Sokendai Review of Cultural and Social Studies vol. 7 2011

The Newly Found Olive Jars in Japanand Their Historical Significance
KAWAGUCHI, Yohei
Nagasaki Prefectural Government, Governor’s Office for World Heritage

The newly found olive jars in Japan were most likely manufactured in Spain or Portugal from the late 16th
century to the 17th century, based on the earlier studies. According to the documents and “Nanban screen”
depicting the arrival of nanban-jin (Portuguese and Spanish) in Japan, it is said that they were brought to Japanby “Black Ship” and used among Christians and so on. They were archaeologically proven to be traded between
the East and the West, and more such olive jars are sure to be found. Furthermore, Nanban screens might havethe possibility of use as historical sources; empirical study of painted items is expected in the future.
Key words: Olive jar, Olive oil, Wine, Nanban screen, Black Ship, Christianity

1. Introduction
2. Studies on the olive jar
3. The olive jars found in Nagasaki and Osaka
4. Discussion
4. 1 Content

1. Introduction
In 2005, a strange shaped jar was excavated at theruins of Nagasaki, located in the west of Kyushu
Island. It has a round body and yellow glaze. At thattime I was one of the investigators, but no one could
identify the jar. Therefore it was reported as “unknown
pottery” [Nagasaki Pref. 2004, 2005]. In 2007, when I
came upon the catalog of the “San Diego shipwreck”1),
which was a Spanish Galleon ship sunk off Manila
in 1600, I found several jars closely resembling thejar found in Nagasaki. They were reported as “Spanish olive jars” [Dupoizat 1996: 250]. I asked one of
my colleagues who had studied the actual objects
in Manila,2) and she agreed with my idea, so I reintroduced the Nagasaki jar as a “Spanish olive jar”
instead of “unknown pottery” in my book [Kawaguchi
2007: 47–48].

4. 2 Delivery Route4. 3 Demand
4. 4 Comparison with picture
5. Conclusion

In 2009, I learned of another sample, excavated in
Osaka, by chance. After I had presented an olive jar
found in Nagasaki at an academic meeting, one ofthe participants3) gave me news of a similar piece
excavated in the ruins of Osaka. Later, I examined
this sample and identified it as another “Spanish
olive jar”.
These two specimens raised some questions; whobrought these jars into Japan, when, and for what
purpose? What did they contain?
I will examine these historical significances asfollows.

2. Studies of the olive jars
The olive jar is a type of pottery vessel which was
frequently found in North America. There is no precise
equivalent for the term “olive jar” in any documents

総研大文化科学研究 123

Fig. 1 Positions of relative sites

Fig. 2 Jar Shapes Classified by Goggin. (after Goggin
1960)[Goggin 1960: 4]; however, it is widely used in archeological study at the present. The shape of these vessels
is also known as “amphora” which was a common
container in Greco-Roman times. Both are traditionallysimilar to the pottery making.
The earliest study of mid 16th century to mid 19th

124 総研大文化科学研究

Fig. 3 Chronological Chart of Middle Style Olive Jar
Rim Profiles from Shipwrecks. (after Avery 1997)

century olive jars was done by Goggin [1960]. Heclassified them into four types and established threechronological stages according to the jars’ shapes,
and his classification has been widely adopted. He
established his three chronological stages as follows[ibid: 23]:

KAWAGUCHI The Newly Found Olive Jars in Japan and Their Historical Significance

Early style 1500–1580
Middle style 1580–1800
Late style
post 1800
Later, James classified the olive jars recovered fromthe shipwreck sunken in 1724 into four styles, basedon Goggin’s study [James. S 1988]. Deagan also dated
Goggin’s Middle style olive jars found at the site toaround the 1570’s [Deagan 1987]. Marken examined
the olive jars based on record of shipwrecks [Marken
1994]. He further classified the jars into “Types” inGoggin’s “Style” and suggested chronological changes
based on the details of the jars’ shapes, rims, material,and so on. Avery especially noticed the shape of therims and also suggested a chronological framework of
the rim form based on a discovered shipwreck [Avery1997]. It may be said that the archaeological studyof olive jars was started by Goggin in the 1960s anddeveloped in the 1990s from the records of shipwrecks.
Fig. 4 Olive Jars found in Nagasaki. (Scale=2/15)

3. The olive jars found in Nagasaki andOsaka
Two fragments of olive jars were found at the
Tateyama site in Nagasaki.4) One is a mouth withneck, which is yellow glazed on the inside. It is madeof brick red-colored material. The diameter of themouth is 6.0 cm, 8.2 cm on the outside of the rim,and 1.9 cm in height. Its cross-section is triangular inshape. It is contemporary with the date of around1600 on Avery’s chronological chart [Avery 1997]. It
was unearthed in an unknown deposit hole which
was buried before the early 17th century. The datecorresponds to Avery’s study. The other has a roundedbody and is glazed yellow inside and out. It was madeof a thick reddish-brown material with coarse sand,but its bottom is missing and there is nothing above
the neck. The maximum diameter is 23.8 cm for the
body, and height is about 24 cm, and the body is 1.2 cm
thick. It is similar to Shape B of Goggin’s classification. Shape B is similar to the Middle (1580–1800)
and Late (post 1800) Style, however, there is a slightdifference in the body. Therefore, the period cannot be
fixed by body alone. It was found in a ditch locatedabout one hundred meters to the east of the formersite. Many of the 17th century artifacts were found in
this ditch. There was a document describing thelarge-scale development there in the 1710’s. It may be
implied that the shard was taken there in the 17th
century and was thrown into the ditch before the1710’s. The two pieces’ material closely resemble one
another and might have been made in one vessel.
However, I am not strongly convinced because of thefact that they were found apart from each other andin different periods. Many pieces of archaeologicalmaterials from late in the 16th century to early in the
17th century were found in this site [Nagasaki Pref.
2004, 2005]. Christian artifacts, such as roof tiles
decorated with flower crosses, were included in thesefindings [ibid: 138]. This corresponds to documents
showing that a church had built around there [Niwa,
Morinaga 1973: 175].
In Osaka, an oval jar was found under the fired
layer of 1614, at the OJ02-3 point of Osaka-joka-machiato ruins [Osaka city 2003]. The jar is widest at theshoulder, narrow in the middle, and has a roundedbottom. Everything above the neck was missing. The
maximum diameter is about 35 cm, and the jar’s
remaining height is about 47 cm.5) It is made of a thickmaterial with coarse sand. The outside and inside is
pinkish-tan color, and it is unglazed. Although the

総研大文化科学研究 125

danger of seeping through the porous vessel wall”[Goggin 1960: 6]. Following this idea, the olive jars
found in Nagasaki were used for wine and the olivejars found in Osaka were used for oil; however, it isdifficult to prove these hypotheses without any vestigeof the jars’ contents to analyze.

Fig. 5 Olive Jar found in Osaka (Scale=1/8).

shape of the body closely resembles Goggin’s Late
Style of Shape A, which was found in the layer of theearly 17th century, it does not correspond to Goggin’s
post-1800 style. These shapes belong to Marken’s “16thCentury Type” exemplified by jars recovered from the
Bahama shipwreck [Marken 1994: 52–62] and of the
San Diego shipwreck sunk in 1600. In addition to that,some pieces of Chinese and Southeast Asian pottery
were found under the fired layer of 1614 at the OJ02-3
point. It may be inferred from these imported items
that a trader lived around the site [Miyamoto 2009:63–64].

4. Discussion
The olive jars newly found in Japan raise several
questions. I would like to examine them as follows;

4. 1 Content
Firstly, what were their contents? Goggin described
the primary uses of olive jars as follows: “somescholars to speculate that the glazed types were used
for liquids such as wine, while heavy liquids such as
oil could be shipped in the unglazed forms without

126 総研大文化科学研究

4. 2 Delivery RouteSecondly, who brought these olive jars to Japan, andby what route? I have paid attention to the differencesin attributes between olive jars found in Nagasaki andOsaka. The olive jars found in Nagasaki are brickcolored and yellow glazed. On the other hand, thesample found in Osaka is pinkish-tan colored andunglazed. The former attributes are typical of“Portuguese olive jars” [Marken 1994: 92]. Marken had
observed the olive jars recovered from a Portuguese
wreck which sunk at Mombasa in 1697. These olivejars are similar to Goggin’s Middle Style B; however,their sizes are smaller on average and have thecharacteristic brick-red paste and yellow glaze. He
guessed that these descriptions differ from those of
Andalusian origin, and were probably manufactured
in Portugal.
The olive jars found in Nagasaki have similar
characteristics,6) and Nagasaki was a port where
Portuguese ships had come from Macao between 1571
and 1639. Therefore, it is possible that they weretransported to Nagasaki by Portuguese ships via
Macao.
There are three possibilities for the delivery route;the first is a direct route by Spanish ships. The olive
jar found in Osaka close resembles the olive jars of the
San Diego shipwreck sunk off Manila, as mentioned
above. It was probably brought to Japan from Manila,
founded by the Spanish in 1571. Spanish ships visitedor were washed up on the coast of Japan, as recorded
between 1584 and 1624.
The second is a route to Nagasaki via Macao by
Portuguese ships. Mihoko Oka translated the manuscript copy of the Spanish document “The Memorandum of Commodity Exchange by Portuguese
Ship” into Japanese and analyzed it [Oka 2010: 93–125]. In this document, wine and olive oil are seen in
the descriptions of cargos transported from Goa toKAWAGUCHI The Newly Found Olive Jars in Japan and Their Historical Significance

China as follows:
Wine - 150–200 barrels
Bottles of olive oil - 6 barrels
Based on this record, we can understand that wineand olive oil were probably brought to China from
Macao by Portuguese ships. In addition to that, there
was a new shipping route between Manila and Macao
after 1582. Thus, it is said that olive jars were transported to Nagasaki via Macao by Portuguese ship.
The third possibility is that they were imported
by Japanese people themselves. Japanese ships had
visited Manila for trade between 1585 and 1635.
Antonio Morga, who was the Executive Official of thePhilippines from 1595 to 1603, wrote “These ships(from Japan) go back to Japan in June or July when theseason of southwester. They bought Chinese raw silk,gold, deerskin, dye, honey, wax, coco liquor, Spanish
wine, musk, jar for tea, vidrio, textiles”. A Japanese
document, “The Trading Items of Ships for Foreign
Countries,” which may have been written by Japanesetraders before the 1630’s, recorded the imported
commodities from Manila as follows [Iwao 1985: 288]:
raw silk, cloth roll, textiles, deep red colored textiles,
thin textiles, wine, coral beads, deerskin, dye, sugar,
water buffalo horns, gold. Based on these documents,
wine was brought to Japan by Japanese ships.

4. 3 Demand
The third problem is the demand for olive jars, ormore correctly, for wine and olive oil, in Japan. The
olive jars excavated in Nagasaki and Osaka (cf. p. 132)
show the character of the church and traders’ residences.
I noticed some records of the wine and olive oil related
to Christianity in the following documents. “Livros
das Monções” were the official documented correspondence between the King of Portugal and the Viceroyof India in Goa. Koichiro Takase translated a part ofthem into Japanese and examined them [Takase 2008].
The translations confirm that the Bishop of Japan
requested wine or olive oil for mass from the King ofPortugal three times. Firstly, the Portuguese Kingwrote to Viceroy of India “Bishop of Japan, Don Luis
Cerqeira request me...wine of Portuguese Kingdom
for mass” on January 17, 1607 [ibid: 134]. Secondly,
Portuguese King wrote to the Viceroy of India “Bishop

of Japan requested me ...two barrels of wine for mass”
on March 10, 1614 [ibid: 292]. Thirdly, “Bishop of
Japan requested me ... wine and olive oil” on March 10,1614 [ibid: 436]. These records correspond to archaeological findings in Nagasaki. Before the first half ofthe 17th century, when the Edo-Bakuhu government
prohibited Christianity, there was probably a regulardemand for wine and olive oil among Japanese
Christians.
Furthermore, it is understood that wine was a gift
item in those days based on the following documents:
Johan Elseracq, who was a captain of the Dutch
Trading Post in Nagasaki from 1641 to 1644, recorded
the list of gift items to Saburozaemon Baba, theMagistrate of Nagasaki, on December 16, 1643
[Murakami 1956: 294]. “Red wine” is seen in the list.
The same record was found on September 16, 1644,
when Elseracq gifted “Tinta-shu”, which means red
wine, to the Magistrate once again [ibid: 348].
Documentation of olive oil is limited at present.
Kiyosuke Ooka, the Magistrate of Nagasaki from1711 to 1717, made notes of record during his term
[Nakata, Nakamura 1974]. There is a chapter about
products of foreign countries, which is probably a listof the items imported. There is a remarkable item inthe list of Dutch items. “Asetounano-abura”, although
it was written in Japanese characters [ibid: 177],means olive oil in Spanish. Olive oil was not actually
produced by the Dutch, meaning it was probably
indirectly imported by the Dutch.
From these records and archaeological findings, it
can be said that the olive jar was used in Japan fromlate in the 16th century to the 18th century for various
purposes.

4. 4 Comparison with picture
There is an interesting artwork connected with theabove problems. Fig. 8 (cf. p. 132) is a picture called“Nanban Screen” attributed to the Kano group in theearly 17th century. Kano painted a scene depicting a“Black Ship” that had just arrived at a port in Japanand was unloading. “Black Ship” was a term that used
to refer to Portuguese or Spanish ships in Japan. It isremarkable that an object similar to an olive jar was
painted in the lower right of the screen. An occidental

総研大文化科学研究 127

holds a rod with both hands and hangs two jars fromeach end of the rod. The brownish colored jar on theright side closely resembles Goggin’s Shape A or C. The
shape of the mouth and rounded bottom is especiallysimilar to the actual olive jar. Moreover, a woven
bamboo basket is used to carry it. Marken referred to
woven covers of olive jar for carrying, stocking andstoring referred to in documents, however, there is noarchaeological evidence for such covers [Marken
1994: 118]. It is said that the screen provides evidencewith its visual information. There is a view that theport painted on the screen is Nagasaki [Kuroda 2010:149]; thus, this screen may represent the scene of a“Black Ship” arriving in Nagasaki and unloading olivejars.

5. Conclusion
The newly found olive jars in Japan turn out to havebeen manufactured in Spain or Portugal from the late
16th century to the 17th century, based on precedingstudies of the materials of shipwrecks all over theworld and sites in North America. Their possibledelivery routes were via Manila or Macao, based oncomparisons with documented records. Although it is
not clear whether the olive jars were shipped by the
Spanish, Portuguese, or Japanese, the “Nanban
Screen” attributed to the Kano group depicts the olivejars being unloadied from a “Black Ship”. Thus, it may
be possible that they were bought to Japan by Spanish
or Portuguese ships. In addition, based the Portugese
records, they were used by Japanese Christians before
the first half of the 17th century.
This study has interdisciplinary significance forhistorical study from the 16th century to the 17th
century as follows. Firstly, this is only the beginningof study of olive jars in Japan; more olive jars are sure
to be found at archaeological sites, which will clarify
and add detail to our picture of distribution routes.
Secondly, items supposed to have been traded between
the East and the West based on historical documents
were proven concretely by archaeological materials.
Thirdly, the Nanban screen might have possibility of
being utilized as a historical source. Empirical study
about the painted items on the Nanban screen is
expected.

128 総研大文化科学研究

Notes
1) This catalog was published for the exhibition “TheTreasures of the San Diego” [ELF, AFAA, National
Museum of the Philippine 2006].
2) Asako Morimoto had visited Manila and observed
olive jar in 2000.
3) Mr. Nobuhiro Matsuo, Director of the Osaka Castle
Museum.
4) Tateyama site is located in the north of the sites ofNagasaki. The Magistrate Office was situated there
from late in the 16th century to mid 19th century [Nagasaki Pref. 2004, 2005].
5) The measurement and drawing was done by Koji
Miyamoto [2009: 61].
6) While the paste and glaze resemble each other, thediameter of 23.8 cm is a bit larger than the Mombasa
wreck olive jars’ diameters of 19 cm to 20.3 cm[Marken 1994: 92].

References
Avery, G.
1997

Pots as packaging: TheSpanish Olive Jar
and Andalusian Transatlantic Commercial
Activity, 16th–18th Centuries. A dissertation presented to the Graduate School of the
University of Florida, Gainesville. Inédito.

Deagan, K.
1987
Artifacts of the Spanish Colonies of Florida
and the Caribbean, 1500–1800. Smithsonian
Institution Press, Washington.
Dupoizat, M.-F.
1996
Spanish olive jars. The Treasures of the San
Diego. ELF&AFAA&National Museum of
the Philippines.
Goggin, J. M.
1960
The Spanish Olive Jar: an Introductory
Study. In Papers in Caribbran Anthoropology,
62, Yale University Publications in Anthropology, New Haven.
Iwao, S.
1985
Shinhan Shuinsen-boekishi-no-kenkyu.
Yoshikawa-kobun-kan.
James, S. R. Jr.
1988
A reassessment of the Chronological and
Typological Framework of the Spanish Olive
Jar. Historical Archaeology, 22 (1).

KAWAGUCHI The Newly Found Olive Jars in Japan and Their Historical SignificanceKawaguchi, Y.
2007
Sekai-koro-e-izanau-koshi Nagasaki/Hirado.
Shinsen-sha.
Kuroda, T.
2010
Nanban-byobu. Byobu-no-sekai. Idemitsu
Museum of Arts.
Marken, M. W.
1994
Pottery from Spanish Shipwrecks. University
Press of Florida, Gainesville.
Miyamoto, K.
2009
Osaka-niokeru-yunyutojiki-to-kaigaiboeki.
Kansai-kinsei-kokogaku-kenkyu 17, Kansaikinsei-kokogaku-kenkyukai.
Murakami, N.
Nagasaki oranda-shokan-no-nikki 1. Iwanami1956
shoten.
Nagasaki Prefecture
Nagasaki-bugyosho (Tateyama-yakusho)-ato/
2004
Rokasu-machi-iseki.

Nagasaki Prefecture
Nagasaki-bugyosho (Tateyama-yakusho)-ato/
2005
Iwahara-metske-yashiki-ato/Rokasu-machiiseki.
Nakata, Y., Nakamura, T.
1974
Kiyo-gundan. Kondo-shuppansha.
Niwa, K., Morinaga, T.
1973
Nagasaki-zitsuroku-taisei seihen. Nagasakibunkensha.
Oka, M.
2010
Nanban-boeki-no-kozo-to-yushutsunyuhin.
Shonin-to-senkyoshi, Nanban-boeki-no-sekai.
University of Tokyo Press.
Takase, K.
2006
Monsuun-monjo-to-nihon. Yagi-shoten.

総研大文化科学研究 129

日本出土のオリーブ壺と歴史的意義
川口洋平

長崎県知事公室世界遺産登録推進室

近年、長崎と大阪においてスペイン産とされる「オリーブ壺」の出土を日本で初めて確認した。この壺は、北米の遺跡や世界各地の沈没船で存在が確認されているが、考古資料として本格的な研究が始まったのは1960年のアメリカのゴギン氏以降のことである。
「オ
リーブ壺」という呼称であるが、文献からは内容物を完全には特定できず、オリーブ油とワインを中心に様々な容器として用いられたと考えられている。しかし、現在では球形で小さな口のつく容器の型式名として広く定着している。ゴギン氏は、基本的な型式分類を行ったが、その後、沈船資料を中心に研究が進み、口縁部の形態変化などの細かい研究がなされている。
長崎では二つの破片が出土した。内外面に黄色の釉がかかり赤褐色の胎土からなる球形の体部、および断面三角形を呈する口縁部である。この形はゴギン氏のＢ類に相当するが、胎土と釉は、他地域で出土しているものとは異なっており、マーケン氏の指摘するモンバ
サ沖で沈没したポルトガル船のものと似ていることから、ポルトガル産である可能性がある。出土状況から、それぞれ17世紀初期および17世紀代の年代が想定されるが、17世紀初
頭には付近に教会があった記録があり、キリスト教との関連も指摘される。
大阪では、口縁部を欠く楕円形の体部が出土した。ゴギン氏の分類ではＡ類で19世紀以降とする後期の型式に近い。大阪の資料は1614年の大坂夏の陣に伴う火災層以前と思われ、年代的には一致せず、マーケン氏の指摘する「16世紀タイプ」（バハマ沖沈船など）や1600年にマニラ沖で沈没したサン・ディエゴ号の資料に近い。また付近からは、東南アジ
アを含む輸入陶磁も出土しており、貿易に関わった商人との関連が指摘される。
これらの本来の中身については、前述のとおり厳密には特定できないが、オリーブ油やワインを運んだものとして搬入経路や運搬者について考えてみたい。搬入経路について
は、長崎出土のものは、ポルトガル産の可能性があることから、ポルトガル船が運んだと推測される。大阪のものは、マニラにおいて引き揚げ資料があることから、第一にマニラ経由でスペイン船が日本に運んだ可能性が考えられる。第二に、ポルトガル船が、マカオ経由で運んだ可能性がある。岡美穂子の研究によれば、ゴアから中国（マカオ）行きのポ
ルトガル船の貿易品の中にスペイン産のワインとオリーブ油がみられることから、マカオにはこれらが存在したことがうかがわれる。第三に日本人が直接海外から持ち帰った可能性が考えられる。フィリピンに駐在したモルガの記録にもマニラに来航した日本人がワインを買って帰る記録がみられる。
では、日本においてワインやオリーブ油はどのような需要があったのであろうか。長崎

130 総研大文化科学研究

KAWAGUCHI The Newly Found Olive Jars in Japan and Their Historical Significanceと大阪の出土状況は、キリスト教や貿易商との関わりを示唆しているが、ポルトガル国王とゴアのインド副王の往復書簡である「モンスーン文書」には、17世紀初めの段階で日本司教からミサ用のワインやオリーブ油の俸禄を請求している記述があり、この頃にはキリスト教で行われるミサなどに関連して一定の需要があったことがわかる。また、オランダ商館長の日記には、ワインを長崎奉行へ贈った記録がある。さらにオリーブ油については、
18世紀初頭の長崎奉行の記録にオランダの産出品として「アセトウナノ油」（スペイン語でオリーブ油の意）と記され、オランダによって間接的に輸入されていた可能性がある。
16世紀終わり頃から18世紀にかけての日本において、ワインやオリーブ油に関して様々な需要があったことが、今回の考古学的発見や文献史料から判明する。
さらに、これらに関連してオリーブ壺を実際に描いたと考えられる南蛮屏風を確認した（出光美術館蔵）。この屏風には、黒船から降り立った南蛮人が細長いに棒の両端に壺をつり下げて歩く様子が描かれているが、この壺のひとつが、ゴギン氏分類のＡ類あるいはＣ類に酷似している。さらに、竹を編んだと推測される籠によって運搬している様子が描かれている。一説には黒船来航の光景は、長崎を描いたとも言われ、オリーブ壺が南蛮船によって長崎へ運ばれた可能性を示唆している。
本研究は、16世紀から17世紀にかけての歴史研究に対して以下のような学際的な意義を持つ。第一に、我が国におけるオリーブ壺に関する研究の端緒であり、今後考古学の分野でオリーブ壺の出土が確認され、詳細な分布が明らかになることが期待される。第二に、文献史学から検討されていた東西の貿易品の流通が考古学から具体的に実証されたことがあげられる。第三に、今回の検討から南蛮屏風の歴史資料としての可能性が明らかになったことである。今後、そこに描かれた品々についての実証的な研究が期待される。

キーワード：オリーブ壺、オリーブ油、ワイン、南蛮屏風、黒船、キリスト教

総研大文化科学研究 131

Fig. 6 Olive Jars found in Nagasaki

Fig. 7 Olive Jar found in Osaka(Osaka City Cultural Properties Association)(Nagasaki Prefectural Board of Education)

(a)

(b)
b)

(c)
c)

Fig. 8 (a) “Nanban Screen” attributed Kano Groupe(Idemitu Museum of Arts) [overall](b) and (c) “Nanban Screen” attributed Kano Groupe(Idemitu Museum of Arts) [enlargement]

132 総研大文化科学研究