ARCHAEOLOGIA JAPONICA

AncientHirose Mariko1
This article discussed trends of ancient period study, thorough review of publication ofbooks, theses, and reports of archaeological excavations, as well as symposia that took
place in 2012. The discussion concentrated especially on ﬁelds that involved excavation
examples, and they were divided into four major themes.
The ﬁrst theme is titled “Walled Cities (tojou)/Provincial Centers (kokufu)/County Seats(gunga)/Stations (umaya): Government Ofﬁces (kanga).” Traditionally these ﬁelds wereoften studied by document history; however there are now works based on document
history which contain archaeological results or are based on archaeology using results ofdocument history. Also, there were articles featured on site surveys. This is an effective
measure for protection and organization of historical sites. examination from various
ﬁelds is now possible.
The second theme is titled “Regional History and Regional Exchanges: Study ofRegional History.” Among local and regional history studies, discussions were active
on regional exchanges or on speciﬁc regions. While regional history study in the pastwas typically on Tougoku (eastern country) or Tohoku histories, this ﬁscal year saw
publication of compiled theses on ancient Ikinoshima Island. It probably is the ﬁrst
publication on the ancient ikinoshima island, and future study is awaited. Also, this year
saw publication of memorandums of past symposia.
The third theme is “Inscribed Wooden Tablets and Pottery: Study on ExcavatedWritings.” The importance of excavated writings is being recognized as a connection
between archaeology and ancient history/document history, and various theses andcompilations of theses were published for both general readers and researchers. Also abook on historical materials was published. Continued discussion will be expected not
only by archaeologists and document historians, but from various ﬁelds such as Japanese
language study.
The fourth theme is “Regional Disasters: Disaster History Study,” and handled
disasters. After the Great East Japan Earthquake, there were many studies on the 11th
year of Teikan contained in Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku (The True History of Three Regions
1 Management Section, Community Education Support Division, Ofﬁce of Education, Tokyo MetropolitanGovernment, 2–8–1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, 163–8001, Japan(Mariko_Hirose@member.metro.tokyo.jp)

JAPANESE JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 2 (2014): 82–83© Japanese Archaeological Association82

TRENDS IN ARCHAEOLOGYTitle
IN JAPANof Japan), the research results of which were published in succession. Also, there was apublication of theses under a new keyword,“environment,” that regarded natural disasteras an environmental change, and how to face and overcome the natural environment. The
discussion was not based on the viewpoint of nature versus people, but rather humankind
living in nature.
While an enormous amount of excavation is being conducted in Japanese archaeology,
there are many people engaging in their job trying to convey the results to the publicand contribute to the community. Archaeological site brieﬁng sessions, exhibitions, andsymposia are some of such opportunities. This year saw many of such presentations ofresearch results.

© Japanese Archaeological Association83