Report on 2018 Autumn Conference of the JapaneseArchaeological Association
SEKINE Tatsuhito1 & HAGINOYA Satoru2ABSTRACTThis short essay reports the proceedings and some highlights of the 83rd Annual Meeting of theJapanese Archaeological Association 2018 Autumn Conference, held between October 20–22, 2018,at Shizuoka University.
KEYWORDS: 2018 Conference, Japanese Archaeological Association

Pursuant to the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Japanese ArchaeologicalAssociation, the 2018 convention was held over a three-day period (20 (Saturday)–22(Monday) October) at Shizuoka University, which overlooks Suruga Bay. This was the ﬁrst
time in 30 years that the event was held in Shizuoka. Immediately prior to the convention,
it was widely reported that a stone wall built by Nakamura of the Toyotomi clan and many
gold-leaf tiles had been discovered below the huge castle tower support at the Sunpu
castle ruins, which date to the time of Tokugawa. This discovery caused quite a stir at theconvention.
The executive committee of the convention was organized around the Shizuoka
Prefecture Archaeological Society, which was chaired by Shohachi Uematsu and held
under the auspices of Shizuoka City with the support of Shizuoka University. Mr. Kazuo
Shinohara of Shizuoka University served as Head of the Secretariat.
The event attracted roughly 330 participants (i.e., approximately 250 members and 80
non-members, including researchers). The “History of Static Archaeology” exhibit was heldat the campus museum during the event. Participants were thus allowed to brieﬂy observe
the history of archaeology research at Shizuoka University.
The 70th annual plenary session was held under the theme “The Yayoi Age in East Asia”
at 9 a.m. on the ﬁrst day (the 20th). This was moderated by Mr Takashi Mizoguchi (KyushuUniversity). Announcements were provided in English by Mr Gary W. Crawford (TorontoUniversity, Canada), Kazuo Miyamoto (Kyushu University), Mr Mizoguchi, and Ms GinaL. Barnes (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London). The venue was
1 Committee Member (External Affairs), The Japanese Arcaheological Association, 4th Floor, 5–15–5

Hirai, Edogawa Ward, Tokyo 132–0035, Japan (jjarch@archaeology.jp)
2 Committee Member (Financing), The Japanese Arcaheological Association, 4th Floor, 5–15–5 Hirai,Edogawa Ward, Tokyo 132–0035, Japan (jjarch@archaeology.jp)
Category: Report (solicited) Received: 19 February 2019
JAPANESE JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 6 (2019): 131–134

SEKINE Tatsuhito & HAGINOYA Satoru

thoroughly attended despite beginning very early. A Q & A session was also held.
The opening ceremony began at 1 p.m., at which time a public lecture was held. Having
taught at Shizuoka University, Mr Makoto Takizawa led the proceedings. President Akio
Tanigawa was present at the sponsor’s salutation. He noted the historical signiﬁcance ofthe 70th anniversary conference after touching on the fact that the establishment of theJapan Archaeological Society was closely tied to a survey of the Toro archaeological sitein Shizuoka City that was conducted soon after the war. Serving as the event’s organizer,
Executive Committee Chair Uematsu similarly greeted participants. Respective greetings
were then offered by Section Chief Sho Okamura of the Cultural Property Section of theShizuoka City Tourism Exchange Bureau and Dean of Shizuoka University’s Humanities
and Social Sciences Division Kazuyuki Hitsume.
The public lectures consisted of three talks that were consistent with the three themespresented by the subcommittee. Representing Subcommittee I, Mr Hiroyuki Sato(University of Tokyo) gave a lecture titled “The Formation of Boundaries and Regional
Characteristics in the Palaeolithic Age.” Mr Sato splendidly drew parallels between thethree regional characteristics seen in the Movius-Line of the latter Acheulean period andthe Palaeolithic culture of the Japanese archipelago. Representing Subcommittee II, Hiromi
Shitara (Tokyo University), a graduate of Shizuoka University, gave a second talk titled “TheDawn of Yayoi Cultural Area Studies.” This presentation introduced Jomon/Yayoi researchcarried out by Eto Chimaki, an archaeologist from Numazu City-Yukari. Shizuoka City
native Mr Atsushi Nito (National Museum of Japanese History) represented Subcommittee
III by giving the third lecture, which was titled “Royal Authority and the Region in the Timeof Kinmei.” Mr Nito provided an explanation of the relationship between the development
stage of the Yamato royalty governance and aspects of its domination of the Suruga area(including Izu) in addition to its connections with the Yamato royal authority.
The subcommittees opened the ﬁrst day at 4:40 p.m. following the public lectures.
Subcommittee I included an opening address from Mr Nobuyuki Iketani. This was held
under the theme “Regional Characteristics of the Foothills of Mt. Akutaka During thePalaeolithic Age: Activities That Divided People.” Subcommittee II included an opening
address given by Mr Kazuhiro Shinohara. This was held under the theme “Diversity andBoundaries of Agricultural Spaces in the Yayoi Period.” Finally, Subcommittee III received
an opening address from Mr Ryutaro Tamura, which was held under the theme “Various
Aspects of Eastern Regional Chiefs During the Latter Half of the Kofun Period.”
All attendees moved to College Student Association Cafeteria No. 2 at 6 p.m., at whichtime a social gathering was held. Executive Committee members Masahrio Kuno andMasato Osawa led activities at this location. Following greetings from President Tanigawa
and convention Executive Committee Chair Uematsu, Vice-President of the Archaeology
Society of Shizuoka Prefecture Mr. Goro Hirano led everyone in a toast. Participants© Japanese Archaeological Association132

REPORT ON 2018 AUTUMN CONFERENCE OF THE JAPANESE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

were able to deepen their friendships while enjoying the culinary bounty of Suruga Bay,which included delicacies such as sashimi, glass eel, and deep-fried Sakura shrimp.
Midway through the party, Mr Naoto Teramachi (Komazawa University) and Mr Akira
Seiji (Okayama University) greeted guests on behalf of the venues for next spring’s general
assembly and the following year’s convention, respectively. Vice-President Hideo Kondo
then led attendees in a closing toast.
The second day (21st) included discussions after reports were submitted for eachsubcommittee. Mr Nobuyuki Iketani of Subcommittee I, Mr Hiroyuki Tazaki ofSubcommittee II, and Mr Makoto Takizawa of Subcommittee III served as moderators, witheach subcommittee enjoying lively discussions.
The poster session organized by the association consisted of the Research Environment
Review Committee’s “Attitude Survey II of Employers Who Employ Buried Cultural Asset
Protection Administration-Related Staff,” the Investigative Committee on Social Studies
and History Textbooks’ “Education and Archaeology (Part I) – Introduction of Education
and Other Practices in Various Areas,” and the Commission to Protect Buried Cultural
Properties’ “Activities of the Commission to Protect Buried Cultural Properties for FY2017.” The assembly venue highlighted problems in preserving the Takaosan tumulus inNumazu City in a session titled “Results of Archaeological Research and Investigations ofBuried Cultural Assets in Shizuoka Prefecture.”
Participants enjoyed an excursion on the third day (22nd). The excursion originally
included two courses (i.e., course A and course B). Course A was slated to involve visits
Shizuoka, Fuji, and Numazu, but was cancelled due to a lack of participation. Thus, only
the course B excursion around Shizuoka City took place. A total of 16 participants joined
the course B excursion, which departed by bus from Shizuoka Station at 8:30 a.m. The tour
involved stops at the Toro Archaeological Site and Museum, the Sunpu castle tower support
ruins excavation site, the Shizuhatagayama tumulus, the Miike Daira tumulus, the Shizuoka
Buried Cultural Property Center, and the Shizuoka Prefectural Archaeological Center.
Explanations regarding corrections made to the results of a survey implemented in theShowa era as a result of a survey conducted during the Heisei period were presented througha basic discussion at the Toro Archaeological Site and Museum. “Member applications”(prototypes of Association regulations) and similar documents from the Association’s
establishment period were also exhibited to participants. Participants were deeply impressedwith the presentations given on this excursion, which was designed to commemorate theassociation’s 70th anniversary. A stone wall built by Kazuuji Nakamura of the Toyotomi
clan prior to the fortiﬁcation efforts of Tokugawa Ieyasu was discovered at the Sunpu castle
ruins. Gold-leaf roof tiles were also excavated. As noted earlier, this discovery was reported
just prior to the convention. Participants were thus able to observe related proceedings
during the excursion. For instance, participants were able to enter the giant cave-like stone© Japanese Archaeological Association133

SEKINE Tatsuhito & HAGINOYA Satoru

chamber at the Shizuhatagayama tumulus, which was normally not accessible. There, theycould more closely observe the bowl-shaped house-like stone cofﬁn. Built on top of a hill atthe beginning of the 5th century, Miike Daira tumulus featured keyhole-shaped tumuli on its
front and back. The artefact had been restored to excellent condition. Participants were also
impressed by the natural beauty surrounding the tumulus, which overlooked the Shimizu
plain and offered breath-taking views of Suruga Bay. The Shizuoka Buried Cultural
Property Center was constructed on the site of former elder statesman Kaoru Inoue’s private
villa Choja-so, where the “Hakusanzan Tumulus Exhibition” was then held. This allowed
participants to see bronze harnesses and other excavated relics before visiting permanent
exhibitions at the Shizuoka Prefectural Archaeological Center, which provided a basic
explanation of the area’s history using related artefacts. Participants enjoyed fair weather
throughout the tour and punctually returned to JR Shizuoka Station’s south exit just after
4:00 PM, at which time the group separated. The excursion was a great success thanks to theefforts of the Assembly Executive Committee, particularly those of Mr Hiroki Koizumi andDirector Ikuo Nakajima of the Shizuoka City Cultural Heritage Section.

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