Overview: Japanese Archaeological Research Trends 20181
Tanigawa Akio2

The Japanese Archaeological Association (JAA), which was established in 1948,
greeted the 70th anniversary of its founding in 2018. Born shortly after the wartime
defeat, the JAA has played out is role piling up one effort after another throughseveral periods of postwar society’s historic transition.
On the occasion of its 70th anniversary year the JAA held a program ofcommemorative projects, designated “Greeting the Transition Period of JapaneseArchaeology and the JAA,”3 which are linked with the following conditions of recent
years.
Nearly twenty years have passed since entering the twenty-first century, and as
economic globalism advances in the world on the one hand, reaction against it isborn on the other. In addition, Japan is becoming a low-birthrate society with an
aging population and disparities in wealth, and the future direction of society
appears uncertain.
Trends in archaeological research are surely not unrelated to such conditions of1[Trends in Japanese Archaeological Research, 2018 , is a partial translation of “Nihon kōkogaku
kenkyū no dōkō” 日本考古学研究の動向の動向動向, in Nihon kōkogaku nenpō 71 (2018 nendoban) 日本考古学年報
70（2018 年度版) (Archaeologia Japonica 71 [2018 Fiscal Year Issue]) (Nihon Kō) (Nihon Kōkogaku Kyōkai, 2020),
pp. 1–56. This essay appears on pp. 1-4, under the Japanese title “Sōsetsu” 総説. It was translated byWalter Edwards, and published by the Japanese Archaeological Association (Nihon Kōkogaku Kyōkai
日本考古学協会) online in 2021. To streamline the text, characters for Japanese names and terms, andbibliographic information have been placed in footnotes. When an English translation of the name ofan organization or publication (or symposium, etc.) is supplied by the party responsible, this is usedwith minimum changes in capitalization etc. to conform to the style followed by Trends in JapaneseArchaeological Research. Romanized names of individuals are given with the surname followed by the
personal name.]) (Nihon Kō
2
谷川章雄
3“Tenkanki o mukaeta Nihon kōkogaku to Nihon Kōkogaku Kyōkai” 転換期を迎えた日本考古学と日本考を迎えた日本考古学と日本考迎えた日本考古学と日本考えた日本考古学と日本考日本考古学と日本考日本考古学協会 . [Translator’s note: A full description of the program is available in Japanese on the JAA’s
website (http://archaeology.jp/activity/70kinenn/). In brief, the projects are the following: (1)Gathering and archiving materials related to the JAA’s founding, (2) Commemorating individuals who
have maintained membership in the JAA from 1965 or before, (3) Publishing an edited volume
summarizing the current state of Japanese archaeological research ( Nihon kōkogaku - Saizensen 日本
考古学・最前線 [Japanese archaeology: The Forefront]) (Nihon Kō, Yūzankaku, 2018), (4) Holding a series of public
lectures in conjunction with JAA regular meetings and other occasions, (5) Compiling acommemorative volume of Nihon kōkogaku 日本考古学 (Journal of the JAA) (published as issue no. 47
in October, 2018), and (6) Holding an international session at the JAA’s 2018 Autumn Meeting,“Contextualizing the Yayoi period as a farming society in East Asia” (Shizuoka, 20 October 2018),
conducted in English.]) (Nihon Kō

Trends in Japanese Archaeological Research, 2018
© 2021 The Japanese Archaeological Association
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Japan and the world. The problems which Japanese archaeology has been facing inrecent years, the decline in population of researchers supporting regional studies,
severe personnel shortages at regional public organizations, issues in the training of
successors and the educational environment for archaeology at universities, andfurther, the decline in JAA membership, all appear to have such conditions as theirbackground. Herein I would like to look back on the overall trends in Japanesearchaeological research for the 2018 fiscal year. 4 What follows will outline theresearch trends for each period in turn.
For trends in Paleolithic period research, there has been discussion with regards
to the oldest archaeological culture in the Japanese archipelago of a southerly routeof humans, based in part on the discovery of new materials at the Sakitari 5 cave site
in Okinawa, along with studies of the spread of human population and theestablishment of Upper Paleolithic culture in the archipelago, taking as backgroundthe worldwide tendencies of research in recent years.
Also, concerning archaeological culture at the end of the Upper Paleolithic
period, topics were taken up such as climatic change and the process of humanadaptation at the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene, the age of theappearance of pottery, and the periodic division with the Jōmon era.
With regards to stone tools, for the oldest tool assemblages, those from the lower
strata of the Sōzudai6 site in Ōita prefecture, from the Tsurugaya 7 site in Gunma, andfrom Layer 8 of the Hoshino8 site in Tochigi and so forth have been reexamined.
Also, for backed blade tool groups there has been debate on the Higashiyama-type 9backed blade, and in research on microblade assemblages, identification has been
made of the microblade flaking methodology at the Fukui 10 cave in Nagasaki. In
studies on the stone tool assemblages of the end of the Upper Paleolithic period,
there has been research on relations with stone tools of the Incipient phase of the
Jōmon period, and on the process of emergence of stemmed points.
In experimental use-wear research, while methodological issues and prospects
have been sorted out, Yamada Shō pointed out that not only are there biases in theobjects of research and methods of analysis as well as insufficient experimentation,
but the educational system for training the next generation of use-wear researchersin Japan is deficient.11 Also, Midōshima Tadashi12 has been advancing thereorganization of the extant body of data through a variety of experiments so that
The fiscal year begins on April 1 of each calendar year.
サキタリ
6
早水台
7
鶴ヶ谷ヶ谷谷
8
星野
9
東山型
10
福井洞窟
11
Yamada Shō 山田しょうしょう, Shiyōkon kenkyū no genjō to kyūsekki jidai ni okeru kōdō kenkyū e no ōyō
使用痕研究の動向の動向現状と旧石器時代における行動研究への応用 と日本考旧石器時代における行動研究への応用 における行動研究への応用 行動研究の動向への動向応用 (Current status of traceology and its application
to human behavioral studies in the paleolithic period), Kyūsekki kenkyū 旧 石 器 研 究の動向 (Paleolithic
Research), 14 (2018): 1–16.
12
御堂島正
4
5

O VERVIEW–3–interpretations can be made from use-wear traces on stone tools of human behavior
and the natural environment.
On the relationship of the natural environment and resources with the humanenvironment, there were studies such as the research edited by Ono Akira
ascertaining the interactions of changes in the ancient environment with therelationship between obsidian resource development in the central highlands ofNagano prefecture and utilization in the Chūbu and Kantō regions. 13
For Paleolithic research, how can we evaluate the diverse archaeologicalcultures that unfolded during the Pleistocene over the archipelago, with theirremarkable variation across space and time? The time has come, it is said, to reexamine what were the Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic periods.
As taken up in the section on trends in interdisciplinary research, 14 work is being
done on various dating methods in Paleolithic period studies, such as thecompilation of data for a master curve for oxygen isotope dendrochronology, thecreation of a database for radiocarbon dating using accelerated mass spectrometry(AMS), as well as applications of the thermal luminescence and archaeomagnetic
dating methods.
For trends in Jōmon research, chronological studies for the Incipient/Earliest
phases at the start of the period based on wide-area examinations of pottery andfeatures stood out, as did research uncovering regional differences. A nationwide
anthology centering on the Incipient to the Earliest Jōmon, Kyūsekki jidai bunka
kara Jōmon jidai bunka no chōryū: Kenkyū no shiten (Currents of long-term change
from the Paleolithic to the Jomon cultures: Research perspectives), 15 has been
compiled. In addition, according to residual lipid analysis of Incipient to Earliest
phase ceramics, the pottery was mainly used for processing aquatic resources.
Regarding the transitions from one phase to another, in addition to typologicalapproaches, distributional studies based on differences in the environment andtopographic location were debated, and in particular the Late phase advance into
lowland regions was discussed based on changes in the numbers of sites.
Concerning the end of the Jōmon period, discussions on the beginning of the
Yayoi period are being held from different analytical perspectives and methods.
There were studies of archaeological features based on an attribute analysis ofceramics, plus examinations of the radiocarbon dating of rice seeds, and of stone
tool materials and stone cores.
In debates on livelihood, there is active research using carbon and nitrogenstable isotope analysis, scanning electron microscopy with the replica technique, XOno Akira 小 野 昭 , ed., Jinrui to shigen kankyō no dainamikkusu 人 類と資源環境のダイナミックス と日本考 資 源 環 境のダイナミックス の動向 ダ イ ナ ミ ッ ク ス(Dynamic interactions between humans and natural environment) (Yūzankaku, 2019).
14[Translator’s note: The reference is to the section appearing on pp. 4–8 of Nihon kōkogaku nenpō,
the same volume containing this introductory overview, reporting on interdisciplinary research trends
for the 2018 fiscal year.]) (Nihon Kō
15
Shiraishi Hiroyuki 白石浩之, ed., Kyūsekki jidai bunka kara Jōmon jidai bunka no chōryū: Kenkyū no
shiten 旧石 器時 代における行動研究への応用 文 化から縄文時代文化の潮流か ら縄文時代文化の潮流 縄文 時代における行動研究への応用  文化から縄文時代文化の潮流 の動向潮 流 : 研 究の動向の動向 視点 (Currents of long-term change from the
Paleolithic to the Jomon cultures: Research perspectives) (Rokuichi Shobō, 2019).
13

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TRENDS IN JAPANESE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2018

ray computer tomography, and so forth. Studies were seen such as Sasaki Yuka andNoshiro Shūichi’s consideration of changes in plant management and utilization
due to cooling from the Middle to Late Jōmon at the Shimoyakebe 16 site andelsewhere in the Kantō Plain,17 and research on replicas of maize weevil
impressions in Jōmon pottery and their relations to human activity. 18
There were case studies of stone-paved dwelling remains and stone arrangement
features, research on rituals attending the abandonment of residences and on themortuary system, debate regarding the possession and uses of clay figurines basedon the results of observations and analysis of these items; for beads there was
research on the origin of Jōmon articles made with beads, and on slit-disc earrings,
while debate was conducted on trade and distribution by analyzing the production
and consumption areas for obsidian, red pigment, asphalt, and so forth.
In Jōmon period studies, the steady and basic work of delineating transitions
between periods and regional differences holds an important position, but there arelarger issues ranging from research that cuts across disciplinary lines to that whichleads to historical reinterpretation, and it is said that the definition of the Jōmon
period and its temporal and spatial frameworks are also being questioned.
As stated in the section on trends in interdisciplinary research, in Jōmon period
research, reconstructions of the paleoenvironment are being carried out with a
combination of dating methods and pollen analysis, and with regard to cultigens
there was discussion concerning legumes in the central highlands of the Chūbu andwestern Kantō regions of the latter half of the Middle Jōmon, and an increase in sizehas been pointed out for Japanese millet from the Early to the latter half of the
Middle Jōmon for Hokkaido to the northern Tōhoku regions. In dietaryreconstructions based on lipid analysis, it is held that in the inland portions of
Hokkaido, the contents of cooking with earthenware were mostly species of salmon
and trout.
In zooarchaeology, inferences of season based on a combination of growth ring
analysis of shell bands and oxygen isotope analysis, and indications of diversity
based on examinations of dog DNA were carried out, and research was conductedwhich determined that immigrants could be identified among skeletons from the
Tsukumo19 site by analyzing strontium isotope ratios.
In research trends for the Yayoi period, in the study of the timing of the start of
the Yayoi period and the initial phase of wet-rice agriculture, the anthology editedby Morioka Hideto and the Paleological Association of Japan titled Shoki nōkōkatsudō to Kinki no Yayoi shakai (What was the early agricultural society in

下宅部 (Tokyo prefecture)
Yuka Sasaki and Shūichi Noshiro, “Did a cooling event in the middle to late Jomon periods inducedchange in the use of plant resources in Japan?” Quaternary International 471 (2017): 369–384.
18
Hiroki Obata, Katsura Morimoto, and Akihiro Miyanoshita, “Discovery of the Jomon era maize
weevils in Hokkaido, Japan and its mean,” Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 23 (2019): 137–
156.
19
津雲 (Okayama prefecture)
16
17

O VERVIEW–5–Kinki?)20 was published, discussing society at the start of wet-rice cultivation frommultiple perspectives, mainly centered on the Kinki region. In addition, there was
research asserting that the practice of diversified farming, combining wet-rice
agriculture with the cultivation of assorted cereals in dry fields, was related to thewidespread diversity of both agriculture and of society and culture during the Earlyand Middle Yayoi periods.
In the study of interregional exchange, along with the macro perspective of east–west exchange within the archipelago, a regional approach was also seen whichascertains interregional exchange in the midst of intergroup relations focusing on
the Ise Bay coastal area from the Late Yayoi to the start of the Kofun periods. There
were also discussions of interregional exchange that included relations with China
and the Korean peninsula. It is said that examinations of such interregional
exchanges from the Late Yayoi to the start of the Kofun periods will clarify concrete
human activities such as trade and migration, and provide opportunity for drawing a
new image of the period of transition from the Yayoi to Kofun periods and theprocess of state formation.
In research concerning the technology of artifact production, there were studies
of casting technology for bronze implements in the Kinki region, comprehensive
research on wooden utensils, wooden implements, and civil engineering
technology, and clarification of relations between settlements through bead-making.
In settlement research, in conjunction with research trends for interregional
exchange, studies taking up settlement dynamics from the Late Yayoi to the start of
the Kofun periods stood out, and aspects of the environment relevant to livelihood
are being clarified, such as the vegetation enveloping settlements and the diversityof resource acquisition. In research on mounded tombs, the entire scope of thecemeteries at the Yoshinogari 21 site in Saga prefecture was summarized.
In Yayoi period research, a tendency has been seen in recent years to reexamine
the Yayoi period both as a temporal division and in terms of the concept of Yayoi
culture from the vantage points of eastern Japan and East Asia. The relationshipbetween these macro perspectives and Yayoi research in each region is regarded as
an issue for the future.
As taken up in the section on trends in interdisciplinary research, radiocarbon
dating with the AMS technique has been conducted in Yayoi period research for thestring that suspended the tongue of a bronze bell ( dōtaku).22 The regional
characteristics and transitions in rice varieties were shown by combining the size,
Morioka Hideto 森 岡 秀 人 and the Paleological Association of Japan 古 代における行動研究への応用  学 協 会 , eds., Shoki nōkōkatsudō to Kinki no Yayoi shakai 初期を迎えた日本考古学と日本考農耕活動と日本考近畿の弥生社会 の動向弥生社会 (What was the early agricultural society
in Kinki?) (Yūzankaku, 2018).
21
吉野ヶ谷里
22
Sadamatsu Yoshie 定 松 佳 重 et al., “Minami Awaji-shi Matsuho dōtaku no hōshasei tanso nendai
sokutei chōsa seika ni tsuite” 南あわじ市松帆銅鐸の放射性炭素年代測定調査成果について あわじ市松帆銅鐸の放射性炭素年代測定調査成果について 市松帆銅鐸の放射性炭素年代測定調査成果について の動向放射性炭素年代における行動研究への応用 測定調査成果について について (Regarding
buried period of Matsuho Dōtaku), presented at the Dai 35-kai Nihon Bunkazai Kagakukai Taikai 日本
文 化から縄文時代文化の潮流 財 科 学 会 第 35 大 会 (Japan Society for Scientific Studies on Cultural Properties 35th Congress)(Nara Joshi Daigaku, 8 July 2018).
20

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TRENDS IN JAPANESE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2018

morphology, and DNA of rice seeds. 23 DNA analysis of human skeletal material
recovered from the Aoya Kamijichi 24 site in Tottori prefecture was conducted, andthe existence of an immigrant group was confirmed. 25 Nanba Yōzō is conducting anarchaeological examination of dōtaku, coupled with lead isotope ratio analysis andhigh frequency inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis. 26
In Kofun period research trends, books were published bringing together
comprehensive research on particular regions. This includes for example thesecond volume of the series Kōza Kinai no kodaigaku (Lectures in ancient studies of
Kinai) edited by Hirose Kazuo and others. 27 It is anticipated that the archaeologicalmatters discussed therein will be examined as to how they relate to Kinai of the
ritsuryō period. In addition, at the JAA’s 2018 Autumn Meeting, a session focusing
on chiefs of the eastern provinces was held, 28 with debate taking as its subject theLate Kofun period tombs of the eastern part of the Tōkai region, at the border
between eastern and western Japan.
In discussions of ceramics, pottery of the time of the emergence of Kofun period
tombs and Korean-style pottery are drawing interest. In debate on settlements, thedynamics of settlements and tombs in Kyushu from the Final Yayoi to the Early
Kofun periods were taken up, along with Kofun period settlements that were buried
by volcanic ash.
In research on burial mounds, there were plentiful results seen of studies related
to the production and distribution systems of haniwa, and examinations were madeof funerary rites based on the expressions and arrangements of representationalhaniwa. In research on grave goods, there were analyses using 3D measurements ofthe mold marks, design motifs, and shapes of inscribed characters on bronze
mirrors, and in studies of burial facilities, there were many symposia and special
collections in journals on the theme of horizontal stone chambers. In research on
mounds, there were studies of correspondences among the mound itself, thesurface paving of cobbles, and the burial facilities, as well as research on building a
Kamijō Nobuhiko 上條信彦, Tanaka Katsunori 田しょう中克典, and Koizumi Shōta 小泉翔太, “Keitai/DNA
bunseki kara mita shutsudo ine no rekishiteki hensen” 形態・DNA 分析からみた出土イネの歴史的変遷から縄文時代文化の潮流みた日本考古学と日本考出土イネの歴史的変遷イネの歴史的変遷の動向歴史的 変遷(Historic transformation of the ancient rice from grain shape and DNA analysis), poster presented at
the Dai 35-kai Nihon Bunkazai Kagakukai Taikai (Nara Joshi Daigaku, 7–8 July 2018).
24
青谷上寺地
25
Shinoda Ken’ichi 篠 田しょう 謙 一 , “DNA ga kataru Aoya no Yayoijin” DNA が語る青谷の弥生人  語る青谷の弥生人  る行動研究への応用  青 谷 の動向 弥 生 人 (Yayoi
people of Aoya revealed by DNA), presentation at the symposium “Wajin no shinjitsu: DNA/nendai/
kankyō” 倭人の動向真実: ＤＮＡ・年代における行動研究への応用 ・環境のダイナミックス (True image of the Wa people: DNA/chronology/environment),
organized by the Tottori Prefecture Archaeological Center (Tottori, 2 March 2019).
26
Nanba Yōzō 難波洋三, “Yayoi jidai no seidōki no en dōitaihi bunseki to ICP bunseki” 弥生時代における行動研究への応用 の動向青銅
器 の動向 鉛 同 位 体 比 分 析からみた出土イネの歴史的変遷 と日本考 ICP 分 析からみた出土イネの歴史的変遷 (Lead isotope analysis and ICP analysis of bronze artifacts in Yayoi
period), Maizō Bunkazai Nyūsu 埋蔵文化から縄文時代文化の潮流財ニュース (CAO NEWS), no. 174 (2019): 16–25.
27
Hirose Kazuo 広瀬和雄, Yamanaka Akira 山中章, and Yoshikawa Shinji 吉川真司, eds., Kofun jidai no
Kinai 古墳時代における行動研究への応用 の動向畿の弥生社会 内 (Kinai of the Kofun Period), Vol. 2 of Kōza Kinai no kodaigaku 講座畿の弥生社会 内の動向古代における行動研究への応用 学(Lectures in ancient studies of Kinai) (Yūzankaku, 2018).
28“Kofun jidai kōki kōhan no Tōgoku chiiki shuchō no shosō” 古墳時代における行動研究への応用 後期を迎えた日本考古学と日本考後半の東国地域首長の諸相の動向東国地域首長の諸相の動向諸相(Aspects of chiefs of the Tōgoku region in the latter half of the Late Kofun period), session held at the
Nihon Kōkogaku Kyōkai 2018 Nendo Shūki Taikai 日 本 考 古 学 協 会 2018 年 度 秋 季 大 会 (JAA 2018
Autumn Meeting) (Shizuoka, 20 October 2018).
23

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typology of the method of embankment.
In studies of handicraft production, the Tōhoku/Kantō Keyhole Tomb ResearchSociety held its annual meeting on the theme of handicraft production and Kofun
period society, and topics related to bead-making and iron production were thefocus.29
As site reports, there were publications for prominent sites such as the Early
Kofun period Kurozuka mound in Nara prefecture, 30 and the Late Kofun period
Kanai Higashiura site in Gunma prefecture where a man dressed in armor buried byash from the volcanic eruption of Mt. Haruna 31 was excavated.32
As stated in the section on trends in interdisciplinary research, Uetsuki Manabu
conducted a multifaceted study of cattle and horses from the Kofun period on,
including the ratio of cattle to horses, size, paleopathology, breeding location, diet,age at death, and burial.33
In research trends of the Ancient period, the Kōnin 34 earthquake in the interior
portion of the Kantō region, and the Jōgan 35 earthquake in the Tōhoku region, weretaken up as studies of natural disasters. Archaeological research on the history ofnatural disasters is a field with possible links to geology, seismology, andmeteorology, and one in which archaeology can play a social role with regard tosuch contemporary issues as disaster prevention and mitigation.
In research on ancient capitals and regional government centers, studies of thelatter were central. To commemorate the designation of the Hara Kanga 36(government offices) site as a national Historic Site, a symposium was held on thetheme of Asuka period government offices and regional society, 37 and conditions
were clarified of seventh-century regional government centers, which have thus far
eluded focus.
“Shukōgyō seisan to Kofun jidai shakai” 手工業生産と古墳時代社会 と日本考古墳時代における行動研究への応用 社会 (Handicraft industry production
and Kofun period society), theme of the Dai 24-kai Tōhoku/Kantō Zenpōkōenfun Kenkyūkai Taikai 第24 回東北・関東前方後円墳研究の動向会大会 (24th Meeting, Tōhoku/Kantō Keyhole Tomb Research Society),
held in Nanyō, Yamagata prefecture, 9–10 March 2019.
30
Kashihara Kōkogaku Kenkyūjo 橿 原 考 古 学 研 究の動向 所 (Archaeological Institute of Kashihara), ed.,Kurozuka kofun no kenkyū 黒塚古墳の動向研究の動向 (Research on the Kurozuka tomb) (Yagi Shoten, 2018).
31
榛名山
32
Gunma-ken Maizō Bunkazai Chōsa Jigyōdan 群馬県埋蔵文化から縄文時代文化の潮流財調査事業団 (Gunma ArchaeologicalResearch Foundation), ed., Kanai Higashiura iseki, Kofun jidai hen 金井東 裏遺跡 古 墳時代における行動研究への応用  編 (Kanai
Higashiura site, Kofun period volume) (Shibukawa, Gunma prefecture, 2019).
33
Uetsuki Manabu 植月学, “Tōgoku ni okeru ushiuma no riyō" 東国における行動研究への応用 牛馬の動向利用 (The role of cattle
and horses in eastern Japan), Kikan kōkogaku 季刊考古学 (Archaeology Quarterly), no. 144 (2018): 47–
50.
34
弘仁 [Translator’s note: This earthquake occurred in the seventh month of the year Kōnin 9 (818),with the epicenter inferred to have been in the region of modern Gunma prefecture, and themagnitude estimated at M7.5 or greater.]) (Nihon Kō
35
貞観 [Translator’s note: This earthquake occurred in the fifth month of the year Jōgan 11 (869), withthe epicenter inferred to have been off the Pacific coast of the Tōhoku region, and the magnitude
estimated as at least M8.4.]) (Nihon Kō
36
幡羅官衙 (Saitama prefecture)
37“Asuka jidai no yakusho to chiiki shakai ” 飛鳥時代における行動研究への応用 の動向役所と日本考地域社会 (Government offices and regionalsociety of the Asuka period), symposium held by the city of Fukaya (Fukaya, Saitama prefecture, 10
November 2018).
29

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TRENDS IN JAPANESE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2018

Also, the annual Ancient Government Office/Settlement Research Meeting 38 washeld on the theme of large brewing pots which are recovered from ancient government office and settlement sites, and issues involving the food supply facilities ofcapitals, government offices, and temples, along with large brewing pots, thebrewing of sake in relation to the state and regional rule, and the sites of production
and consumption of large brewing pots and so forth were discussed.
Excavations of ancient temples were conducted in conjunction with the
management of Historic Sites. These include the Shimoterao 39 abandoned temple
site in Kanagawa prefecture, the Teramachi 40 abandoned temple site in Hiroshima
prefecture, the Shimotsuke Yakushiji41 temple site in Tochigi prefecture, and the
Kōzuke Kokubun Niji42 temple site in Gunma prefecture. Also, with regard toAncient period temples and roof tiles, there was research related to temples, roof
tiles, and so forth in ancient Koma district of Musashi province, 43 and in theDazaifu44 regional government office complex.
In research on regions and settlements, there were studies of the transitions anddynamics of sites, piecing together regional views from the local roles, locations,and scenic perspectives of individual sites. Research is also being conducted oninterpreting the movements of immigrant clans and of the Emishi, 45 based on sites
and artifacts.
Regarding production, the topics of iron, charcoal, and horses were taken up,
and there was research on ancient transportation through the collaboration ofarchaeology and historical geography, concerning post roads and regional networkroutes.
In ceramics research, there were many studies focusing mainly on regional
topics and vessel types, and as research on artifacts, there was Yoshida Eiji’s
monograph Bunbōgu ga kataru kodai Higashi Ajia (Ancient East Asia as told bystationery).46 This study looks over the ritsuryō state through the implements ofstationery of Japan and East Asia, beginning with ceramic inkstones.
In research trends of the Medieval period, with regard to urban studies Ōba
Kōji’s monograph on the archaeology of Hakata was published, 47 containing basic
research articles on the Hakata site. It touches on Tōbō and finds of items inscribed“Kanga, shūraku to ōmika” 官 衙 ・ 集 落と大甕  と日本考 大 甕 (Government offices, settlements, and large brewingpots), Dai 22-kai Kodai Kanga/Shūraku Kenkyū Shūkai 第 22 回古代における行動研究への応用 官衙・集落と大甕 研究の動向集会 (22nd Ancient
Government Office/Settlement Research Meeting), held by the Nara National Research Institute forCultural Properties (Nara prefecture, 7–8 December 2018).
39
下寺尾
40
寺町
41
下野薬師寺
42
上野国分尼寺
43
武蔵国高麗郡 (Saitama prefecture)44
大宰府 (Fukuoka prefecture)45
蝦夷46
Yoshida Eiji 吉田しょう恵二, Bunbōgu ga kataru kodai Higashi Ajia 文房具が語る古代東アジア が語る青谷の弥生人 語る青谷の弥生人 る行動研究への応用 古代における行動研究への応用 東アジア (Ancient East
Asia as told by stationery) (Douseisha, 2018).
47
Ōba Kōji 大庭康時, Hakata no kōkogaku: Chūsei no bōeki toshi o horu 博多の考古学の動向考古学: 中世の貿易都市をの動向貿易都市を迎えた日本考古学と日本考
掘る る行動研究への応用  (The archaeology of Hakata: Excavating a Medieval trade city) (Koshi Shoin, 2019).
38

O VERVIEW–9–in ink with the character 綱,48 and on trade ships, ports, and so forth. Oka Yōichirō’smonograph on major roads in the Kamakura period was published. 49 It takes up the
topic of ancient Medieval roads, centering on the Kamakura period, over which it issaid that culture, goods, human traffic, and even yōkai (phantoms, goblins) cameand went.
There was considerable research related to glazed stoneware and porcelain. With
regard to Yuan blue and white ware, it was pointed out that importation most likely
began from the middle portion of the fifteenth century, later than the time of its
production. Also, it was noted that term 陶瓷 (Ch., taoci) often used for such special
ceramics should not be confounded with the Japanese term for prestige goods ( 威信
財 ishinzai). Celadon meiping vases did have a great impact on the production ofglazed ceramics in Japan, but rather than as tea ceremony utensils or interior
decorative items, they are held to have been used as vessels for serving sake, alongwith sets of sake cups and decanters.
Regarding Medieval graves, a Medieval Funerary and Burial Customs Research
Meeting50 was held to synthesize work on the cessation of Medieval burial customs.
Through holding such meetings and producing compilations of data on Medieval
graves thus far, research has been deepened on topics such as the start and finish
of Medieval burials, cremations, interment, burial mounds and shrines, and stonemonuments. Also, for Medieval graves in Shizuoka prefecture, data for Medieval
graves, Medieval and Early Modern daimyo graves, and major stone monuments of
the Medieval period were published, 51 listing the sites plus giving maps of locations
and scale drawings, clarifying the characteristics of Medieval graves for the
prefecture.
The Medieval Studies Society’s second symposium was held on the Medieval
period of the Ryūkyūs.52 This was conducted with the aim of inquiring into the facts
pertaining to “the state” in the Medieval era while confirming the multi-nucleated
and dispersed conditions of Ryūkyū society. Topics concerning the Ryūkyūs such as
the Ryūkyū Kingdom and East Asia, and the history of the Ryūkyūs seen from its
mortuary system were debated, with a high level of interest discernible.
As taken up in the section on trends in interdisciplinary research, a topographic
survey of the environs of the Iwabitsu castle site was conducted using an airborne[Translator’s note: Tōbō 唐 房 was a quarter in the port city of Hakata where many Chinesemerchants took up residence from the latter part of the eleventh century, participating in the trade
between Song dynasty China and Japan. They were known in Japan as Kōshu 綱首 or Kōshi 綱司, andfinds of ink-inscribed pottery with the character 綱 (kō) are associated with their activity.]) (Nihon Kō
49
Oka Yōichirō 岡陽一郎, Daidō Kamakura jidai no kansen dōro 大道 鎌倉時代における行動研究への応用 の動向幹線道路 (Daidō, majorroads of the Kamakura period) (Yoshikawa Kōbunkan, 2019).
50
Chūsei Sōsō Bosei Kenkyūkai 中世の貿易都市を葬送墓制研究の動向会
51
Shizuoka-ken Kyōiku Iinkai 静 岡 県 教 育 委 員 会 (Shizuoka Prefecture Board of Education), ed.,Shizuoka-ken no Chū/Kinsei bo 静岡県の動向中近世の貿易都市を墓 (Medieval/Early Modern period graves of Shizuoka
prefecture) (Shizuoka Prefecture, 2019).
52“Ryūkyū no Chūsei” 琉球の中世 の動向中世の貿易都市を (The Medieval period of the Ryūkyūs), Chūseigaku Kenkyūkai Dai 2kai Shinpojiumu 中世の貿易都市を学研究の動向会第２回シンポジウム (2nd Symposium, Medieval Studies Society) (Tōkyō
Daigaku, 30 June–1 July 2018).
48

– 10 –TRENDS IN JAPANESE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2018

lidar survey system,53 and along with the scenery, location, rivers and roads
surrounding the castle, its enclosures and the cross-sectional form of its moats wereascertained.
In research trends for Early Modern archaeology, as a half century has passed
since Nakagawa Shigeo and Katō Shinpei raised a proposal in 1969 for Early
Modern archaeology,54 a commemorative research meeting on the theme of Early
Modern sake and banquets was held jointly by the Edo Archaeological Site
Research Society, Kansai Early Modern Archaeological Research Society, and Early
Modern Ceramics Research Society.55
In research on castles, the foundation of the main keep of Sunpu 56 castle in
Shizuoka prefecture was investigated, and from strata beneath the foundation built
by Tokugawa Ieyasu,57 a foundation of the main keep of Nakamura Kazuji 58 of the
Toyotomi59 era was excavated.
Regarding castle towns, at the daimyo residence in Edo (Toyamasō 60) of the
Owari domain’s Tokugawa family,61 the scenery of the garden was discussed as
analysis was made of the large pond and garden path. For daimyo gardens, there
was research by Hara Yūichi on the Ikutokuen garden at the main mansion in Edoof the Kaga domain.62 For townhouses, there was research taking up the townhouse
residences of Osaka and elsewhere.
For sites related to production, Sasaki Kensaku’s Sengoku, Edo jidai o sasaeta
ishi (Stones that supported the Edo and Sengoku periods) was published. 63
Summarizing the Medieval and Early Modern procedures at Odawara of quarrying,processing, and supplying stone material, for the Early Modern period, theYoshikawa Yuriko 吉川由里子, Yoshida Tomoya 吉田しょう智哉, and Oshino Hirohito 押野博仁, “Kōkū rēzasokuryō shisutemu o mochiita Iwabitsu jōseki shūhen chikei no keisoku shuhō no kentō” 航空レーザ測レーザ測測量システムを用いた岩櫃城周辺地形の計測手法の検討  シ ス テ ム を迎えた日本考古学と日本考 用 い た日本考古学と日本考 岩 櫃 城 周 辺 地 形 の動向 計 測 手 法の検討  の動向 検 討 (Investigation of terrain measurement aroundIwabitsu castle site with LiDAR system), presented at the Dai 35-kai Nihon Bunkazai Kagakukai Taikai(Nara Joshi Daigaku, 8 July 2018).
54
Nakagawa Shigeo 中川茂夫, Katō Shinpei 加藤晋平, “Kinsei kōkogaku no teishō” 近世の貿易都市を考古学の動向提唱(Proposal for Early Modern archaeology), presented at the Nihon Kōkogaku Kyōkai Dai 35-kai Sōkai 日
本考古学協会第 35 回総会 (JAA 35th General Meeting) (Tokyo, 1969).
55“Kinsei no sake to utage” 近世の貿易都市をの動向酒と宴 と日本考宴 (Early Modern sake and banquets), commemorative researchmeeting on the 50th anniversary of the “Proposal for Early Modern archaeology,” jointly held by (theEdo Iseki Kenkyūkai 江 戸 遺 跡 研 究の動向 会 (Edo Archaeological Site Research Society), Kansai Kinsei
Kōkogaku Kenkyūkai 関西近世の貿易都市を考古学研究の動向会 (Kansai Early Modern Archaeological Research Society),
and Kinsei Tōji Kenkyūkai 近世の貿易都市を陶磁研究の動向会 (Early Modern Ceramics Research Society) (Ōsaka Rekishi
Hakubutsukan, Osaka, 9–11 February 2019).
56
駿府
57
徳川家康
58
中村一氏
59
豊臣
60
戸山荘
61
尾張藩徳川家62
Hara Yūichi 原祐一, “Kagahan Hongōtei Ikutokuen no kenkyū 1” 加賀藩本郷邸育徳園の研究の動向研究の動向 1 (Research
on Ikutokuen at the Kaga Domain's Hongō mansion 1), poster presented at the Dai 84-kai Kōkogaku
Kyōkai 2018 Nendo Sōkai (Meiji Daigaku, 27 May 2018).
63
Sasaki Kensaku 佐々木健策, Sengoku, Edo jidai o sasaeta ishi: Odawara no ishikiri to seisan iseki 戦
国・江戸時代における行動研究への応用 を迎えた日本考古学と日本考支えた石えた日本考古学と日本考石 : 小田しょう原の動向石切と生産遺跡 と日本考生産と古墳時代社会 遺跡 (Stones that supported the Edo and Sengoku periods:
The stone masons and production sites of Odawara) (Shinsensha, 2019).下寺尾官衙遺跡群 アクセス53

–O VERVIEW– 11

Kanpakuzawa branch of the Hayakawa stone quarry group 64 and work for theconstruction of Edo castle are taken up.
Regarding glazed ceramics, Ōhashi Kōji discussed the position of Hizen ceramics
in Early Modern society.65
For burial customs, regarding the topic of Christian graves which has beengathering attention in recent years, a special exhibition on the 469 years ofChristianity in Japan was jointly held by the museums of Kokugakuin University
and Seinan University.66
For archaeology of the Modern and contemporary periods, at the JAA’s 2018
General Meeting, Kuroo Kazuhisa made a presentation on excavations at the site of
the Zenshōen Sanatorium in Tokyo.67 This will likely open up a new horizon of
investigations into Hansen’s disease–related remains in the archaeology of theModern period.
As stated in the section on trends in interdisciplinary research, Sawafuji Rikai
has conducted DNA analysis68 on dental calculus from human skeletal remains at
the Unkōin69 site in Tokyo, and further advancements in this research are
anticipated for the future.
For overseas archaeology, research trends are taken up regarding the Korean
peninsula, China, Southeast Asia, and Northeast Asia. 70 Here I will touch briefly on
matters that are particularly related to Japanese archaeology.
In trends for the Korean peninsula, much research was seen comparing artifacts
and features of the peninsula and the Japanese archipelago, in order to examine thelines of derivation of artifacts and features in Japan. Japanese researchers carriedout surveys and field investigations in South Korea, while joint projects andsymposia were reportedly conducted by Japanese and Korean researchers.
Meanwhile, for trends in Chinese research, in recent years the influence ofWestern archaeology appears to be increasing in the academic realm of Chinesearchaeology, and Japan’s archaeological research on China is said to be under
Hayakawa Ishichōba-gun, Kanpakuzawa shigun 早川石丁場群関白沢支えた石群 (Kanagawa prefecture)Ōhashi Kōji 大橋康二, Hizen tōji kara mita Kinsei shakai 肥前陶磁から縄文時代文化の潮流みた日本考古学と日本考近世の貿易都市を社会 (The early modern
society from the viewpoints of Hizen ceramics), Kōkogaku jānaru 考古学ジャーナル, no. 715 (2018): 5–8.
66
“Kirishitan: Nihon to Kirisutokyō no 469 nen” キリシタン: 日本と日本考キリスト教の教 の動向 469 年 (KIRISHITAN:
Christians in hiding), special exhibit (Kokugakuin Daigaku Hakubutsukan 國 學 院 大 學 博 物 館[Kokugakuin University Museum]) (Nihon Kō, Tokyo, 15 September–28 October 2018; Seinan Gakuin Daigaku
Hakubutsukan 西 南あわじ市松帆銅鐸の放射性炭素年代測定調査成果について  学 院 大 学 博 物 館 [Seinan Gakuin University Museum]) (Nihon Kō, Fukuoka, 2 November–13
December 2018).
67
Kuroo Kazuhisa 黒 尾 和 久 , “Kakuri no kioku o horu: Zenshō Byōin no hori, dorui, tsukiyama nokōkogakuteki chōsa” 隔離の記憶を掘るの動向記憶を掘るを迎えた日本考古学と日本考掘る る行動研究への応用 : 全生病院の動向堀・土イネの歴史的変遷塁、築山の動向考古学的調査 (Digging the memories ofsegregation: Archaeological investigation of the moats, ramparts, and artificial hill of Zenshō Hospital),presented at the Nihon Kōkogaku Kyōkai 2018 Nendo Sōkai (Meiji Daigaku, 27 May 2018).
68
Sawafuji Rikai 澤藤りかい, “Shiseki no seibutsugaku kōkogaku: DNA to puroteomikusu o chūshin ni”
歯石の動向生物考古学: DNA と日本考プロテオミクスを迎えた日本考古学と日本考中心に に (The bioarchaeology of dental calculus: DNA, proteomics and starch analysis), Kikan kōkogaku, no. 143 (2018): 80–83.
69
雲光院
70
[Translator’s note: The reference is to the sections appearing on pp. 37–53 of Nihon kōkogaku
nenpō, reporting on research trends for these four regions for the 2018 fiscal year.]) (Nihon Kō
64
65

– 12 –TRENDS IN JAPANESE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2018

demands to broadcast its achievements more vigorously than before both
domestically and abroad.
In trends for Southeast Asian research, while some excavations are being
conducted for prehistoric periods, on the whole there appears to be more research
centered on ceramics of the Medieval to Early Modern periods, or discussing
relations with Okinawa. This is probably linked with the research trends for theMedieval and Early Modern periods of Japan.
With regards to research trends for Northeast Asia, in relation to the Japanesearchipelago there was research on the appearance of modern man in northern Asiaand the stone tool assemblages of the initial phase of the Upper Paleolithic period,on the appearance of stone tools in Northeast Asia, on the prehistoric period
starting with studies of the earliest agriculture, on the culture of Hiraizumi andcastles of the Medieval Tōhoku region, on the circum-Okhotsk Sea region, and on
relations with peoples of northern regions.
In this manner, trends in research in the peripheral regions around the Japanesearchipelago appear to be deeply connected with the directions of Japanesearchaeology of recent years, which has been pursuing connections with thesurrounding regions and the diversity of the archipelago.
Through the above, with regards to the overall directions of Japanesearchaeological research for the 2018 fiscal year, I have discussed in outline thetrends for each period in turn. As touched upon for the research trends of the
Paleolithic, Jōmon, and Yayoi periods, with the nature of the various cultures thatdeveloped within the Japanese archipelago becoming clear, we appear to bearriving at a time for reexamining the very concept of culture itself.
Regarding the diversity of the archipelago’s culture, it goes without saying that
there are a variety of aspects such as the three cultures of the north, center, andsouth following Fujimoto Tsuyoshi,71 or “eastern Japan and western Japan,” or ineven more finely drawn regional subdivisions. Both Hokkaido, as the “culture of thenorth,” and Amami/Okinawa, as the “culture of the south,” possess their own
unique realms surpassing the notion of particular regional cultures of thearchipelago.
As seen in the research trends of the areas surrounding the Japanesearchipelago, we can discern a movement for thinking about the archipelago’sculture in the context of Asia, which is related to clarification of Japan’s internal
cultural diversity. Along with this, there is movement to consider the archipelago’s
position in global context, and to consider it from the viewpoint of comparativearchaeology.
In research trends for each era, interest in the points of transition seems to be on
the increase, or to state this differently, it appears that the concept of era has cometo be questioned anew.
Fujimoto Tsuyoshi 藤本強, Nihon rettō no mitsu no bunka: Kita no bunka, naka no bunka, minami no
bunka 日本列島の動向三つの動向文化から縄文時代文化の潮流 : 北の動向文化から縄文時代文化の潮流・中の動向文化から縄文時代文化の潮流・南あわじ市松帆銅鐸の放射性炭素年代測定調査成果について の動向文化から縄文時代文化の潮流 (The three cultures of the Japanese archipelago: Cultures of the north, center, and south) (Douseisha, 2009).
71

–

O VERVIEW– 13

Archaeology in Japan has thus far pursued a consistent path of taking a view of
the archipelago as a whole, based upon steady investigations and research
conducted in every region. How to relate the results of archaeological investigations
and research in each region with the archaeology of the archipelago as a whole, andthen how to situate that view in a global context, are vital problems that must be
explored in the future.
Also, Japanese archaeology is in the midst of broad currents of diversification inits methodology and the temporal and spatial expansion of its subject matter. In
addition to the conventional analytic methods of archaeology, those of the naturalsciences are being actively introduced, leading to epoch-making advances in
research beginning with chronological measurements, ancient environmental andclimatic reconstructions, and dietary analyses.
In addition to this expansion of subject matter brought by the diversification inmethodology, investigations and research have come to be conducted on topics
which conventional archaeology rarely handled, such as Modern period andcontemporary sites. How research and education will respond with regards to such
trends in Japanese archaeology are important issues for the future.