Overview: Japanese Archaeological Research Trends 20161
Tanigawa Akio2

At the start of the twenty-first century our nation faced a period of great change, inthe midst of economic globalism, and with both social disparity and the transition toan aging society with a low birthrate becoming more evident. Trends inarchaeological research are not unrelated to such social conditions. The drastic
decline in population of researchers supporting regional studies, severe personnel
shortages at regional public organizations, and problems of training successors andthe educational environment for archaeology at universities, all appear to have suchsocial conditions as the background.
Herein I would like to look back over the overall trends in Japanesearchaeological research for the 2016 fiscal year. 3 What follows will outline in order
the research trends for each period.
For Paleolithic period research regarding human origins and dispersals, inrecent years collaborative research with various Quarternary sciences going beyond
the frameworks of individual national histories, from perspectives such as
geographic diversity, variation, and adaption, has become active. For the 8th
Meeting of the Asian Paleolithic Association, hosted in Japan for the second time, a
symposium was held on “Variability, similarities, and the definition of the Initial
Upper Paleolithic across Eurasia.”
With these developments, along with research on human dispersals and theformation of tool kits of the Lower, Middle, and Upper Paleolithic periods in Japanand surrounding regions, work was seen related to the span from the end of theUpper Paleolithic to the Incipient Jōmon periods. For the latter, there was muchresearch focused on regional examples related to human adaptations to the climaticchanges of the period. In this manner, for Paleolithic research, collaborative work
[Trends in Japanese Archaeological Research, 2016 , is a partial translation of “Nihon kōkogaku
kenkyū no dōkō” 日本考古学研究の動向, in Nihon kōkogaku nenpō 69 (2016 nendoban) 日本考古学年報
69（2016 年度版) (Archaeologia Japonica 69 [2016 Fiscal Year Issue]) (Nihon Kōkogaku Kyōkai, 2018),
pp. 1-66. 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 2019. 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.]2
谷川章雄
3
The fiscal year begins on April 1 of each calendar year.
1

Trends in Japanese Archaeological Research, 2016
© 2019 The Japanese Archaeological Association
published online: April 2019

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TRENDS IN JAPANESE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2016

on the natural environment and human adaptation linking archaeological andnatural scientific methodologies is progressing.
As research in traceology (use-wear analysis) of stone tools, Midōshima Tadashi 4
has experimentally examined acid-induced surface change on obsidian stone tools,
to study its effects on use-wear traces. The results are worth taking into
consideration for the Japanese archipelago, in which acidic soils predominate. Also,in research on the sources of materials for stone tools, focusing on obsidian,petrological studies and geochemical analyses of source areas in various regions,and distribution surveys of sites in the regions bordering those source areas werecarried out. Stone tool material research requires cooperative work of archaeology
and the geological sciences, and in recent years is close to being established as one
interdisciplinary theme linking archaeological and natural scientific methodologies.
In trends of Jōmon period research, studies were seen with the tendency ofrecent years to focus on the relationship between society and the environment.
Reconstructions of livelihood through analyses of animal remains and so forth wereconducted, and links with carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of human bone,etc., draw attention. Also, for faunal remains there were many reports on replica
studies of seed impressions. Numerous data on seed impressions have been
accumulated, making it possible to debate issues across a wide range of time for allof Japan. Lipid analysis, the analysis of starch grains, and so forth, of residualorganic materials adhering to pottery are also being conducted.
In considering the utilization of nuts in the Japanese prehistoric era, Hosoya Aoi 5
has called for vigorous examinations of ethnographic examples among North
American native peoples, and analyzed ethnographic accounts recorded at the startof the twentieth century for Northern Californian indigenous groups. In the future
this type of ethnoarchaeological perspective will likely prove effective. In research
on ancient human skeletal remains, based on the morphology and physical andchemical analyses of human skeletons of the Final Jōmon, Saeki Fumiko and others
have made a reconstruction of the daily living environment. 6 As research on stone
tools, Hashimoto Katsuo discussed the appearance and lines of derivation of stone
arrowheads in the Kantō and Chūbu regions, 7 and the importance can be seen of
御堂島正
Hosoya Aoi 細 谷 葵 , “Senshi jidai no kenkarui kakō saikō: Sekaiteki na hikaku kenkyū o tomonau
minzoku kōkogaku o mezashite” 先史時代の堅果類加工再考: 世界的な比較研究をともなう民族考古学をめざして (Rethinking prehistoric wild nuts processing: Towards global comparative ethnoarchaeology), Kodai
古代 (Journal of the Archaeological Society of Waseda University) , no. 138 (2016): 1–38.
6
Saeki Fumiko 佐伯史子, Adachi Noboru 安達登, Yoneda Minoru 米田穣, et al., “Ōfunato-shi Nonomae
kaizuka Jōmon jidai jinkotsu no keitai jinruigakuteki oyobi rikagakuteki bunseki” 大船渡市野々前貝塚縄文時代人骨の形態人類学的お よ び 理化学的分析 (Analyzing the Final Jomon human remains from theNonomae shellmound, Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture), Anthropological Science (Japanese Series) 124(2016): 1–17.
7
Hashimoto Katsuo 橋本 勝雄 , “Kantō, Chūbu ni okeru sekizoku no shutsugen to sono keifu: Jōmon
sōsōki kara Jōmon sōki zenhan made” 関東・中部における石鏃の出現とその系譜: 縄文草創期から縄文早期前半まで (The appearance and lines of derivation of stone arrowheads in the Kantō and Chūbu regions:
From the Incipient Jōmon to the first half of the Initial Jōmon periods), Ibaraki-ken Kōkogaku
Kyōkaishi 茨城県考古学協会誌 (Bulletin of the Ibaraki Prefecture Archaeological Society), no. 28 (2016):
4
5

O VERVIEW–3–basic research utilizing data recovered from extensive regions.
In research related to Jōmon society, much discussion was seen of social
stratification based on analyses of settlement structure and burial customs. Also, themonograph edited by Kobayashi Ken’ichi and colleagues, Jōmon shakai o shūraku
kara yomitoku (Deciphering Jōmon society from settlements), 8 was published,bringing together the results of Jōmon settlement research. It includes
interpretations of dogū 9 with regard to ritual and ceremonial practices, and while
there will be opposing views on such matters, it is claimed that debate should beengaged concerning the methodology of archaeology itself, as well as approaches
followed when invoking the results of fields such as cultural anthropology or
iconography.
In research on the Yayoi period, from the perspective of the AMS longchronology Fujio Shin’ichirō defined Yayoi culture in the previous year as one“with paddy rice cultivation placed within the whole of daily life” 10 and took its
sphere as extending west from Niigata–Chiba prefectures; in response to this,movements to reexamine previous frameworks are accelerating. From the viewpointthat the fundamental characteristics of Yayoi culture for each region should begiven equal valuation in historical studies, Ishikawa Hideshi calls for interpretingthe cultural content of each region with both diachronic historic and pan-East-Asian
perspectives as essential conditions. 11 In conjunction with such debate, discussion
regarding the beginnings of Yayoi culture is showing brisk activity.
Results of natural scientific analyses, such as replica studies of seed impressions,reconstructions of livelihood based on carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses ofhuman bone, and reconstructions of the genetic diversity of rice through DNA
analysis, will likely promote tremendous developments in future research. Also, with
progress in investigations and research in China and on the Korean peninsula, it
can be said that conditions have become possible for evaluating the position of
Yayoi culture within the East Asian context.
In excavations, at the Bunkyō 12 site in Ehime prefecture the oldest field remains
in the country, from the end of the Final Jōmon to the start of the Early Yayoi
periods, have been found. Also, at the Sugu Okamoto 13 site in Fukuoka prefecture, abronze dagger and bronze pommel decoration were among the items recovered
1–40.
8
Kobayashi Ken’ichi 小林謙一, Kuroo Kazuhisa 黒尾和久, Nakyama Shinji 中山真治, and Yamamoto
Noriyuki 山本典幸, eds., Jōmon shakai o shūraku kara yomitoku 縄文社会を集落から読み解く (Deciphering Jōmon society from settlements), vol. 1 of Kōkogaku no chihei 考 古 学 の 地 平 (Archaeologicalhorizons) (Rokuichi Shobō, 2016).
9
土偶 (clay figurines)
10
Fujio Shin’ichirō 藤尾 慎一 郎 , Yayoi jidai no rekishi 弥生 時代 の歴 史 (History of the Yayoi Period)(Kodansha, 2015), p. 233.
11
Ishikawa Hideshi 石川日出志, “Rekishigaku ni okeru Yayoi bunkaron no ichi” 歴史学における弥生文化論の位置 (The position of the Yayoi culture debate in historical studies), Kikan kōkogaku 季刊考古学(Archaeology Quarterly) no. 138 (2017): 67–70.
12
文京
13
須玖岡本

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TRENDS IN JAPANESE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2016

from a jar burial of the first half of the Middle Yayoi period, made in the largest classof burial pit in the nation.
In trends of Kofun period research, the research direction was seen of assessing
the position of Japan’s Kofun period within the history of East Asia including China
and the Korean peninsula. Ichinose Kazuo’s Mozu, Furuichi kofungun (Mozu,
Furuichi tomb groups)14 evaluates the place of these colossal tomb groups, which
Japan aims to have inscribed on the World Heritage List, within the larger East
Asian world. With regard to foreign connections in the Kofun period the Japanese–
Korean relationship is central, for which bilateral comparisons and considerationsof historical background are increasingly regarded as important.
The monograph Kinai no shuchōfun (Chiefly tombs of the Kinai region), 15 editedby the archaeological program of Ritsumeikan University, makes a review of basic
data centering on the Kinai region. It is called a self-generated attempt at revisiting
the issue of the “necessity of the center” in the process of state formation. In
settlement research, relations with tombs has become an important theme. Also,
research is being conducted that reconstructs the ancient topography and analyzes
trends in agricultural reclamation and settlements based on the methodology of“geoarchaeology,” cooperative work between the earth sciences and archaeology.
For Haji 16 ware used in cooking, observations on soot and charred adhesions andresearch on functional aspects through ethnographic and experimental approaches
are drawing attention.
Research based on animal remains has been conducted that clarifies horse
breeding in the period of state formation, and through carbon and nitrogen isotope
analysis of the enamel of horse teeth recovered from sites of the Kofun throughMedieval periods, fodder content has been reconstructed while referencing
documentary materials, and the nature of agricultural practices was debated. Also,
three-dimensional modeling of artifacts and features using digital technology has
become an enormous trend. Aerial laser surveys of imperial tombs, and research on
the construction plans of keyhole-shaped tombs using digital measurement
technology and ground-penetrating radar, are making great advances.
In Ancient period research, investigations at ancient capitals which drewattention included flagpole features in the State Halls Compound of the Fujiwara
palace;17 the Gokenmon18 sector west of the State Halls Compound of the Latter
Naniwa palace;19 the eastern, western, and southern gutters of intra-ward streets in
Ichinose Kazuo 一瀬和夫, Mozu, Furuichi kofungun: Higashi Ajia no naka no kyodai kofungun 百舌
鳥・古市古墳群: 東アジアのなかの巨大古墳群 (Mozu, Furuichi tomb groups: Colossal tomb groups in thecontext of East Asia) (Doseisha, 2016).
15
Ritsumeikan Daigaku Bungakubu Kōkogaku/Bunkaisan Senkō 立命館大学文学部考古学・文化遺産専攻(Archaeology/Cultural Heritage Major, College of Letters, Ritsumeikan University), ed., Kinai noshuchōfun 畿内の首長墳 (Chiefly tombs of the Kinai region) (Kyoto: Ritsumeikan Daigaku, 2017).
16
土師
17
藤原宮 (Nara prefecture)
18
五間門
19
後期難波宮 (Osaka prefecture)
14

O VERVIEW–5–West Second Ward on Sixth Street of the Nagaoka capital; 20 the eastern gutter ofKōkamon21 avenue of the Heian capital 22 and an accompanying tamped-earth wallthat collapsed from an earthquake in the mid-ninth century or after.
As investigations of regional government offices, the following can be
mentioned: the Tagajō23 site, the intersection of the ancient San’yōdō24 highway andthe road leading to the Bingo provincial headquarters 25 site, the Hyūga provincial
headquarters26 site, the Izumo provincial headquarters 27 site, the Sanuki provincial
headquarters,28 the Kōzuke provincial headquarters 29 site, the Oyashikizoe30 sitewhich is regarded as the headquarters of Aikō 31 district in Sagami 32 province, theheadquarters of Tachibana33 district in Musashi 34 province, the headquarters of
Kōza35 district in Sagami province, the government storehouse sites of Sai 36 andTago37 districts in Kōzuke province, and the site of the headquarters of Niita 38
district in Mutsu39 province. In addition, the Tsuji 40 and Kinryūji Higashi 41 sectors of
the Bingo provincial headquarters site received a national Historic Site designation.
Investigations of temples include those at Tōdaiji, 42 the Higashi Yuge43(Yugedera44 temple) site in Osaka prefecture, and the Mirokuji 45 temple site of the
Mirokuji Government Offices Sites, a nationally designated Historic Site in Gifu
prefecture. At the Aoya Yokogi 46 site in Tottori prefecture, a wooden board drawn
with an image of a group of court ladies of the seventh–eighth centuries was
confirmed. Roof tiles recovered from the Ainoshima47 underwater site in Shingū,48
Fukuoka prefecture, were assessed as shipwrecked cargo bound from Kyushu for
長岡京 (Kyoto prefecture)
皇嘉門22
平安京 (Kyoto prefecture)23
多賀城 (Miyagi prefecture)
24
山陽道
25
備後国府 (Hiroshima prefecture)26
日向国府 (Miyazaki prefecture)27
出雲国府 (Shimane prefecture)28讃岐国府 (Kagawa prefecture)29
上野国府 (Gunma prefecture)
30
御屋敷添 (Kanagawa prefecture)
31
愛甲
32
相模
33
橘樹 (Kanagawa prefecture)34
武蔵
35
高座 (Kanagawa prefecture)36
佐位 (Gunma prefecture)37
多胡 (Gunma prefecture)38
新田 (Miyagi prefecture)39
常陸40
ツジ (Hiroshima prefecture)
41
金龍寺東
42
東大寺 (Nara prefecture)
43
東弓削
44
由義寺
45
弥勒寺
46
青谷横木
47
相島
48
新宮
20
21

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TRENDS IN JAPANESE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2016

the Heian capital.
Symposia were actively held in various locations concerning regional
government offices, settlements, production sites, and artifacts. The recorded
proceedings of a symposium regarding Akita castle were published as Hoppō sekai
to Akitajō (The northern realm and Akita castle), 49 and it is said that the singularnature of Japan’s northernmost fortification and its importance in the history of thenorthern region in the Ancient period have been clarified.
In trends for the Medieval period, for urban research, the Medieval Urban
Research Society held its annual meeting on the theme of “Considering the‘religious city’ of Nara”50 at the Nara National Museum, where a special exhibit on“Commemorating the 800th birthday of Ninshō” 51 was underway. For research on
jōkan 52 (fortified residences), in a symposium on “Reconsidering the end of the
Sengoku period in the Kantō region” held at the Saitama Prefectural Ranzan
Historical Museum,53 the jōkan within the domain ruled by the Odawara Hōjō 54 clan
were taken up. Also, the annual meeting of the Shokuhō Period Castle ResearchSociety was held on the theme of “Pillar base stone buildings atop stone walls of
Shokuhō-type castles,”55 and there was also a seminar of castle researchers on “Areconsideration of serial dry moat formations.” 56
In research on stone monuments, with the theme of monuments from theMedieval to the Early Modern periods, Medieval Funerary and Burial Customs
Research Meetings were held on the topics of itabi (stone stupas in the shape ofstele)57 and isseki gorintō (Five Elements stone stupas made from single stones). 58
Oguchi Masashi 小 口雅 史, ed., Hoppō sekai to Akitajō 北方 世界と秋田城 (The northern realm andAkita castle) (Rokuichi Shobō, 2016).
50“‘Shūkyō toshi’ Nara o kangaeru”「宗教都市」奈良を考える (Considering the “religious city” of Nara),
2016 Nen Chūsei Toshi Kenkyūkai 2016 年中世都市研究会 (2016 Medieval Urban Research Meeting)(Nara, 3–4 September 2016).
51“Tanjō 800 nen kinen tokubetsuten Ninshō” 生誕 800 年記念特別展忍性 (Special Exhibit: Commemorating the 800th birthday of Ninshō), special exhibit held at the Nara National Museum (23 July–19
September 2016).
52
城館
53“Kantō no Sengoku makki o saikō suru” 関東の戦国末期を再考する (Reconsidering the end of the
Sengoku period in the Kantō region), symposium held at Ranzan Shiseki no Hakubutsukan 嵐山史跡の博物館 (Saitama Prefectural Ranzan Historical Museum) (29 January 2017).
54
小田原北条
55
“Shokuhōkei jōkaku no ishigakijō soseki tatemono” 織豊系城郭の石垣上礎石建物 (Pillar base stonebuildings atop stone walls of Shokuhō-type castles), 2016 Meeting of the Shokuhōki Jōkaku Kenkyūkai
織豊期城郭研究会 (Shokuhō Period Castle Research Society) (Odawara, 10–11 September 2016)
56“Renzoku karaborigun saikō” 連続空堀群再考 (A reconsideration of serial dry moat formations), Dai
33-kai Zenkoku Jōkaku Kenkyūsha Seminaa 第 33 回 全国城郭研究者セミナー (33rd Seminar of Nationwide Castle Researchers) (Gifu, 6–7 August 2016).
57“Chūseibo no shūen o kangaeru: Kantō ni okeru itabi no shūen o tōshite” 中世墓の終焉を考える: 関東における板碑の終焉を通して (Considering the end of Medieval graves: Through the cessation of itabi in
Kantō), Dai 8-kai Chūsei Sōsō Bosei Kenkyūkai 第 8 回 中世葬送墓制研究会 (8th Medieval Funerary and
Burial Customs Research Meeting) (Tokyo, 23 April 2016).
58“Tōkai to Kinki no sekizōbutsu kara mita Chūseibo no shūen: Isseki gorintō o chūshin to shite” 東海と近畿の石造物から見た中世墓の終焉: 一石五輪塔を中心として (The end of Medieval graves seen from stonemonuments of the Tōkai and Kinki regions: Centering on Five Elements stone stupas made from single
stones), Dai 9-kai Chūsei Sōsō Bosei Kenkyūkai 第 9 回 中世葬送墓制研究会 (9th Medieval Funerary and49

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In research on itabi, an anthology edited by Chijiwa Itaru and Asano Haruki 59 was asignificant accomplishment. For research related to religion, a symposium on Mt.
Fuji religious belief held by the Shizuoka Prefecture Archaeological Society took up
sites related to Mt. Fuji worship from the Ancient through the Early Modern
periods.60
For research on pottery and high-fired ceramics, research meetings were held by
the Japan Society for Medieval Ware on “The current state of trade ceramics
research and pottery research” 61 and by the Japan Society for the Study of Oriental
Trade Ceramics on “Perspectives of ceramics research: Production, circulation,
consumption,”62 and a volume edited by Yaegashi Tadao and Takahashi Kazuki on
Medieval samurai and pottery 63 plus a compilation from the Archaeological Instituteof Kamakura on archaeologically recovered ink-inscribed pottery 64 received
attention. As results of research related to transportation, the Saitama
Archaeological Society held a symposium on the roads to Kamakura as documented
through archaeology.65
In Early Modern research, excavations conducted in conjunction with projects
for preservation and management included those at the Ōsaka castle 66 site, Fushimi
castle67 in Kyoto, Sawayama castle in Hikone, 68 and Hikone castle.69 A session at theJapanese Archaeological Association 2016 Autumn Meeting in Hirosaki was held

Burial Customs Research Meeting) (Hikone, 14–15 January 2017),
59
Chijiwa Itaru 千 々 和 到 and Asano Haruki 浅 野 晴 樹 , eds., Itabi no kōkogaku 板 碑 の 考 古 学 (Thearchaeology of itabi [stone stupas]) (Koshi Shoin, 2016).
60“Fujisan shinkō e no fukugōteki apurōchi” 富士山信仰への複合的アプローチ (A multiplex approach to
Mt. Fuji religious belief), Shizuoka-ken Kōkogakkai 2016 Nendo Shinpojiumu 静岡県考古学会 2016 年
度シンポジウム (Shizuoka Prefecture Archaeological Society 2016 Fiscal Year Symposium) (Fujinomiya,
4 March 2017).
61“Bōeki tōjiki kenkyū no genjō to doki kenkyū” 貿易陶磁器研究の現状と土器研究 (The current state oftrade ceramics research and pottery research), Dai 35-kai Chūsei Doki Kenkyūkai 第 35 回中世土器研究会 (35th Meeting for Research on Medieval Ware), held by the Nihon Chūsei Doki Kenkyūkai 日本中世
土器研究会 (The Japan Society for Medieval Ware) (Doshisha University, 7 January 2017).
62“Tōjiki kenkyū no shiten: Seisan, ryūtsū, shōhi” 陶磁器研究の視点: 生産・流通・消費 (Perspectives ofceramics research: Production, circulation, consumption), Dai 37-kai Nihon Bōeki Tōji Kenkyū Shūkai
第 37 回日本貿易陶磁研究集会 (37th Meeting for Oriental Trade Ceramics Research), held by the Nihon
Bōeki Tōji Kenkyūkai 日本 貿易 陶磁 研究 会 (Japan Society for the Study of Oriental Trade Ceramics)(Rikkyo University, 17–18 September 2016).
63
Yaegashi Tadao 八重樫忠郎 and Takahashi Kazuki 高橋一樹, eds., Chūsei bushi to doki [kawarake] 中
世武士と土器(かわらけ) (Medieval samurai and pottery [kawarake]) (Koshi Shoin, 2016).
64
Kamakura Kōkogaku Kenkyūjo 鎌倉考古学研究所 (Archaeological Institute of Kamakura), ed., Shūsei
Kamakura no bokusho: Chūsei iseki shutsudohin 集成鎌倉の墨書 : 中世遺跡出土品 (Compilation, inkinscribed pottery of Kamakura: Items recovered from Medieval sites) (Kamakura: Archaeological
Institute of Kamakura, 2017).
65“Kamakura Kaidō no fūkei: Hakkutsu de yomigaeru Saitama no Chūsei” 鎌倉街道の風景: 発掘でよみがえる埼玉の中世 (Views of the Kamakura roads: Medieval Saitama brought back to life through excavation), symposium held by the Saitama Kōkogakukai 埼 玉 考 古 学 会 (Saitama Archaeological Society)(Saitama, 27 November 2016).
66
大坂城 (Osaka prefecture)
67
伏見城
68
彦根市佐和山城 (Shiga prefecture)
69
彦根城

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TRENDS IN JAPANESE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2016

on the topic of Early Modern castles in northern Japan. 70 For castle towns, there
was a symposium titled “On the towns of Kai province: Centering on the results of
excavations at Yamura castle.”71 For Edo, the report for the Igakubu Fuzoku Byōin
Nyūintō A Chiten site within the Tokyo University campus grounds was published. 72
This was an investigation of a group of row houses, maintained by the Kaga 73
domain for lower-ranking retainers, which was destroyed by fire in 1682. A special
exhibit titled “Akamon—From Yōhime Shuden to Tokyo University” 74 was held at
the University Museum of Tokyo University. Also, it has become clear that humanbones from the Kirishitan Yashiki 75 site are the remains of Italian missionary
Giovanni Battista Sidotti, and a symposium titled “Father Sidotti and the Kirishitan
culture of Edo”76 was held, and a site report was published.77
Among production sites, with regards to stone quarries there was a symposium
held on those for stone material for the walls of Edo castle, recently designated as aHistoric Site,78 and a special collection on the topic of “Early Modern, Modernstone quarries and the circulation of stone material” was featured in an issue of
Isekigaku kenkyū (Journal of the Japanese Society for Cultural Heritage). 79 In
ceramics research, meetings were held by the Japanese Society of Oriental Ceramic“Kita Nihon ni okeru kinsei jōkaku: Chikujō kara gendai made” 北日本における近世城郭: 築城から現代まで (Early Modern castles in northern Japan: From construction to the present), research presentation
session at the Nihon Kōkogaku Kyōkai 2026 Nendo Shūki Taikai 日本考古学協会 2016 年度秋季大会(Japanese Archaeological Association 2016 Autumn Meeting) (Hirosaki, 15 October, 2016).
71“Kai no kuni no machikata ni tsuite: Yamurajō hakkutsu chōsa seika o chūshin to shite” 甲斐国の近世町方について: 谷村城発掘調査成果を中心として (On the towns of Kai province: Centering on the resultsof excavations at Yamura castle), symposium held by the Yamanashi-ken Maizō Bunkazai Sentā 山梨県
埋 蔵 文 化 財 セ ン タ ー (Yamanashi Prefectural Center for Archaeological Research) (Kōfu, 10 October2016).
72
Tōkyō Daigaku Maizō Bunkazai Chōsashitsu 東京大学 埋蔵 文化 財調査室 (Archaeological Research
Uni，The University of Tokyo) ed., Tōkyō Daigaku Hongō kōnai no iseki Igakubu Fuzoku Byōin Nyūintō
A Chiten 東京大学本郷構内の遺跡医学部附属病院入院棟 A 地点 (Tokyo University Hongō campus site,
University Hospital In-Patient Ward Location A) (Tōkyō Daigaku Maizō Bunkazai Chōsashitsu, 2016).
73
加賀
74“Akamon—Yōhime Shuden kara Tōkyō Daigaku he” 赤門—溶姫御殿から東京大学へ (Akamon—From
Yōhime Shuden to Tokyo University), special exhibit held at Tōkyō Daigaku Sōgō Kenkyū
Hakubutsukan 東京大学総合研究博物館 (The University Museum, The University of Tokyo), 18 March–
28 May 2017.
75
切支丹屋敷 (Tokyo prefecture)
76“Shidotchi shinpu to Edo no Kirishitan bunka” シドッチ神父と江戸のキリシタン文化 (Father Sidotti and
the Kirishitan culture of Edo), symposium held by the Bunkyō-ku Kyōiku Iinkai 文 京 区 教 育 委 員 会(Bunkyō Ward Board of Education) (Bunkyo, Tokyo, 13 November 2016).
77
Teikei Torēdo Kabushiki Kaisha Maizō Bunkazai Jigyōbu テイケイトレード株式会社埋蔵文化財事業部(Teikei Torēdo K. K. Buried Cultural Properties Project Division), ed., Kirishitan Yashiki ato 切支丹屋敷跡 (Kirishitan Yashiki site), 2 vols. (Tokyo: Mitsubishi Jisho Rejidensu, 2016).
78“Shiseki Edojō Ishigaki Ishi Chōbaato no jitsuzō ni semaru: Kuni shitei o kinen shite” 史跡江戸城石垣石丁場跡の実像に迫る: 国指定を記念して (Closing in on the actual image of the Edo Castle Stone Walls
Stone Quarry Remains Historic Site: Commemorating the national designation), symposium held by
the Odawara-shi Bunkazaika 小 田 原 市 文 化 財 課 (Odawara City Cultural Properties Department)(Odawara, 5 November 2016).
79“Kinsei, Kindai no ishikiriba to sekizai ryūtsū” 近世・近代の石切場と石材流通 (Early Modern, Modernstone quarries and the circulation of stone material), collection of six articles in Isekigaku kenkyū(Journal of the Japanese Society for Cultural Heritage), no. 13 (2016): 100–141.
70

O VERVIEW–9–Studies on “The founding and development of Japanese porcelain,” 80 and by the
Okinawa Archaeological Society on “The development of the ceramics industry in16th–17th century Okinawa and its background.” 81 Also, Volumes 3–5 of Chūkinsei
tōjiki no kōkogaku (The archaeology of Medieval and Early Modern ceramics) 82
were published, with many articles related to ceramics of the Early Modern period
included.
As excavations of the Modern period, investigation of the site of the school,
Zensei Gakuen,83 within the National Sanatorium Tama Zenshōen84 in Tokyo drewattention. In recent years, cases of investigations of Modern period sites areaccumulating, and it appears we are approaching the stage of considering theframework of Modern period archaeology.
For the details of trends in research in overseas archaeology I will yield to thedescriptions given for each region,85 but looking at the research trends taken up in
the current volume for the Korean peninsula, China, and Central Europe (Germany,
Austria, Switzerland), it appears that for the Korean peninsula from the Bronze Ageand early Iron Age (Mumun pottery period) into the Proto-Three Kingdoms andThree Kingdoms periods, an accumulation of research can be seen regarding thehistory of relations and foreign exchange with Japan, whereas the situation ofresearch on Chinese archaeology in Japan is undergoing rapid transformation, andresearch trends and frameworks for Central Europe would appear to be of great
relevance for considering the future shape of archaeology in Japan.
Also, this fiscal year the 8th World Archaeological Congress (WAC-8) was held at
Doshisha University in Kyoto, but as so-called “internationalization” does not stopwith merely disseminating information about Japanese archaeology, should we notalso be considering “Japan in the context of the world,” namely directions for
vantage points on comparative archaeology?
In the above manner, with regard to the overall trends of Japanesearchaeological research for the fiscal 2016 year, I have mentioned the outlines ofdevelopments for each period in turn. In recent years Japanese archaeology
appears to be in the midst of large currents for the diversification of its methodology“Nihon jiki no sōshi to hatten: Edo zenki o chūshin ni” 日本磁器の創始と発展: 江戸前期を中心に (Thefounding and development of Japanese porcelain: Centering on the Early Edo period), Dai 44-kai
Taikai, Tōyō Tōji Gakkai 第 44 回 大 会 東 洋 陶 磁 学 会 (44th Meeting, Japanese Society of Oriental
Ceramic Studies) (Arita, Saga prefecture, 29–30 October 2016).
81“16–17 seiki no Okinawa ni okeru yōgyō no tenkai to sono haikei” 16 ～17 世紀の沖縄における窯業の展 開 と そ の 背 景 (The development of the ceramics industry in 16th–17th century Okinawa and its
background), 2016 Nendo Okinawa Kōkogakukai Sōkai 2016 年度 沖縄 考古 学会 総会 (2016 Okinawa
Archaeological Society General Meeting) (Nishihara, Okinawa prefecture, 2 July 2016).
82
Sasaki Tatsuo 佐々木達夫, ed., Chūkinsei tōjiki no kōkogaku 中近世陶磁器の考古学 (The archaeology
of Medieval and Early Modern ceramics), Vols. 3–5, (Yuzankaku, 2016–2017).
83
全生学園
84
Kokuritsu Ryōyōjo Tama Zenshōen 東京都の国立療養所多磨全生園 [a sanatorium for leprosy or exleprosy patients, founded 1909]
85[Translator’s note: The reference is to the sections on overseas research trends for the Korean
peninsula, China, and Central Europe, appearing on pp. 66–87 of Nihon kōkogaku nenpō, the same
volume containing this introductory overview.]80

– 10 –TRENDS IN JAPANESE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2016

and expansion of its subject matter. In addition to the conventional analytic
methods of archaeology those of the natural sciences are being actively introduced,
leading to epoch-making advances beginning with chronological measurements andancient environmental and climatic reconstructions. Also, for archaeologicalinterpretation as well, movements are seen to incorporate the results and cognitive
frameworks of related fields such as cultural anthropology and history. In addition
to the expansion of subject matter in accompaniment with the diversification of
methodology, investigations and research on topics which conventionalarchaeology rarely handled, such as Modern period sites, have come to be
conducted. With regard to this methodological diversification and thematic
expansion, how to respond in terms of research and education are important issues
for the future.
Also, as mentioned at the beginning, our society which envelops archaeology isfacing a period of great change, in the midst of which there are tremendous
problems for Japanese archaeology such as the drastic reductions in numbers of
researchers who support regional studies, critical shortages of personnel in regional
public organizations, and issues facing archaeology in universities regarding the
educational environment and the training of successors.
At the same time, in its long academic history, on top of its steady investigations
and research in every region, Japanese archaeology has tread a consistent path oftaking a view of the archipelago as a whole. The issue of how to relate the results ofarchaeological research in every region with the archaeology of the entirearchipelago, as stated above, will likely link up with the problem of how to train
future practitioners.