early
agriculture in Northeast Asia, c. 1500 BC.
On the other hand, wild water buffalo bones, which disappeared from northern China
during the Holocene, were discovered at Neolithic sites. These bones were found only during
the early Neolithic period in northern China, at sites such as Shihushan Site and Baijia Site
(Figure 4). Even in the northern Korean Peninsula, bones have been found at GumusanniSite (Figure 4). However, the fact remains that wild water buffalo disappeared because nobones have been found after the middle Neolithic period, c. 4000 BC. This indicates thatsome species from the Paleolithic period still grew in the early Neolithic period and thendisappeared. The same is believed to apply to wild rice north of the Huaihe River, like at© Japanese Archaeological Association

112THE SPREAD OF RICE AGRICULTURE DURING THE YAYOI PERIOD

Figure 3.

Charred rice chaffs found at Sorori Site

Yuezhuang Site and Sorori Site.
Another hypothesis suggests that rice from the Houli culture in Shandong spread fromthe lower Yangtze River basin due to warmer climatic conditions (D’Alpoim Guedes et al.
2015). However, charred rice grains dating to around 6000 BC were not from a period of
warmer climatic conditions. Cooler climatic conditions were present around 6000 BC,
corresponding to 8.2 kiloyear Bond event (Bond et al. 1997). Therefore, it is thought thatthe existence of rice during the Houli culture was an isolated occurrence, and that it is notconnected in any way with domesticated rice in the middle and lower Yangtze River basin.
It is extremely signiﬁcant that rice from the Houli culture and rice in the Paleolithic
on the Korean Peninsula disappeared, and that domesticated rice spread from the lower
Yangtze River basin to the Shandong Peninsula, Liaodong Peninsula and Korean Peninsula.
Genetic and phytolith analysis suggests that the domesticated rice which spread to these© Japanese Archaeological Association

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Figure 4. Archaeological sites discovering wild water buffalo bones (■) and archeological sites
related with early rice agriculture (●, ▲)areas from the lower Yangtze River is tropical Japonica (Sato 1996, Fujiwara 1998). Basedon the archaeological evidence, I have posited a hypothesis that tropical Japonica spread to
Shandong or the Korean Peninsula and mixed with the offspring of wild rice from the Houli
culture or at Sorori Site, where it developed into temperate Japonica as an adaptation to theclimate conditions of those areas with a much cooler climate and drier conditions than in
the middle and lower Yangtze River basin. If this hypothesis is true, it is probable that ricein the Houli culture and rice during the Paleolithic on the Korean Peninsula is a species ofwild temperate rice. Thus, it is possible that wild rice was already divided into tropical andtemperate Japonica in East Asia at that time. As such, we can infer that temperate Japonica
was established on the Shandong Peninsula, Liaodong Peninsula or Korean Peninsula,following which both tropical Japonica and temperate Japonica spread to the Japanesearchipelago during the Yayoi period.

3. Two routes by which rice agriculture spread from southern
Korea to northern Kyushu
It was during the third stage of early agriculture in northeast Asia that irrigated rice
agriculture such as paddy ﬁelds ﬁrst appeared, when the Mumun pottery culture was© Japanese Archaeological Association

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established on the Korean Peninsula. New polished stone tools such as reaping knives andplano-convex adzes prevailed during the Mumun pottery culture and also spread to the
Korean Peninsula by way of the Liaodong Peninsula from the Shandong Peninsula. The
agrarian society of the Mumun culture became increasingly more complex than societies on
the Korean Peninsula during the Neolithic due to a rising population. In addition, we begin
to see the existence of large settlements and chieftain graves in response to the expansionof agricultural production. During this phase, cooler climatic conditions brought about amigration of peoples from the southern Korean Peninsula between the 9th and 8th centuries
BC. Based on the demic expansion theory, a handful of people migrated to northern Kyushu
in search of new land for agriculture due to these cooler climatic conditions. The ﬁrst waveof migrants may have settled on the Karatsu Plain in northern Kyushu, the area nearest to the
Korean Peninsula. One site located here is Ukikunden Site, Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture.
AMS dating of charred rice grains from the Yusu 1 period dates them to the latter half of
the 9th century BC, coinciding with the emergence of the Yayoi culture in Japan (Miyamoto2018). This is the fourth stage of early Agriculture in northeast Asia.
Migrants from the Mumun pottery culture on the Korean Peninsula migrated along with
Jomon people at this time. The physical differences between Jomon and Yayoi are veryclear, with Yayoi people being physically similar to people from the continent. These people
from the continent migrated with native Jomon people in northern Kyushu, and Yayoi
people gradually became dominant. The beginning of the Yayoi period saw the emergenceof rice paddy ﬁelds, a form of irrigated agriculture, new polished agricultural tools likereaping stone knives, a change in pottery style including changes in techniques for making
pottery, moated circular settlements, and new burial customs like dolmens and wooden
cofﬁn burials (Miyamoto 2016).
Although migration and the inﬂuence of Mumun culture are very important factors in thetransitional stage between the Jomon and Yayoi, migrants did not move from the Korean
Peninsula to northern Kyushu on only one occasion during this transitional time. Cooler
climatic conditions indicated by the efﬁciency of C14 production have been identiﬁed
as follows: 900 BC, 850–700 BC and 670 BC (Imamura & Fujio 2009). Cooler climaticconditions between 850 and 700 BC resulted in greater efﬁciency of C14 production, and theduration of coolness at this time was the longest among the three periods of cooler climaticconditions. These cooler climatic conditions triggered the movement of migrants from thesouthern Korean Peninsula and established the Yusu 1 style of the initial Yayoi period. This
movement has been proved through the dating of charred rice grains from the Yusu 1 period(Miyamoto 2018).
According to the pottery chronology, banded pottery originated in the Seto Inland Sea
area or Kinki area and gradually spread to northern Kyushu to replace the Kurokawa
pottery of the Final Jomon. At the time of Yusu pottery in northern Kyushu, Yayoi culture© Japanese Archaeological Association

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was established with the migration of Mumon culture. However, a complex mixture ofpottery styles existed consisting of two types: deep bowls deriving from Jomon culture
and tubular pots deriving from Mumun culture. Deep bowls replaced necked jars basedon Mumun culture, and these pottery combinations developed into an innovative style ofpottery known as the Itazuke pottery.
The distribution of archaeological sites is different between the Kurokawa and Yusu
periods, and there are very few sites of an intermediate time bridging these two periods
like Etsuji 4 period. Archaeological sites at Kurokawa are located in the upper river basin
or on hillsides. On the other hand, archaeological sites belonging Yusu 1 and Yusu 2 moved
to the lower river basin or near coastlines (Figure 5). This change in the distribution ofarchaeological sites also indicates sea regression due to cooler climatic conditions. Analysis
of C14 production efﬁciency indicates that in the case of Yusu 1, sea regression correspondswith the period of coolest climatic conditions, dating to c. 850–700cal BC. This dating ofYusu 1 has also been proved through the AMS dating of charred rice grains at Ukikunden
Site (Miyamoto 2018). During these cooler climatic conditions, the sea was regressing andthe alluvial fan along the coastline was stable in the lower river basin, where land for rice
paddy ﬁelds was available.
During the Yusu 1 period, rice paddy ﬁelds, a new pottery style similar to tubular pots,
and new polished stone tools are found on the Karatsu Plain and Fukuoka Plain. Following
this, moated circular settlements were established during the Yusu 2 period on the Fukuoka
Plain. New burial customs like wooden cofﬁns emerged on the Fukuoka Plain during
the Yusu 2 and Itazuke periods. Cultural elements were added gradually during the time
between Yusu 1 and Yusu 2. Also, irrigated rice agriculture was perfected during the
Itazuke period.
Although dolmens were established during the Yusu 1 period, their distributions wereconcentrated in the Karatsu and Itoshima Plains (Figure 6-1). However, wooden cofﬁns
were introduced to the Fukuoka Plain and eastward areas during the Yusu 2 period (Figure6-2). Polished stone daggers accompany wooden cofﬁns as grave goods. The polishedstone daggers found in northern Kyushu are classiﬁed mainly into two types: Type A andType B (Figure 7) based on the classiﬁcation of polished stones on the southern Korean
Peninsula (Miyamoto 2017). Type A is characterized as having a stepped section on the
proﬁle of the guard portion of stone daggers. Type B is characterized as having a projectedline on the proﬁle of stone daggers. Type A is distributed in the western area of northern
Kyushu, although a relatively earlier variant of Type A is distributed in the Onga Riverbasin (Figure 8-1). On the other hand, Type B was distributed eastward from the Fukuoka
Plain in northern Kyushu (Figure 8-2). Type B spread to northern Kyushu during the Yusu
2 period, later than when Type A spread to northern Kyushu (Figure 8). The distribution ofType A is similar to that of dolmens (Figures 7-1 and 8-1), while the distribution of Type B© Japanese Archaeological Association

116THE SPREAD OF RICE AGRICULTURE DURING THE YAYOI PERIOD

Figure 5.

Changes in site distribution between Jomon and Yaoyi© Japanese Archaeological Association

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MIYAMOTO Kazuo

Figure 6.

Changes in site distribution between dolmens and wooden cofﬁns

is similar to that of wooden cofﬁns (Figures 7-2 and 8-2). Also, dolmens are believed to havespread from the Namgang River basin to the Karatsu and Itoshima Plains during the Yusu
1 period (Hashino 2006). This route corresponds with the distribution of Type A polishedstone daggers. On the other hand, it is believed that wooden cofﬁns spread directly to the
Fukuoka Plain during the Yusu 2 period. This route of diffusion also corresponds with the
distribution of Type B polished stone daggers and that of wooden cofﬁns. Differences in thetime of introduction and area of distribution between the dolmens and wooden cofﬁns, withthe addition of differences in the distribution area by type of polished stone daggers between
the Korean Peninsula and northern Kyushu, indicate the dual spread of culture from the
Korean Peninsula (Figure 9) (Miyamoto 2016, 2017).
Concluding the spread of rice agriculture, during the Yusu 1 period, rice agriculture
ﬁrst of all spread from the Namgan River basin on the southern Korean Peninsula by wayof the middle Tsushima Island to the Karatsu and Itoshima Plains (Figure 9-1). This was
accompanied by the spread of rice paddy ﬁelds, polished stone axes, dolmens, and Type A
polished stone daggers. Then, during the Yusu 2 period, it subsequently spread from thelower Naktonggang River Basin by way of northern Tsushima to the Fukuoka Plain mainly
under the inﬂuence of the Songgunni pottery culture (Figure 9-2). This was accompaniedby the spread of moated settlements, wooden cofﬁns, and Type B polished stone daggers. In© Japanese Archaeological Association

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Figure 7.

Type A and Type B of polished stone daggers

addition, the Itazuke pottery style, including tubular pots and necked jars, was establishedmainly on the Fukuoka Plain. Itazuke Type 1 is believed to represent the establishment of
Yayoi culture, a form of agriculture distinctive to the Japanese archipelago, as seen in thecreation of the Itazuke pottery style. At this time, new Yayoi farming people moved into
the Seto Inland Sea and Kansai areas, where other farming people and indigenous Jomon
people migrated. During this process, Yayoi culture was fundamentally established with thereplacement of Jomon culture in western Japan.

4.

Charred rice grains in northern Kyushu

More than 600 pieces of charred rice grains were found in Layer No. 10 of the Yusu 1
period at Ukikunden Site through ﬂoatation analysis (Miyamoto 2018). Based on the DNA
analysis of charred grains, rice grains from the Yusu 1 period dating to the latter half of the
9th century BC were found to be mainly tropical Japonica (Tanaka 2019). On the other hand,charred rice grains dating from the 6th to 5th centuries BC found in a cereal deposit pit at
Arita Site, Fukuoka City, of Itazuke 1b to Itazuke 2a, were found to be temperate Japonica© Japanese Archaeological Association

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Figure 8.

Changes in site distribution between Type A and Type B of polished stone daggers

Figure 9.

Processes of dual cultural spread from southern Korea© Japanese Archaeological Association

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through DNA analysis (Tanaka 2019).
Size variation analysis on charred rice grains from the Yayoi period was also conductedby Prof. Nobuyuki Kamijo (Kamijo 2018). According to the results, rice grains from theInitial Yayoi period found at Ukikunden and Nabatake Sites on Karatsu Plain, dating to the
9th century BC, are of various sizes. In addition, these rice grains are smaller and thinnerthan those of other periods. On the other hand, rice grains from the Early Yayoi period,
dating from the 6th to 4th centuries BC, are not of various sizes but are rounder and medium
sized. Therefore, a morphological change in rice grains took place between the Initial and
Early Yayoi.
Tropical Japonica rice grains are known to be more primitive and smaller than those of
temperate Japonica, while temperate Japonica rice grains are larger and rounder than thoseof tropical Japonica. Based on DNA analysis and analysis of the size of charred rice grains
in northern Kyushu, it is believed that rice during the Initial Yayoi was mainly tropical
Japonica, while rice during the Early Yayoi was temperate Japonica.
Based on this archaeological evidence, we can infer that tropical Japonica, which wasdomesticated at an earlier stage in East Asia, spread from the Namgang River basin to the
Karatsu and Itoshima Plains during the Yusu 1 period, dating from the 9th to 8th centuries
BC. In addition, we can also infer that temperate Japonica, which may have been cultivatedmainly during the Songgunni period on the southern Korean Peninsula, spread to the
Fukuoka Plain during the Yusu 2 period, dating from the 7th to 6th centuries BC. Therefore,
temperate Japonica was the main species of rice to be cultivated in western Japan during the
Itazuke 1 and Itazuke 2 periods, dating from the 6th to 4th centuries BC.

5.

Conclusion

Where and when was temperate Japonica established? And how did tropical Japonica andtemperate Japonica spread to the Japanese archipelago? These are the questions ﬁrst posedby this paper. The ﬁrst and second questions are most likely related to the second and third
stages of the spread of early agriculture in northeast Asia. The third question is perhaps
related to the fourth stage of the spread of early agriculture in northeast Asia.
The answers to these questions, based on the results of several archaeological analyses,
are summarized as below.
(1) It is more probable that temperate Japonica was produced in northeast Asia, including the
Shandong Peninsula, Liaodong Peninsula and Korean Peninsula due to archaeologicalevidence pointing to the existence of tropical Japonica. However, we need more samples
in order to conduct DNA analysis of charred rice grains from these areas.
(2) Following the spread of domesticated Japonica—in this case, tropical Japonica—in the
middle and lower Yangtze River basin to the Shandong Peninsula, along the Yellow Sea at© Japanese Archaeological Association

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the end of the Dawenkou culture and the beginning of the Longshan culture, around 2400
BC, it is probable that temperate Japonica was domesticated and changed genetically fromthe wild temperate Japonica where wild rice originally grew, like at Yuezhuan and Sororisites. However, this idea is still only a hypothesis and has yet to be proved.
(3) During the fourth stage of the spread of early agriculture in northeast Asia, there were
two different diffusion routes from the southern Korean Peninsula to northern Kyushu,
due to cooler climatic conditions. Migrants from the southern Korean peninsula moved
from the Namgang River basin to the Karatsu and Itoshima Plains in northern Kyushu,
bringing with them rice paddy ﬁelds, dolmens, new polished stone tools, and TypeA polished stone daggers during the Yusu 1 period, dating to between the 9th and 8th
centuries BC. They brought mainly tropical Japonica for cultivation on the Karatsu
Plain, migrating along with the Jomon people. And then different migrants belonging to
the Songgunni culture from the Nakdonggang River basin moved to the Fukuoka Plain,bringing with them moated circular settlements, wooden cofﬁns and Type B polishedstone daggers during the Yusu 2 period, dating to between the 7th and 6th centuries
BC. They brought temperate Japonica, migrating along with the Jomon people. As aresult, interaction between a handful of migrants and a large number of Jomon people
established the Itazuke pottery style, which is based on the pottery production techniquesof Mumun pottery on the southern Korean Peninsula (Miyamoto 2016, 2017).
The establishment of the Itazuke pottery style, which includes tubular pots and necked jars,
on the Fukuoka Plain signals the start of the Early Yayoi period. The Itazuke pottery styleculture diffused into western Japan during the 6th and 5th centuries BC (Miyamoto 2018). The
Itazuke pottery style culture led to the spread not only of the Itazuke pottery style, but alsomoated circular settlements, polished stone tools, rice paddy ﬁelds and temperate Japonica.
Therefore, the spread of the Itazuke pottery style, which is also called the Ongagawa pottery
style, in western Japan can be said to constitute the starting point for the Yayoi culture.

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