Guest Editors’ Introduction
MATSUMOTO Naoko1 & MITSUMOTO Jun2This is the ﬁrst time that a special issue on gender archaeology has appeared in anarchaeological journal in Japan. The papers come from a meeting organised at theOkayama Congress of the Japanese Archaeological Association in October 2019. Thissession was the ﬁrst full-ﬂedged session on gender archaeology to be held in Japanesewithin the Japanese archaeological community. Nevertheless, we do not feel that theposition of gender archaeology in Japanese archaeology has been adequately settled. How
did this situation arise? And how can this situation be changed?
Stimulated by the feminist and gender archaeology that emerged in the United States in
the 1980s and numerous subsequent academic and educational activities throughout theAnglophone world (Conkey and Spector 1984), discussions on gender have been activein Japanese archaeology since the mid-1990s (e.g. Fujimura 1996; Matsumoto 1998;
Ikawa-Smith 2002). At the WAC Inter-Congress held in Osaka in 2006 and at the World
Archaeological Congress in Kyoto in 2016, there were sessions on gender archaeology,
although the language used was English. In Japan, women have been the focus of research
on ancient history since the 1930s. In Japanese archaeology, women have been more
visible than in Western archaeology, with the abundance of pottery from the Jomon period
and the presumption that women were the pottery makers. However, gender archaeology
has never been generalised and has been limited to the practice of a few researchers.
The reasons for the slump in gender archaeology in Japan may include the following.
First is the radical critical perspective of gender archaeology. Without a critical look at thegender structure in contemporary society, it is impossible to critically examine the basis forthe presumption of gender roles in the past. It is not easy for many researchers to question
the existing gender structure. Second, there is a speciﬁc incompatibility with Japanesearchaeology, which is based on culture-historical archaeology. Gender is, of course, not an
archaeological material itself but an abstract concept derived from its analysis. In Japanesearchaeological research and education, it is encouraged to study the archaeologicalmaterials themselves and clarify their historical signiﬁcance. In such an environment,a critical examination of gender may not be welcomed, which has been embedded as apremise in historical narratives. Nor would it be advisable to dare to choose gender as atopic, which would require the study of the relevant social sciences outside archaeology.
1 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Okayama University, Kita-ku, Okayama 700–8530, Japan(naokonanario@gmail.com)
2 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Okayama University, Kita-ku, Okayama 700–8530, Japan(jun_m@okayama-u.ac.jp)
Category: Section Introduction
JAPANESE JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 9 (2022): 143–144

MATSUMOTO Naoko & MITSUMOTO JunNevertheless, gender-archaeological research in Japan has been successful in thefollowing ways: the ﬁrst has been to raise awareness of the small number of female
researchers; the second has been to discuss the history of relations between women andmen (including gender stereotypes and criticisms of gender bias); and the third has been
to discuss archaeological education on the theme of gender. In addition to these, thiscentury has seen the emergence of LGBT-related queer archaeology (Mitsumoto 2009). A
variety of practices of gender archaeology, rooted in the characteristics of materials fromthe Japanese archipelago, are being developed in response to research in Britain and theUnited States.
The session that formed the basis of this special issue was organised to improve thissituation, if only slightly, and revitalise archaeological research. The primary purposeof this session was to share and reﬂect on the achievements and challenges of genderarchaeology in Japan and East Asia through research with diﬀerent materials, theories,methodologies, and positions. One of the signiﬁcant challenges for gender archaeology inJapan has been the lack of disseminating research results in English outside of Japan. The
publication of this special issue in an English-language journal is an essential step in thisdirection. We hope that this special issue will serve as a bridge to future research.

References
Conkey, M.W. & J.D. Spector. 1984. Archaeology and the study of gender, in M.B. Shiﬀer(ed.) Advances in archaeological method and theory 7: 1–38. New York: AcademicPress.
FUJIMURA Junko. 1996. Nihon kōkogaku to gendā [Japanese archaeology and gender].
『女性史学』第 6 巻、pp.
Josei Shigaku 6: 83–89. 藤村淳子「日本考古学とジェンダー」
83–89.
Ikawa-Smith, F. 2002. Gender in Japanese prehistory, in S.M. Nelson & M. Rosen-Ayalo(ed.) Pursuit of gender: worldwide archaeological approaches: 323–354. Walnut
Creek: Altamira Press.
MATSUMOTO Naoko. 1998. Jendā kōkogaku no genzai [Gender archaeology today].
『女性学年報』第Joseigaku Nenpō 19: 43–51. 松本直子「ジェンダー考古学の現在」
19 巻、pp. 43–51.
MITSUMOTO Jun. 2009. Kuia kōkogaku no kanōsei [The potential of queer archaeology].
『論叢クィア』第 2 巻、pp.
Ronsō Kuia 2: 95–107. 光本順「クィア考古学の可能性」
95–107.

© Japanese Archaeological Association144