TRENDS IN ARCHAEOLOGY IN JAPAN

Medieval
SEKIGUCHI Norihisa1
Movements of medieval study in ﬁscal 2016 are overviewed herein.
Chusei Toshi Kenkyukai’s “Shukyotoshi Nara wo Kangaeru (Thoughts on ReligiousCity Nara)” should be mentioned for city/village study. It was meaningful that suchcomprehensive study was conducted as archaeological data on medieval Nara is being
accumulated.
Major results of castle (jokan) study are research results of sites related toGosannenkassen, discussion on dating of Nasukandajo castle, discussion on foundationsof stone building on stone walls, and discussion on renzoku karaborigun (successive drymoats and mounds). It was also a characteristic that many books for general readers were
published that let people learn viewpoints of castle study easily, such as NAKAI Hitoshi
and SAITO Shinichi’s Rekishika no Shiroaruki (Castle Walking of Historians).
Religion, funeral systems, and stonework studies were mentioned. Accumulation ofitabi (memorial stone tower) study was outstanding in ﬁscal 2016. Major achievements
were Chusei Soso Bosei Kenkykai’s “Chuseibo no Shuen wo Kengaeru: Kanto ni Okeru
Itabi no Shuen wo Toshite (Thoughts on the End of Medieval Tombs: Through the Endof Itabi in Kanto),” and CHIDIWA Itaru and ASANO Haruki ed. Itabi no Kokogaku(Archaeology of Itabi). Especially the latter was the ﬁrst publication of synthetic study
on itabi after the masterpiece published in the 80s, Itabi no Sogo Kenkyu (SyntheticStudy on Itabi), and it could be the foundation of future stonework study. Other thanitabi study, there were SEKINE Tatsuo ed. Echizentsurugaminato no Chu/KinseiSekizobutsu (Medieval/Early Modern Stoneworks of Echizentsurugaminato), Chusei Soso
Bosei Kenkyukai’s “Tokai to Kinki no Sekizobutsu kara Mita Chu/Kinsei no Shuen:Issekigorinto wo Chushintoshite (End of Medieval/Early Modern Seen from Stoneworks
in Tokai and Kinki: Mainly from Issekigorinto),” Shizuokaken Kokogakkai’s “Fujisan
Shinko heno Fukugoteki Apurochi (Multiple Approaches to Mt. Fuji Worship),” and a
special exhibition featuring Ninsho at Nara National Museum and Kanagawa PrefecturalKanazawa-Bunko Museum. FUJISAWA Norihiko and SAGAWA Shinichi “SekitoShirabe no Kotsu to Tsubo (Hints and Secrets of Stone Pagoda Investigation)” was
1 c/o Mito Municipal Board of Education, 2036–2 Otsuka-machi, Mito City, Ibaraki 311–4143, Japan(mocha@nk.rim.or.jp)

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JAPANESE JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 6 (2018): 73–74

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ARCHAEOLOGIA

published as an introductory book, and it was a meaningful result since research methodsof stonework became open as it is a quite unique ﬁeld among archaeological methods.
Study on excavated artifacts was mentioned. For the ﬁeld of ceramic study, there are
Chusei Doki Kenkyukai’s “Boeki Tojiki Kenkyu no Genjo to Doki Kenkyu (State ofTrade Ceramics Study and Pottery Study),” and Boeki Toji Kenkyukai’s “Tojiki Kenkyu
no Shiten: Seisan/Ryutsu/Shohi (Viewpoint of Trade Ceramics Study: Production/Distribution/Consumption).” For the ﬁeld of pottery study, there is YAEGASHI Tadao/TAKAHASHI Kazuki ed. “Chusei Bushi to Kawarake (Medieval Samurai and Pottery).”
The book compactly summarized results of the ﬁeld that was most deeply studied among
medieval artifacts, and an effort of this book to link pottery to the movement of samurai
warriors mainly in Togoku will be the index of future pottery study.
Bands of warriors (bushidan) were mentioned. Fiscal 2016 saw the achievement ofremarkable results from interdisciplinary research on bands of warriors. Major results
were TAKAHASHI Osamu ed. “Satake Ichizoku no Chusei (Medieval of the SatakeClan),” an exhibition “Sengoku wo Ikinuita Bushotachi (Warriors Who Survived theWarring States Period)” at Saitama Prefectural Ranzan Shiseki Museum, and a special
exhibition “Sengoku Jidaiten (Warring States Period)” at Edo Tokyo Museum.
In the end, other studies were mentioned. For symposium and study meetings,
there were Saitama Kokogakkai’s “Kamakura Kaido no Fukei (Scenes of Kamakura
Highway),” Chusei Ouu Shiryoron Shinpojiumu Jikko Iinkai’s “Chusei Ouu no Shiryoron(Source Theory on Medieval Ouu),” Saitama Cultural Deposits Research Corporation’s“Hakkutsu Sareta Chusei no Sugata (Excavated Figures of the Medieval),” and so on.
For a publication, NAKAJIMA Keiichi ed. “14-Seiki no Rekishigaku (History of the 14thCentury)” was an important achievement of an ambitious interdisciplinary research that
handled the 14th century with some data of the period.

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