Overview: Japanese Archaeological Research Trends 20121
Tanaka Yoshiyuki2

The tremendous three-fold damage from the massive earthquake, gigantic tidal
wave, plus radioactive contamination brought by the Great East Japan Earthquake
continued to cast a severe shadow over Japanese society in 2012. With recovery
projects still not proceeding smoothly, the progress of relief for the disaster region
and victims remained insufficient. In particular there appeared to be no solution
regarding the nuclear power plant explosion and radioactive contamination, and it
was under these circumstances that the Japanese Archaeological Association
conducted its activities in the year 2012.3
The Special Response Committee to the Great East Japan Earthquake 4 (hereafter, the Special Response Committee) continued its work, and a “Resolution
Regarding the Preservation of Cultural Properties Located in the Region of Damage
from the Nuclear Power Plant Accident in Fukushima Prefecture” 5 was adopted atthe 2012 General Meeting of the Association, with the text of the resolution sent tovarious related agencies. A session was also held during the meeting in which
presentations were made regarding the current conditions and issues concerning
damage to cultural properties and prospects for reconstruction in the three affected
prefectures.6 Cultural properties investigations accompanying reconstruction from
[Trends in Japanese Archaeological Research, 2012 , is a partial translation of “Nihon kōkogaku
kenkyū no dōkō” 日本考古学研究の動向, in Nihon kōkogaku nenpō 65 (2012 nendoban) 日本考古学年報
65（2012 年度版) (Archaeologia Japonica 65 [2012 Fiscal Year Issue]) (Nihon Kōkogaku Kyōkai, 2014),
pp. 1-68. This essay appears on pp. 1-3, 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 2014. 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 suppliedby 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
田中良之
3[Translator’s note: The reference here is to the 2012 Fiscal Year, which began 1 April 2012.]
4
Higashi Nihon Daishinsai Taisaku Tokubetsu Iinkai 東日本大震災対策特別委員会
5“Fukushima-ken no genpatsu jiko higai kuiki ni shozai suru bunkazai no hozen ni kansuru ketsugi”
福島県の原発事故被害区域に所在する文化財の保全に関する決議 . The text of this resolution is available inJapanese on the Association’s website (http://archaeology.jp/maibun/nikokyo2012-15.htm).
6
Higashi Nihon Daishinsai Taisaku Tokubetsu Iinkai, “Higashi Nihon Daishinsai kara 1 nen: Bunkazaino hisai to fukkō ni mukete” 東日本大震災から１年－文化財の被災と復興に向けて (One Year since theGreat East Japan Earthquake: Damage to Cultural Properties and Prospects for Reconstruction),session held at the Nihon Kōkogaku Kyōkai 2012 Nendo Sōkai 日本考古学協会 2012 年度総会 (Japanese Archaeological Association 2012 General Meeting) (Rissho University, 27 May 2012).
1

Trends in Japanese Archaeological Research, 2012
© 2014 The Japanese Archaeological Association
published online: July 2014

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TRENDS IN JAPANESE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2012

the disaster are to be conducted in earnest from the next fiscal year, but there havebeen some reports of excavations as the cause of obstructing reconstruction
projects such as the building of housing, which is not entirely consistent with thefacts. Those in charge are doing their best to devise plans for reconstruction thatavoid archaeological sites as much as possible, but among how many of the nation’s
citizens is it well known that these efforts are producing appreciable results? Wefeel painfully aware of the need to keep up these activities in steady fashion in the
future.
The Japanese Archaeological Association has six standing committees, theResearch Conditions Investigative Committee, Committee on Policy for the
Preservation of Buried Cultural Properties, Committee to Investigate Social Studies
and History Texts, International Exchange Committee, Editorial Committee, andPublic Relations Committee,7 each of which is conducting its separate activities. I
refer readers to later descriptions for the details of these activities. 8 In addition tothese standing committees there are two special committees currently active, one ofwhich is the above-mentioned Special Response Committee to the earthquake,while the other is the Special Committee Concerned with the Association’s Library. 9
While the establishment of this committee and the attending circumstances aredetailed in last year’s “Overview,”10 in response to the rejection at a special
General Meeting of the proposal to donate the holdings elsewhere, this committee
has been conducting a careful examination of the problem with the participation of
intellectuals from outside the Association. Comprised of members having a varietyof perspectives, the committee has considered every possibility. The outcome isscheduled for proposal at the 2013 General Meeting, and the extremely vexing
problem of the Association’s library may be heading for a resolution.
In the 2012 Fiscal Year as well, in addition to the above there were two
investigative committees established within the Board of Directors. One of these is
the Investigative Committee for Revising the Articles of Incorporation/Rules andRegulations.11 It was set up because in conjunction with revisions made to theGeneral Incorporated Associations and General Incorporated Foundations Law, 12
the Japanese Archaeological Association, which is legally a general incorporated
association, has to revise its Articles of Incorporation. The main area for revision
Respectively: Kenkyū Kankyō Kentō Iinkai 研究環境検討委員会, Maizō Bunkazai Hogo Taisaku Iinkai
埋蔵文化財保護対策委員会, Shakaika/Rekishi Kyōkashotō Kentō Iinkai 社会科・歴史教科書等検討委員会,
Kokusai Kōryū Iinkai 国際交流委員会, Kikanshi Henshū Iinkai 機関誌編集委員会, Kōhō Iinkai 広報委員会
8[Translator’s note: The reference here is to the section titled “Nihon Kōkogaku Kyōkai no kiroku” 日
本考 古学 協会 の記 録 (Chronicle of the Japanese Archaeological Association) found on pp. 90-115 of
Nihon kōkogaku nenpō, the same annual volume as this introductory overview, which includes reportson the activities of various committees in the preceding fiscal year.]
9
Kyōkai Tosho ni Kakawaru Tokubetsu Iinkai 協会図書に係わる特別委員会
10
The English translation is available on the Association’s website (http://archaeology.jp/publication/
trends/Overview-2011.pdf).
11
Teikan/Kisoku Minaoshi Kentō Iinkai 定款・規則見直し検討委員会
12
Ippan Shadan Hōjin oyobi Ippan Zaidan Hōjin ni kansuru Hōritsu 一般社団法人及び一般財団法人に関する法律7

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concerns the processing of accounts, and while the changes could have beenhandled mechanically and in limited fashion, because the current Articles ofIncorporation are a continuation from the time when the Association was a limited
liability intermediary corporation13 and some of the clauses are unduly complicated,
it was decided to use this revision as an opportunity to reexamine the Articles ofIncorporation in their entirety and put them in order, along with the Rules andRegulations which have grown as one addition piled on top of the next. Examinationof the clauses of the Articles was conducted in 2012, and the considerations willcontinue in turn with consultation likely sought at the 2014 General Meeting.
The second was the Investigative Committee Concerning an Electronic English
Journal. The Board of Directors had been considering the publication of an English
language journal since 2009. This is because the importance of transmitting theresults of archaeological research in Japan to the rest of the world goes without
saying, and providing a medium through which members and especially the young
generations to come can participate actively in the world at large can be regarded
as the Association’s mission. But due to budgetary and other difficulties it was notpossible to start publication right away, so the matter has been treated cautiously.
However, as the funding category for scientific journals under the Grant-in-Aid for
Publication of Scientific Research Results program will become “Strengthening
International Dissemination of Information” from the coming fiscal year, 14 a greatchange was made to having an English language electronic journal be the only
object for this funding. That was the instigation for setting up the Investigative
Committee Concerning an Electronic English Journal within the Board of Directors,
to examine the issue.
As the Association’s journal Nihon kōkogaku 15 had been produced with funds
received under this program until now,16 this change posed a serious challenge.
Among scholarly associations which like the Association would be seeking tocontinue their funding, it appeared that a number already had plans for converting
their journals to an English electronic basis. But the conclusion reached by theInvestigative Committee was that the Japanese language Nihon kōkogaku should becontinued unchanged because it is a vital medium for the Association, and that a
new English electronic journal should be published with application made for its
funding with a Grant-in-Aid, though publication should proceed even if suchfunding could not be secured. The Board of Directors approved this policy, and thetitle of Japanese Journal of Archaeology was chosen. This is to be an open access,
Yūgen sekinin chūkan hōjin 有限責任中間法人[Translator’s note: From the 2013 Fiscal Year, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science(Nihon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai 日本学術振興会) which administers Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research(Kagaku kenkyūhi josei jigyō 科学研究費助成事業 ) stopped taking applications under the category of“Scientific Periodicals” (Gakujutsu teiki kankōbutsu 学術定期刊行物 ) and instituted instead the newcategory of “Strengthening International Dissemination of Information” (Kokusai jōhō hasshin kyōka
国 際 情 報 発 信 強 化 )] under its program of Grant-in-Aid for Publication of Scientific Research Results(Kenkyū seika kōkai sokushinhi 研究成果公開促進費).]15
日本考古学 (Journal of the Japanese Archaeological Association)
16[Translator’s note: The funding was under the now discontinued category of Scientific Periodicals.]
13
14

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TRENDS IN JAPANESE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2012

online English journal published by the Association available to archaeologists
throughout the world.17 While this represents an addition to the publications
produced by the Association, as it would create an excessive burden for thecommittee already editing the Japanese language journal, it was decided to form a
new editorial committee for the English journal.
The Japanese Journal of Archaeology will not be specialized in the archaeologyof Japan, but will take archaeology throughout the world as its object. But because it
will be published by the Association and as can be seen from the title, there is no
doubt that Japanese archaeology will account for a certain portion. Accordingly, due
to the publication of this English electronic journal, it will not be introductions or
general outlines, but rather empirical research that will be transmitted, based on a
background of a high degree of investigation and a rich accumulation of reported
cases. In other words, the actual conditions of archaeological research in Japan will
be conveyed in concrete fashion, and we may hope that eventually “Japanesearchaeology” will be acknowledged as an appealing genre by archaeologists
throughout the world. Thereby a true internationalization will be realized forJapanese archaeology, which will thus make its contribution to the archaeology of
the world.
This kind of movement towards internationalization is found not only in Japanbut in various Asian countries in similar fashion, and in China and South Korea inparticular it would appear to be more advanced. The wave of internationalizationpresses upon us whether we like it or not, and we have no choice but to adapt. In
media coverage of the Association’s library problem during 2010, some headlines
and commentaries were seen which made it appear as if the proposed donation was
defeated out of anti-foreign sentiment, but this is definitely not the case, and the
Association has until now maintained an International Exchange Committee while
continuing to transmit information abroad on a regular basis and conductexchanges with archaeological researchers from overseas. The publication of thisEnglish electronic journal can be said to strengthen these ongoing efforts atinternationalization.
It is not always the case, however, that internationalization brings only benefits.
With regard to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, while it is largely reported andcommented on as an integral part of internationalization, there is no guarantee thatits influence will not affect archaeology and cultural properties. Rather, it is a
proposal which has raised concerns in the civil engineering and constructionindustries, so it is rife with possible relations to investigations of buried culturalproperties as well. Due to such a sense of danger, the Association is having the
Research Conditions Investigative Committee take up an examination of the matter.
Important discoveries and research were also seen in the realm of archaeology
in 2012. As trends for every period and region are detailed in subsequent sectionsof this volume,18 I ask the reader to examine these but also note that many1718

http://www.jjarchaeology.jp/[Translator’s note: The reference here is to summaries, by period and region, of research trends

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presentations and reports were given at the Association’s General and Autumn
Meetings. On the first day of the 2012 General Meeting, held at Rissho University,
Sakazume Hideichi, a professor emeritus of that institution, gave an open lecture onarchaeological investigations in the homeland of the historical Buddha, 19 after
which there were research presentations at six different lecture halls plus a poster
session, all of which were well attended. In addition to individual oral presentations,
there were seven sessions on the following topics: the latest in research on
Buddhist steles, archaeological site data repositories, mortuary systems around theChinese maritime region in the age of metal, site research based on collaboration
between archaeology and anthropology, the osteoarchaeology of children, damage
to cultural properties and steps toward reconstruction one year after the Great East
Japan Earthquake, and the geographic distribution of human activity in relation to
obsidian from the Chūbu highlands.20 The poster session was also a great success.
The Autumn Meeting was held at Seinan Gakuin University in the city of
Fukuoka. The first day saw open lectures by Kim Moo Joong of the Jungbu Institutefor Archaeology in South Korea on the production and circulation of iron
implements in the Proto-Three Kingdoms period of the Korean peninsula, and byProfessor Takakura Hiroaki of Seinan Gakuin University on paper fumi-e,21 after
which there was much activity including, in addition to a poster session, fourcontained in Nihon kōkogaku nenpō, the same volume as this introductory overview.]
19
Sakazume Hideichi 坂誥秀一, "Shaka no kokyō o horu” 釈迦の故郷を掘る (Digging the Birthplace of
Gautama Buddha), open lecture given at the Japanese Archaeological Association 2012 General
Meeting (Rissho University, 26 May 2012).
20
All of the following sessions were held at the Japanese Archaeological Association 2012 General
Meeting (Rissho University, the first item on 26 May and the remaining six on 27 May 2012): “Itabi
kenkyū no saizensen” 板碑研究の最前線 (The Front Line of Research on Buddhist Steles); “Iseki shiryō
ripojitori o megutte” 遺跡資料リポジトリをめぐって (Concerning Archaeological Site Data Repositories);“Chūgoku kaiiki o meguru kinzokuki jidai no sōsei: Tōnan Ajia kara Taiwan, Okinawa, Amami,
Satsunan shotō e” 中国海域をめぐる金属器時代の葬制: 東南アジアから台湾、沖縄、奄美、薩南諸島へ (Mortuary
Systems around the Chinese Maritime Region in the Age of Metal: From Southeast Asia to Taiwan,
Okinawa, Amami, and the Satsunan Islands); “Kōkogaku to jinruigaku no koraborēshon ni yoru iseki
kenkyū no kokoromi: Aichiken Hobi kaizuka o jirei to shite” 考古学と人類学のコラボレーションによる遺跡研
究の試み: 愛知県保美貝塚を事例として (An Experiment in Site Research based on Collaboration between
Archaeology and Anthropology: The Hobi Shell Midden of Aichi Prefecture as Case Study); “Kodomo
no kotsukōkogaku: Chiisana hone ga kataru rekishi” 子 供 の 骨 考 古 学 : 小 さ な 骨 が 語 る 歴 史 (The
Osteoarchaeology of Children: History Told by Little Bones); “Higashi Nihon Daishinsai kara 1 nen:
Bunkazai no hisai to fukkō ni mukete” 東日本大震災から１年: 文化財の被災と復興に向けて (One Year after
the Great East Japan Earthquake: Damage to Cultural Properties and Steps toward Reconstruction);“Hito-shigen kankyōkei no jinruishi: Chūbu kōchi no kokuyōseki to jinrui katsudō” ヒト-資源環境系の人
類誌: 中部高地の黒曜石と人類活動 (The Anthropography of Human-Natural Resource Environmental
System: Obsidian from the Chūbu Highlands and Human Activity).
21
Both of the following open lectures were given on 20 October 2012 at the Association’s annual
Autumn Meeting (Nihon Kōkogaku Kyōkai 2012 Nendo Shūki Taikai 日本考古学協会 2012 年度秋季大会) held in Fukuoka: Kim Moo Joong 金武重, “Gen Sangoku jidai no tekki seisan to ryūtsū” 原三国時代の鉄 器 生 産 と 流 通 (The Production and Circulation of Iron Implements in the Proto-Three Kingdoms
Period), Takakura Hiroaki 髙倉洋彰, “Fumie no ichi keitai: Kami fumie no shōkai to kentō” 踏絵の一形
態: 紙踏絵の紹介と検討 (One Form of Fumie: An Introduction to and Consideration of Paper Fumie).
[Translator’s note: Fumie were pictures (e) of Christian figures, typically Jesus or Mary and often madeof wood or brass, used for identifying Christians during the period when the religion was banned(seventeenth to nineteenth centuries), as believers were presumed to refuse or hesitate to carry out anorder to step on (fumu) an image they held as sacred.]–6–

TRENDS IN JAPANESE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2012

symposia on the topics of Yayoi period iron tool production, the establishment of
the institutions of miyake and kuni no miyatsuko in the sixth century, international
tensions of the seventh and eighth centuries as reflected in sites seen in
documentary and archaeological materials, and the possibilities offered byarchaeology for clarifying the image of early Christianity in Japan. 22 The results of
the above investigations and research will likely be published in various academic
journals, beginning with the Association’s Nihon kōkogaku.
The Japanese Archaeological Association’s annual awards program has now
been conducted for the second time. In the previous fiscal year there was a Special
Award, but this time saw just two items, the Grand and Monetary Awards. The
second Japanese Archaeological Association Grand Award was made to member
Funahashi Kyōko for a monograph on the practice of ritual tooth extraction as
related to social group membership,23 and the Monetary Award to member Higami
Noboru for a volume on wooden implements with regard to regional society. 24
Whereas there were not many applicants for the first selection as the program wasperhaps not well known, this time saw 10 applications. The two works selected fromamong these are thought to be monographs worthy of the Association’s awards.
While praising the honor of these two members, we hope that the Association’s
membership will apply actively for these awards in order to enrich the program in
the future, as well as contribute to the development of archaeology in Japan.
As is clear from this brief overview, with its background of an enormous numberof investigations and an accumulation of reports and prior research, the volume andvariety of archaeology in Japan may be regarded as among the foremost in theworld. In addition, within this great volume lies much research that can be
described as international, interdisciplinary, and integrated with other fields,
keywords currently in great demand in Japanese academics. In that regard,
Japanese archaeology has certainly been undergoing transformation. For the future
it is vital that this not end as merely a domestic dialog, but that the results ofarchaeological developments in Japan be broadcast to the world to partake inmutual evaluation. From this perspective, the Association’s publication of theJapanese Journal of Archaeology as an online English journal can be regarded as a
The titles of the four symposia, held along with the poster session on 21 October 2012, are “Yayoi
jidai kōhanki no tekki seisan to ryūtsū” 弥生時代後半期の鉄器生産と流通 (Production and Circulation ofIron Implements in the Latter Half of the Yayoi Period), “Miyakesei/kuni no miyatsukosei no seiritsu:
Iwai no ran to 6 seikidai no shohenkaku” ミ ヤ ケ 制 ・ 国 造 制 の 成 立 : 磐 井 の 乱 と ６ 世 紀 代 の 諸 変 革(Establishment of the Miyake and Kuni no miyatsuko Systems: The Iwai Rebellion and Reformations of
the Sixth Century), “Hakusonkō kara Itojō made: 7-8 seiki no kokusai kinchō kankei to sono iseki” 白
村 江 か ら 怡 土 城 ま で : ７ ・ ８ 世 紀 の 国 際 緊 張 関 係 と そ の 遺 跡 (From Hakusonkō to Ito Castle: Tense
International Relations of the Seventh-Eighth Centuries and Their Sites), “Kaimei sarete kita Kirishitanno jitsuzō: Kirishitan kōkogaku no kanōsei” 解明されてきたキリシタンの実像: キリシタン考古学の可能性 (The
Emerging True Image of Early Japanese Christianity: The Possibilities of a Christian Archaeology).
23
Funahashi Kyōko 舟 橋 京 子 , Basshi fūshū to shakai shūdan 抜 歯 風 習 と 社 会 集 団 (Ritual Tooth
Extraction and Social Groupings) (Suirensha, 2010).
24
樋上昇 Higami Noboru, Mokuseihin kara kangaeru chiiki shakai: Yayoi kara Kofun e 木製品から考える
地域社会: 弥生から古墳へ (Regional Society Considered from Wooden Implements: From the Yayoi to
the Kofun) (Yūzankaku, 2010).
22

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tremendous step. When its contents have come to accumulate, not as introductions
or outlines but rather in the form of articles published as the regular results ofresearch, and when what has developed until now in our country—with its researchmethodology based on total excavation of sites, its standards for site report formats,and its variety of research techniques—is universally recognized and understood,
then the genre of “Japanese archaeology” will have become established withinarchaeology on a worldwide scale.