Rokkasho Museum Exhibition
１

Entrance Hall

（１）Seal：In 2010 a spotted seal pup was found in the pond in Obuchi. It wasnamed “Mei” and in 2018 and 2020 Mei would give birth in the aquarium inAsamushi. The stuffed animal displayed is a harbor seal (Phoca vitulina).
This kind of seal is widely spread from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean,
however it is the only member of the seal family that inhabits Japanese coasts.
（２）Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)：Rokkasho summers are cooler, so some swans stayhere and give birth, instead of flying back to Siberia. One swan lays about 4~7 eggs,
which are incubated for about 40 days. Within two month the fledgling flies for thefirst time. Commonly seen swans are whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus), tundra swans (Cygnuscolumbianus) and mute swans (Cygnus olor).

2 Exhibition Hall
（１）Rokkasho Diorama：The area of Rokkasho is rich in different landscapes. The
north is a mountainous area, the south is a wide plateau with five big lakes. In the east
are swampy low lands and beaches and the northern coast is a Rias coast, where shore
fishing is popular. Industries include fishing, upland farming and dairy farming. Inthe vast plateau area, horses have been bred for the last 1,000 years. In the surrounding ocean andcoastal areas sea urchins, abalones and squids are fished, and konbu seaweed is collected. In the sandy
beach areas, seine fishing for sardines and herrings is popular, while clams are fished in Lake Ogawara.
In the plateau area in the south, Chinese yams and Daikon radishes are cultivated. Japanese Nuclear
Fuel Ltd. (JNFL) is located in the same area. By emphasizing wind and solar energy, JNFL lays thefoundation for environmentally-friendly energy for the next generation.
（２）Archeology Corner① Shell Fossils：These are 16 million year-old shell fossils from a sea
bed excavated from a site in the Tanazawa area (450m above sea level).
From this we know that eastern Japan used to be under the sea.
The sea floor was lifted through underwater volcanic activity and thetectonic influence of the northern American plate.
② Stone Tools：The area that is now the Takahoko Bird Park is also known as
the kobata excavation site. It is located on the right bank of Takahoko swamp. In asmall area of 50 ㎡ Chojakubo and Mikoshiba stoneware from the early Jomon period
have been excavated. Such stoneware is very rare in Aomori prefecture. Remains of housing sites werenot found. It seemed that this site was a base camp where people would gather
regularly in a time before humans settled down, when hunting was the predominant
activity.
③Holocene Glacial Retreat Panel：When the ice age ended, about 10.000 to

3.000 years ago, it got very warm and the sea levels rose by six meters. Many ruins from this time werefound around the lake in Rokkasho. 665 pitfalls were found, indicating that the area was rich in foodresources.
④ Uplifted Line Crest Pottery

Omotedate (1) Site

Early Jomon Period (approx. 12,000 yearsago） Important Cultural property of Aomori Prefecture「Prefectural Treasure」
This is one of the oldest pieces of pottery in the world. This vessel was used forCooking, which shows a change in eating habits. The bottom of the vessel is shaped
like a female breast and along the sides are 37 lines carved into the material using
a bamboo spatula.
⑤

Hand- and Footprint Pottery

Oishitai(1)Site

Late Jomon（approx. 4,000 years ago）Important Cultural Property
Hand- and Footprints of newborns and toddlers in clay. These plates may have been used
to remember the birth of a child and to wish for healthy growth. They have holes for strings
to carry them around. One hand print has round patterns like a magatama that may
represent life or the birth of a child.
⑥

Jade Stone Flute Kami Obuchi(2)Site Late Jomon（approx. 4000 years ago）
These jade stones from Itoigawa (Niigata prefecture) have vertical andhorizontal cross holes, which might indicate that they were used as whistles.

Stoneflutes were excavated at the Tominosawa (2)site. It makes a high pitched sound. In
old Shintoism, flutes were used to greet the spirits.
⑦ Pottery Mask with Bent Nose

Kami Obuchi(1)Site Late Jomon（approx.

3,000 years ago）
Five pottery masks with bent noses were excavated in different spots along thepacific coast of Aomori and northern Iwate prefecture. These masks all have noses bent
to the left side. However, only the mask shown here has its nose bent to the right side. It may have beenused for special events and shamans.
⑧ Urn with Jomon Woman

Iyasakatai (1)SiteLate Jomon（approx. 4,000 yearsago）
In 1971, an employee of the agricultural experiment station found an urn whenplowing a potato field in Iyasakadaira with a tractor. When the employee opened the lid
they saw human bones and therefore called the police. Later it was found out that thisurn is from the Jomon period. In this urn were the complete remains of a then approx.
20 year old woman, who died about 4000 years ago, in the late Jomon period. The head
was reconstructed and can now be seen as the robot Jomon Yoshiko in the Rokkasho Museum. Jomon
Yoshiko can tell you more about the Jomon site.

⑨ Red Carved Pottery
with LidOishitai (1) Site

Late Jomon (approx. 4,000 years ago）Important

Cultural Property of Japan
In the late Jomon period there was a great variety of shapes of pottery. They can bedivided into deep pots, jars, shallow pots, jugs etc. After finishing the vessel, the top wascut open, so it could be used as a lid. Its usage however is unknown. It was colored in red paint (red ironoxide). It was excavated as one of the grave goods. It is very rare that such a big relic is excavatedwithout major damage.
⑩

Hokkaido Style Earthenware（Nakacharo Style） Hacchazawa(1)Site

Early

Jomon（approx. 6,000 years ago）
Hokkaido style earthenware. Excavated in Omotedate(1)site. The materials for theclay is known to be from Hokkaido. It is unknown whether this relic once crossed theTsugaru bay or if only the material were imported, however, it shows that there was exchange between
people in Aomori and Hokkaido.
⑪Cylindrical Upper Layer B Type Earthenware and Tominosawa Site

Tominosawa(2)Site Mid Jomon（approx. 4,500～4,000 years ago）
Of all the vessels found, this is the most impressive. This kind of earthenware wasfound in the areas in between the northern Akita and Iwate Prefecture and the Oshimapeninsula in southern Hokkaido. Ornaments made from clay strings and geometrical patterns madeby pressing ropes against the clay were applied. On the body of the vessel characteristic Ujo-Jomon
patterns were applied.
（３）Yayoi Corner①Oishitai Style Earthenware：Earthenware from the mid-Yayoi era. Lined up

arc shaped patterns were carved on the vessels. Because this type of vessel was firstexcavated in the Oishitai(1)site, it is called Oishitai style earthenware. When you
look closely, rope patterns (Jomon patterns) can be seen. It is said that Yayoi
earthenware in the Tohoku region is strongly influenced by Jomon cultures (Epi-Jomon).
② Epi-Jomon Earthenware：On the left side is Kouhoku C2 and D type
earthenware, and on the right you can see earthenware with similarities to Esan
style earthenware. Both are strongly related to Hokkaido. This type of earthenware
was found in the northern Tohoku region and Hokkaido. It is believed that some ofthe people who made the Kouhoku C2 and D type earthenware probably brought
the place names in Ainu language to the northern Tohoku region.
（４）Heian Corner①

Hajiki：Simple earthenware without patterns. It is made by stacking clay

strings and shaping them with a spatula or it might have been made by using amethod that is different from the Jomon period, such as using a potter’s wheel.

② Sueki：Compared to Jomon and Hajiki style earthenware this type ofearthenware was baked in an oven at high temperature. The technique of baking
pottery in an oven was imported from China in the Kofun era. The luster on thepottery occurs when ashes of the fuel fall onto the pottery and are then vitrified into
the surface at a temperature of 1,200℃. This Sueki vessel was used to store water, rice,
millet, barnyard grass, etc.
③Ironware：Agricultural tools etc. made of iron were excavated in the village.

The long knife was probably carried by a higher ranked government official. It isalso possible that some officials were able to write, since a Tosu - a long narrow
knife used to erase characters from wooden boards - was excavated in the area.
（５）Nature Corner①

Day Lily (Hemerocallis dumortierii)：The official village flower. They areseen around plateaus such as the Ozenuma pond in Nikko and Kirigamine in Nagano
prefecture. In Rokkasho, thanks to its cooler temperatures, the day lily can be foundaround the early summer times in areas such as the Hiranuma wetlands and theTomari coastline. This flower only blooms for one day.
②Japanese Serow (Capricornis crispus)：Serows are closely-related to goats inthe bovidae family. It’s an endemic species to the mountainous and forest areas onHonshu. Females as well as males have horns that never stop growing. A serow has a
cloven hoof on each foot, which helps it move quickly even on steep rocks. They canalso be seen around Rokkasho Museum.
③ Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)：Their breeding
was first seen in Japan in 1972 in Ichiyanaginuma pond. Males andfemales spread their black headed plumes and their brown neckfeathers on the surface of the lake as courtship behavior and build floating nests.
④Japanese Marsh Warbler (Megalurus pryeri)：In 1884, this bird was identified

as a new bird species. It is only found in China and some parts of Japan. It is estimatedthat there are only about 2500 birds worldwide, and they are very hard to find. They
live in the reed fields around the ponds in Rokkasho. These birds are known forsinging while flying in mountainous curves over their territory.
⑤White-Tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)：The official bird of the village. Thisis a brown eagle with long, wide wings and a short wedge-shaped white tail. It is thebiggest eagle in Japan. These birds typically eat daces and other fishes in the pond, as
well as swans and ducks. The bird on display is a “Mountain Hawk-Eagle”. It is also called “king of theforest” and it has a wingspan of about 160cm. These birds were used for falconry in the Tohoku region
in earlier times.

（６）Folklore Corner①Coins from Edo to Showa periods：Donated by Mrs. Hiroko Sato fromRokuhara on September 26th, 2017. She had a tin filled with 64 old coins. Whenlooking the coins up, it transpired that the coins were not only from different years,
but they also differed in size, material and design. A study of one coin alone can givea glimpse into the period it was made.
②300 Yen Bonds for Soldiers：Soldiers who returned from the Sino-Japanese

war in 1937 were issued with interest-bearing government bonds. The bond–holder
was to receive interest payments of 3.65% over a period of 20 years. However, in July 1946, after Japan
lost the war, these papers became worthless.
③Cradle：A straw-basket with a hole in the bottom for holding a baby. It was filled with straw andsome old cloth on top. The bottom was filled with ashes to soak up urine etc.
④ Thresher：In the late Meiji period, the treadle-rice thresher was developed by theSaiosha company. This machine was way more efficient than doing it by hand.
⑤Winnower：A machine that would separate grain using wind power. It was usedfor a long time throughout the Meiji, Taisho and Showa periods.
⑥Dugout Canoe：Dugout canoes like this were made by hollowing out

big trees such as the Japanese beech or Japanese Judas trees（160～170 yearold trees）. The bottom of the boat would be the part where the annual rings would be dense. As adugout canoe that was used in the ocean, this one together with a boat on the Oga peninsula in Akita
Prefecture are the only surviving ones in Japan. Dugout canoes in Tomari were mainly used for abalone
fishing in the rocky waters in winter. It was said that there were so many that every man in the area had
one of these boats. They were made in great numbers in the Meiji and Taisho eras. In the 1950s and60s the big trees needed to make these boats became scarcer and completely disappeared. Insteadpeople would build so called “kakkobune” ships, consisting of two different pieces.

３Lobby（１）Noh Masks：Donated by the Futamata Residents’ Association on March
30th, 2018.In 1934, 15 Noh masks were donated by the Noh Association in theFukkoshi district of Yokohama town, followed by a Noh performance in Futamata.
Afterwards the masks were stored in the shrine in Futamata, but soon they wereforgotten. Only when the shrine was cleaned out in 2018 were the masks found again. The masks thenwere donated to the Rokkasho Museum. Initially the masks were stored at Mr. Gentaro Akito’s house,
the head of the shrine. However, it was soon decided to store them at the shrine instead. Currently Nohdance is no longer practiced in the Futamata area.
（２）Arm Pump：This pump was bought by the village in 1939. This is a firepump with a mechanism that manually moves the piston to discharge water. In 1875
the Tokyo Metropolitan Police department imported a pump like this from France,
which then became a commonly used object in Japan. Then in 1884, Japanproduced a similar machine modelled after a German pump. This machine was made at Okazakiya
Mohei Manifacturing in Yokoyama-cho, Tokyo. There are only a few existing arm pumps left in Japan,
which makes this pump extremely rare.