Japanese Archaeological Association 2016 Conference
OSHIMA Naoyuki1 & NAGASE Mamoru2ABSTRACTThis short essay reports the proceedings and some highlights of the Japanese Archaeological
Association 2016 Autumn Conference, held between October 15–17, 2016, at Hirosaki University.
KEYWORDS: 2016 Conference, Japanese Archaeological Association

The conference for the ﬁscal year 2016 was held at Hirosaki University for a period ofthree days from Saturday 15th to Monday 17th October. The Local Organising Committee
was comprised of members from Hirosaki University (President: Kei Sato) and Aomori
Prefecture Archaeological Society (Chairman: Shigehiko Narita), while Professor
Tatsuhito Sekine (Director of the Association) was the Local Organising CommitteeChair. More than 400 people, 212 members and around 200 participants from the generalpublic, including non-member researchers, attended the conference. Chairman Sekineof the Local Organising Committee drew special attention to three massive volumes of
the Conference proceedings, totalling 1,700 pages. As advertised, the proceedings wasliterally the largest ever of its kind. Two special exhibitions, ‘Archaeology at Hirosaki
University: Chronicles and Achievements’ and the ‘Great Sotomeyachi Exhibition’ werealso held at the venue during the conference, providing further visual attractions forparticipants.
The opening ceremony and the memorial lectures were held at the Comprehensive
Education Building on the ﬁrst day (15th). The ceremony was chaired by Kazuo
Miyamoto, a director of the Association. Association President Akio Tanigawa gave
an opening speech, sharing his sentiments about the convention being held in Aomorifor the ﬁrst time in 30 years and mentioning the signiﬁcance of the venue for thisconvention, which covered topics that were substantially local. He also issued a‘statement’ concerning the protection and the restoration of the cultural properties
damaged by the Kumamoto Earthquake and described the on-going responses to theearthquake damages organised and undertaken by the Association. A greeting addressby the host organisation was also given by Chairman Sekine of the Local Organising
1 Committee Member (Public relations), The Japanese Archaeological Association, 4th Floor, 5–15–5Hirai, Edogawa Ward, Tokyo 132–0035, Japan (jjarch@archaeology.jp)
2 Standing Director, The Japanese Archaeological Association, 4th Floor, 5–15–5 Hirai, EdogawaWard, Tokyo 132–0035, Japan (jjarch@archaeology.jp)
Category: Report (solicited) Received: 7 January 2017

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Committee. University Director Chizuko Kohri (Acting President of the University) andMayor Noriyuki Kasai of Hirosaki City also offered courteous welcoming addresses.
The memorial lectures were given by two distinguished scholars who have a deep
association with Hirosaki University. The ﬁrst lecture was entitled the ‘Characteristicsof the Kamegaoka Culture’ and was given by Professor Kunihiko Fujinuma of theHumanities Department. He argued that the culture was based upon a hunting andgathering subsistence system despite having highly sophisticated functional andritualistic tools in its material culture assemblage. His presentation was illustrated bynumerous slides. Professor Masashi Oguchi of Hosei University took the podium next.
He previously taught at Hirosaki University and is also a current member of the JapaneseArchaeological Association. The lecture, entitled ‘The Realistic Image of Ezo Societyof Kitaoku in the tenth century: Integrating Document-based Historical Approaches andArchaeology,’ described the signiﬁcance of the defended settlements, expanding on hisown theory that the discord between groups involved in trade created a chasm between
different settlement communities. Vice Chairman Hideshi Ishikawa gave an address ofthanks to close the memorial lectures. The venue was literally full and some people in
the audience had to stand during the lectures.
After the memorial lectures, Part 1 of the Session I ‘Jomon Culture of the Tsugaru
Strait Zone: Ento, Tokoshinai, Kamegaoka and Sunazawa Cultures’ was held, entitled‘Technologies and Specializations from the Jomon to the Yayoi Periods, Part 1.’ In this, akeynote speech was given by Nobuhiko Kamijo, followed by interesting presentations on
the lacquer craft of the Jomon period, red oxide paint of the Jomon period, and red oxide
paint and earthenware salt manufacture of the Yayoi period.
From 18:00, the conference party was held at the Large Meeting Hall on the third
ﬂoor of the student union. Taro Kataoka of Hirosaki University chaired the proceedings.
Although people had already begun toasting because of the nice atmosphere of thevenue, an ofﬁcial toast was given by Tomoyuki Fukuda, the chair of the archaeology
division of the editorial committee of the history of Aomori prefecture, followed bygreeting addresses by the Japanese Archaeological Associaiton President Tanigawa andPresident Sekine of the Local Organising Committee, at the appropriate timings. Thepièce de résistance was the musical performance of shamisen. The local musical group‘Mugenkai,’ comprising of six members, performed, which left a strong impression.
Finally, Mitsuhiro Kuwahata of the Miyazaki Local Organising Committee of theconference next year, gave a greeting address, followed by a closing toast given byVice-President Hideo Kondo of the Japanese Archaeological association, whichconcluded the gathering.
Starting at 9:00 on the second day, three parallel sessions took place, alongside aposter session and a book exchange session. Session I continued the discussion from the© Japanese Archaeological Association152

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day before and proceeded with ‘Part 2: Specialization’ to examine and discuss issues
covering the production of stone rods, the production of polished stone axes, cooking
methods using earthenware, the production technology of bone and antler tools, aswell as earthenware paste, respectively. The second part was entitled the ‘Clothing andCeremonial Tools of the Jomon and Yayoi periods,’ and was presented by seven scholars
who introduced and discussed the Nishimeyakawaratai site locations No. 1 and 4 aswell as the Sotomeyachi site. Session II was entitled the ‘Social Changes in the Ninthand Tenth Centuries in the Northern Tohoku Region,’ consisting of eight presentations
chaired by Noriyasu Ube, who presented the session introduction. The proceedings
included four breaks and continued until 16:00. The discussion of changes in socialstructures in the Northern Tohoku Region during the ninth and tenth centuries included
not only Aomori Prefecture, but also the Mabechigawa River Basin, Northern Sanriku
Region, Yoneshirogawa River Basin, Omonogawa River Basin, Kitakamigawa RiverMiddle Basin, and Hokkaido. The settlements and burial systems were considered as
pivotal factors, and lively discussions ensued. Session III was entitled ‘Modern Castles
in Northern Japan: From the period of their construction to the Modern Era.’ The venue
was packed with a large audience, perhaps due in part to the recent topic concerning themoving of the main castle keep of Hirosaki Castle. The topics covered included SendaiCastle, Morioka Castle, Hachinohe Castle and Odate Castle, all of them are quite wellknown. Discussions focused on the construction, restoration and abandonment of modern
castles in Northern Japan, exploring a variety of angles focusing on different historicalaspects. Finally, a panel discussion was chaired by Yasutaka Kanamori and Hiroshi
Kitano, in which ﬁve presenters debated about various issues vigorously.
Three posters were presented by committees of the Japanese ArchaeologicalAssociation, and another poster on the promotion of the local World Heritage candidate
sites was presented by the Local Organising Committee. The Buried Cultural Properties
Protection Committee, the Research Environment Committee, and the Social Studies
and History Textbooks Committee of the Japanese Archaeological Association presented
the outcomes of their on-going activities. In previous years, there had been a tendency
for low turnouts and little feedbacks at poster sessions but during this convention there
was an unexpectedly large amount of feedback, and we were surprised by the number ofresponses provided to surveys as well as by the number of orally addressed questions. Inaddition, an information exchange meeting for the Buried Cultural Property Protection
Committee was held in the afternoon of the second day.
Excursion on the third day (17th) visited Omori Katsuyama site, Kamegaoka site,Tosaminato site and Odai Yamamoto sites in the Tsugaru region. All these sites wererepresentative sites of the Tohoku Region, and all of them were discussed in thesessions. The opportunity to tour through these areas, along with experiencing the© Japanese Archaeological Association

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nature of the Tsugaru Region, was signiﬁcant. We were also fortunate with the weather,
particularly when we visited the sites in the vicinity of Jusanko Lake, where we visitedserene Sannobo site and Hie Shrine, and we also enjoyed the panoramic view of Mount
Iwakisan when we visited Togawa Castle. Some of us also enjoyed Shijimi clam ramen
noodle at the conclusion of the excursion. Furthermore, we were provided with lots ofuseful information and comments by the conductors throughout the excursion. I would
like to represent the participants and express our gratitude.

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