| 26

Chapter 1: Japan from Prehistory to AncientTimes- The Paleolithic, Jomon, Yayoi, Kofun, Asuka, Nara, and Heian periods -Section 1 - The dawn of civilization

文明のTopic 1 - Where did the people of Japan come from?
| 27

あ

け

ぼ

の

Where did mankind arise and how did the ancestors of the people of Japan come to live in
the Japanese Isles?
The birth of mankind in Africa
Human beings came into existence on the grassy plains of the continent of Africa. About sevenmillion years ago, primitive apes known as ape-men began walking on two legs. Once their hands
were freed, ape-men began using stone tools that they created by chipping rock. As they evolved,
the size of their brains gradually increased.
フランスのショ‑ヴェ洞窟の壁画
約 3万 2000年前と推定され､人!
頃最古の翁嵩重畳といわれている｡

Around 2.4 million years ago, hominids evolved. Early hominids spread from Africa to the colder
climates of Europe and Asia with the aid of the use of fire and fur clothing. However, it seems thatthey were unable to adapt and ultimately died out.

人類 はアフリカで

1

About 200,000 years ago, the first modern humans (Homo sapiens ), the direct ancestors of thepeople living on Earth today, appeared in Africa. Around 100,000 years ago, some of them left
Africa and journeyed to Eurasia. Those who migrated westward were the ancestors of the peoplesof Europe and those who migrated eastward were the ancestors of the peoples of Asia. Some of the
Asian migrants also spread into North and South America.

人規 が誕生 したのは､ アフ リカ大陸

日本人はどこから来たか00万年 前､議 Xの草 原 だ った.約 7
うとよばれ る最古 の人類 が二 足歩行 し､ あい た両手 で石 を打 ち欠
せ つせいて石器 をつ くり､使用 した｡人類 の大脳 は少 しずつ大 き くな人矧 まとこで誕生し､私た
ち日本人の祖先はどのようにして日本列島にやってきたのだろうか｡

り､進化 を とげてい った｡
げF
L
,L
̲
F
L
,
約 240万年前 には､原人 が登場 し､火 をつ かい毛皮 を ま とっ誕生 したに そく は こt!つめつて寒 冷な ヨー ロッパや アジアに進 出 したが､適応 で きず に絶 滅した と考 え られてい る｡

D ホモ サピエンスは生物学
で種を示すための学名で､ ｢矢口恵のある人｣という意味｡新人のうち､アフリカにとどまった
人々はネグロイド(
黒色人種)となり､ユーラシア大陸に移動した人々は環境に適応して皮膚の色が変化した｡ヨーロッパに移った人々はコーカソイド(
白色人種)､
アジアに進出した人々
はモンゴロイド(黄色人種)となった｡*1=Homo sapiens, which means "wise person," is the biological name that refers to our
species. Those modern humans who remained in Africa became dark-skinned people,
sometimes referred to as Negroids, whereas those who migrated to Eurasia
developed different skin colors as adaptations to their environment. The white-skinned
peoples of Europe are sometimes referred to as Caucasoids, whereas the yellow-skinned
peoples of Asia are sometimes referred to as Mongoloids.
Humans attained high levels of intelligence and developed languages to communicate theirintentions to one another. Modern humans evolved the capacity to create sophisticated tools and tohunt and gather food as a community. The paintings of the animals that they drew in the hopes ofa successful hunt and the voluptuous female figures that they carved while praying for a bountiful
harvest continue today to be found in caves around the world. Soon, humans also came to possess
forms of spirituality that begat art and religious belief.

しんじん
約 20万 年前 ､現 代人 の直 接 の祖 先 で あ る新 人 (ホモ ･サ ピエ ンス) が､ ア フ リカで 出現 した｡ その一部 は約 10万年 前 にL
1
アフ リカを出てユー ラシア大陸 に進 出 した｡西 に向か った人 々は ヨー ロ ッパ人の祖先 とな り､東 に進 んだ人 々はアジア人の祖
先 となった｡ アジア人 の一部 は南北 アメ リカ大陸 に まで広が っ
てい った｡か くとく
人規 は高 い知能 を樺得 し､意思 を伝 え合 う言柴 を発達 させ た｡ 15
せい こう
か
L
l
と
C
新人 は､精巧 な道具 をつ くり､集 団で狩 りや採集 の生活 を営む
いのか
よ うにな った｡狩 りの成功 を祈 って描 いた動物の絵や ､作物 の
ど う くつ実 りを願 って描 いたふ くよかな女性傍功し 今 も世界各 地の洞 窟のこしんこう
な どに迫 され ている｡ やがて､人頬 は､芸術や信仰 を生 み出す
精神世界 を有す るよ うにな ったO

‑

26

1
0

The people who settled the Japanese Isles
Around 2.6 million years ago, the Earth entered a cold phase known as the Ice Age. During the Ice
Age, the Earth repeatedly experienced periods when air temperatures were ten degrees colder thanthey are today. In the northern hemisphere, much of the Earth's surface was covered by glaciers.2| 28 Because of this, the sea level around Japan was one hundred meters lower than it is today, and aland bridge connected the Japanese Isles to the continent.
*2=Glaciers form when snow builds up on high ground and, after turning into ice, graduallyslides down like a river.
Even during the Ice Age, the Japanese Isles were not covered thickly with ice. Instead, Japan's
plains were thick with vegetation and were home to large animals,3 including the mammoth,Naumann’s elephant, and the giant fallow deer, that came to Japan across the land bridge. The
people following these animals began to settle in the Japanese Isles tens of thousands of years ago.
i
)
}う が

*3=Today, archeologists can analyze the components of the animal fat stuck to prehistoricstone tools that were used to cut meat in order to identify every species of animal being
hunted.
The discovery of the Japanese Paleolithic period
Prehistoric hunters worked as a team to drive their prey into bogs and then kill them with rocks
and spears. Around Nagano Prefecture's Lake Nojiri, the tusks of Naumann’s elephant and thehorns of the giant fallow deer have been found alongside tools made of stone, bone, and wood.
Because people hunted and gathered food using chipped stone tools,4 archeologists around the

約2
60万 年 前 か ら､ 地 球 は 氷 河 時 代

住 み ついた人 々と よ ば れ る寒 冷 な 時 期 が つ づ い た｡

今 よ り 10度 も気 温 の 低 い 時 期 が く り返 しお そ っ て き た｡ 北 方

00m
で は地 表 が 氷 河 に お お わ れ た｡ 日本 周 辺 の 海 面 は今 よ り 1也
も低 く､ 日本 列 島 は大 陸 と地 つ づ き とな っ て い たO
日本 列 島 は氷 河 時 代 に も厚 い氷 に お お わ れ る こ とな く､ 草 原
けに は植 物 が茂 っ て お り､マ ンモスやナ ウマ ン象､オオツノジカ

しな どの大 型 動 物 が 地 つ づ きの 大 陸 か らわ た って き た｡ そ れ らのF)
動 物 を追 って き た人 々 が ､ 数 万 年 前 か ら 日本 列 島 に住 み つ くよ
10

うに な っ た｡

旧石器時代

み､ 石 や詣 で しとめた｡ 長野県 の轟
こ
そ
L
l
つの
尻 湖 か らは ､ナ ウマン象の牙や オオ ツ ノ ジカの角 が 石器 .首茜

E
g 高地に降りつもった雪が堆積して氷となり､河のようにゆっくりすべり落ちるものを氷河という｡

El 現代の考古学では､肉を切りさいた石器に付いていた動物の脂肪の成分を分析して､す
ペての動物の種類を特定することができるoET これに対し､石の筈のよう

L
jU

に鼠 ､
た石器を晶塾石器･p34という｡

営皆･木 着岸な どの 道 具 と とも に発 見 され て い る｡
1
5

この よ うに ､打 製 石 器 (石 を打 ち欠 い て つ くった石 器 )を使 っ
しゆリ
J
つ
E
)
こうこb
l
くLJ
P

!
L
I
う
せ
つ

六的∴

一
一

一

㌦

≡ ‑

I‑

.
n石 Q軸

:
‑

I
:;:
つ
器 時 代 は な か った と考 え られ て い た が ､ この 通 説 を変 え た の は ､ 冨登?.
:i
t
s;
u
言霊 三雲

/

つ うせ

*4=In contrast to chipped stone tools, polished stone tools, such as stone axes, are groundinto shape
Topic 1 Recap Challenge! - (1.) Explain how people from the continent arrived in the JapaneseIsles during the Ice Age. (2.) Write about how humans hunted during the Paleolithic period.

えも
の
し
つちた
い
人 々 は集 団で呼物を湿 地 帯 に追 い こ

日本 にもあった

world refer to this era as the Paleolithic period, which means the "Old Stone Age". Until justsixty years ago, it was believed that Japan never had a Paleolithic period, but this conventional
wisdom was turned on its head with the discovery of the Iwajuku Site by Aizawa Tadahiro.
Thanks to Aizawa, it was confirmed that the ancestors of the Japanese people lived in the JapaneseIsles over 30,000 years ago.

L
: だい日本 列 島 に

相 趣 意 執 こよ る岩 宿 遺 跡 の発 見 だ っ た｡ これ に よ って ､ 私 た ち
20

日本 人 の 祖 先 は 3万 年 以 上 前 か ら 日本 列 島 で 生 活 して い た こ とが わ か っ た｡

三か説明してみようo②旧石器時代における狩りの工夫について書いてみようDI WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT...
Aizawa Tadahiro, Discoverer of the Iwajuku Site
Thanks to a huge discovery by a young and unknown researcher, Japan's history was
extended backwards in time by tens of thousands of years.
| 29

The conventional wisdom in Japanese archeology"Japan's oldest culture was the Jomon beginning a little over 10,000 years ago." From the time of
the Meiji period, that was the conventional wisdom in Japanese archeology. For a long time,archeologists at Japanese dig sites excavated only the black earth layer and stopped digging once
they had hit the red earth layer.
"Red earth," also known as Kanto loam, refers to the layer of soil deposited as volcanic ash. It wasthought that over 10,000 years ago Japan was an inhospitable wasteland where ash rained from thesky and not even plants, let alone animals, could survive. For this reason, it was long believed thatJapan never had a Paleolithic culture.
The man who would overturn this conventional wisdom was a virtually unknown archeologicalresearcher named Aizawa Tadahiro.
Dreaming of a "happy family gathering"
Aizawa was born in 1926 and spent his childhood in the city of Kamakura. At the age of nine, hisfamily broke up for personal reasons, and Aizawa used to go looking for artifacts like old pottery
as a means to assuage his loneliness. On one such day, he showed the pottery that he had collected
to an adult and asked him what it was used for. The adult responded, "A long time ago, the father
of a family hunted and the mother made pottery vessels just like the ones you have. At night, theywould all gather around their sunken fireplace for a happy family gathering. What you have there
are the remnants of just such a gathering." "Happy family gathering" was a phrase that the young
Aizawa would never forget for the remainder of his life.
At the age of eleven, Aizawa became an apprentice at a shoe warehouse in Shitamachi, Tokyo. He
lived on the premises and worked from early in the morning until evening. After sundown, he
attended a late-night elementary school where he studied diligently. On holidays, he made trips tothe museum, and he saved up his pocket money to buy books on archeology. Once he finished his
work, he studied late into the night.
"When was it that people began living in Japan? How far back can we date the remnants of those
happy family gatherings of ages past?" Discovering the answers to these questions became

Aizawa's lifetime dream.
After the war, he devoted himself to serious investigation of archeological sites, while working on
the side as a travelling salesman of fermented soybeans in the city of Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture.
| 30 However, human remains do not fossilize easily in the Japanese Isles because volcanic ash has
rendered the soil highly acidic. Proving that people lived in Japan as far back as the Paleolithic
period is, therefore, a matter of digging up stone tools that are obviously man-made from a clearly
defined layer of Paleolithic soil.
In 1946, Aizawa found several pieces of obsidian, also known as volcanic glass, within a layer ofKanto loam on a cliff face that had been exposed by a roadway cutting through a mountain in thevillage of Kasakake (now Midori City) in Gunma prefecture. Obsidian is not naturally found inthat area, and Aizawa realized that he had uncovered a clear sign of the existence of a Paleolithic
culture in Japan. In 1949, he finally discovered complete stone tools.
In the shadow of the find of the century
Aizawa went to various universities in Tokyo and asked for an opportunity to present his findings,
but the scholars at the universities refused to recognize his discovery right away. Soon, a survey
team was formed, which found more Paleolithic tools from the layer of soil to which Aizawa had
guided them. It was thus academically proven that Japan did experience a Paleolithic period andthat Japan's history went back several tens of thousands of years.
And yet, Aizawa's name never appeared in either the newspapers or the research papers reportingon his find of the century. Indeed, he became the subject of inconsiderate remarks like, "I would
not expect a fermented soybean vender without even an elementary school education tounderstand such a subject," and "Do you really make so much money from just digging up dirt?"
Nevertheless, he did not lose his passion for archeological excavation, and he went on toaccomplish much more. Since then, over 10,000 Paleolithic sites have been unearthed acrossJapan.
In 1967, he received the first Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for his discovery of the Iwajuku Site and his
subsequent achievements. Aizawa Tadahiro, the man who accomplished his boyhood dream offinding out for how long the people of Japan had been enjoying their "happy family gatherings,"
passed away in 1989 at the age of 63. Aizawa's work left an extraordinary impact on the field ofarcheology that continues to be felt even today.

Topic 2 - The Jomon culture and the blessings of nature
Under what sort of natural conditions did the Jomon culture of the Japanese Isles develop?
The bountiful blessings of nature| 31 Over 10,000 years ago, when the Ice Age came to an end, sea levels rose. The Japanese Isles wereseparated from the continent and took on their modern-day appearance. Atmospheric temperatureson the Japanese Isles rose and, as warm currents increased in strength and flowed into the Sea ofJapan, broad-leafed trees became more plentiful alongside Japan's vast coniferous forests. Before
long, the mountains became places where an even more impressive array of plants could begathered.
At the same time that the climate changed, Japan's large mammals such as Naumann’s elephantwent extinct and were replaced with growing numbers of small and medium-sized animals,
including deer, boars, and rabbits. To catch such swift animals, the bow and arrow were invented
and dogs came to be used by humans for hunting. Furthermore, because sea levels had risen,which was a phenomenon known as the "Jomon transgression," sea water flooded the land,
sparking the flourishing of edible sea life, including skipjack tuna, sea bream, and shellfish.

縄文時代の暮らし (
想像図)
ひLう

町

∴
.
じ
L
う
し
l
う だんり
○
う
して､今 の 日本列島の姿が あ らわれたo気温が上昇 し､暖流が
し
んE
t
うL
=
ゆ
勢力を増 して 日本海 に流れ こんだので､針葉樹 が多 か った 日本

自然の恵み と縄文文化
日本列島の縄文文化は･どのような自然条件のもとで発遷したのだろうか｡

The era of Jomon pottery
Over 10,000 years ago, the people living on the Japanese Isles were already starting to create
pottery.1 This represents some of the world's oldest pottery. The surface of the pottery produced
at this time was often decorated with a rope-like pattern, and for this reason it was called Jomon
pottery, which in English means "cord-marked pottery". Many are deep bowls used for cooking
things,2 which allowed the people of Japan to develop techniques to remove the astringency from

単産藻錠主畠 底 が抑 まってい

Aomori Prefecture is about 17,000 years old.
*2=In 2013, a team of Japanese and British researchers discovered the world's earliest
traces of cooked food from 15,000-year-old pottery unearthed in Hokkaido and Fukui.

.

‥ ∴

‑

列 島に広葉樹 が増 え､やが て山々が さ らに豊 かな植物採集 の場にな った｡

ttつめ つ
気候 の変化 に ともない､ナ ウマ ン象 な どの大型動物 は絶 滅 し､ll 青 森 県 大平 山 元 Ⅰ遺 跡か
ら発 見された土 器 は炭 素 年代
測 定法 で約1
万 7 000年 前とされている｡

チ ーム が ､北 海 道 や 福 井 県 で出土した約1万5000年前の土器から､世界最古の加熱調理の痕跡を発見した｡‑ ⊂30た｡ これ らのすば しこい動物 を とらえるため､ 弓矢が発 明 され､リ})けん
イ ヌを猟犬 と してつ か うよ うになった｡ また､海水面 が上昇 し 10i,
Jつもんかいしん
たので､海が 内陸 まで深 く入 りこみ (縄 文海進)､カツオ､タイ､さち
貝類 な どの豊 かな海 の幸 を もた ら したo茅野市奨岩縄文考古館蔵 )【∃ 201
3年､日 英の研究*1=Radiocarbon dating indicates that pottery discovered at the Odai Yamamoto I Site in鮎

かわ って､ シカ､イ ノシシ､ ウサギ な どの中 ･小型動物 が増 えて､煮炊 きに用 いた｡ (長野food through boiling. Homes in the Jomon period were created by digging into the ground tocreate the floor, erecting a post, and then placing a thatched roof over it. This is known as a pit
dwelling. One can easily imagine what life was like in Jomon society where the men went out tofish and hunt, the women busied themselves gathering and cultivating plants, and the elderly kept
an eye on the food cooking on the fire.

‑

b
(

l鋭

意の時代
芸 芸三笑 こ諾 … ≡ 還
三'<冒歪
めていた｡ これ は､ 世界 で最古 の士官呂の一つ であ る. この時代 15
な1
つめ もんようの土昔削ま､表面 に縄 目の文様が付 け られ た ものが多 い こ とか ら､
i
:
J
フ
もんどき
はち
縄文土器 とよばれて い る｡ それ らの多 くは深 い鉢 で､人 々は､に た
この土器 を使 って煮炊 きな どを行 い､あ く抜 きな どの技術 を発
日はゆか
達 させ た｡ 当時の住 まいは､地面を掘 って床 をつ くり､柱 を立た rあBLl
ゆフき よて て尊 ぶ きの屋根 をかけ た､生害穴住居 とよばれ る もの だ った｡ 20
か
fよろう
さ
い
男 たちは動物 の狩 りと漁労 に出かけ､女 たちは植物 の採集 と栽
L
L
い
に た
培 に精 を出 し､年寄 りは火 のそばで煮炊 きの番 をす る とい ったThe period when Jomon pottery was being used, which lasted over 10,000 years from 16,000
years ago to about 400 BC, is called the Jomon period, and its culture is known as Jomon
culture.
| 32 Life in the Jomon period
In the past, it was believed that the people of the Jomon period led primitive, insecure lives,migrating nomadically from place to place while eking out a meager existence from hunting andgathering. However, our perceptions of the Jomon period were revolutionized through thediscovery of the remains of a huge, 5,500-year-old Jomon settlement at the Sannai-Maruyama
Site in Aomori Prefecture. It is thought that this permanent community existed for as long as 1,500
years and had a peak population of about five hundred people.
生活の場面 が想像 され る｡

Simple agriculture was already in practice at the village found at the Sannai-Maruyama Site.
Perilla, gourds, beans, chestnuts, and other plants were cultivated.

縄文土器 が用 い られ てい た 1万 6000年前 ごろか ら紀元前 4
じ
▲
つ
もんじだい
世紀 ごろまでの約 1万数千年間を縄文 時代 とよひ､ この ころの
いつ
も/
し
ぶんわ
､
文化 を縄文文化 とよぶ｡
しゆ
J
J
l
う さ
いし
け
う

Rice was also grown during the Jomon period, but it was dry field cultivation and only on a small
scale. Because food was abundant in the Japanese Isles, large-scale agriculture and animalhusbandry never took off among the people of the time.
The Jomon people were grateful for the abundance of nature that blessed the Japanese Isles. They3

created lacquered ornaments as well as unique clay figurines modeled on the women who bore
and raised their offspring, and they offered their prayers to them. It is believed that the stable andpeaceful society that endured throughout the Jomon period laid the foundations of Japan's culture
and of the calm and conciliatory disposition of the Japanese people.
*3=Lacquered burial accessories about 9,000 years old that were unearthed in Hakodate,
Hokkaido, are the world's oldest lacquerware.
Topic 2 Recap Challenge! - Using bullet points, list four ways that people's lives changed between
the Paleolithic period and the Jomon period.

5ト

文 時代の生活警芸去芸… ≡…芸左≡芸､
■芸≡ C
<
=芸

始的 な生活 を していた と考 え られて きた｡ ところが､青森 県の亡
んない苦るやg=いせそあと
三内丸 山遺跡 か ら､約 5500年 前 の大 きな定住集 落 の跡 が見 つ500
か り､縄文 時代 の イ メー ジを大 き く変 えた｡ この地 で は 1
いと0
1
0 年 もの長 い間定住 生活が営 まれ､最盛期 には 500人 は どの人 々がいた と考 え られ る｡の うこう
三 内丸 山追跡 の集 落では､す でに簡単 な農耕 が行 われ､エ j

1
5

マ､ ヒョウタン､マ メ､ ク リな どが栽培 されていた｡･◆P38
純文 時代 には､すでに稲作が行 われ ていた｡ しか し､それはりくとう
陸稲栽培 であ り､規模 も小 さか った｡ 当時の 日本列 島は食料 に
めぐ
f
E
いきぼ
ぽくちく
恵 まれてい たので､大規模 な農耕や牧畜 が始 まるにはいた らな
か った｡

20

めく
人 々は 自然の豊 かな恵み に感謝 し､ また､子孫を生 み育 て る
ど(
'
う う
る
しめ
女 性 を か た どった独特 な形 の土 偶 や 漆塗 りの装 飾 品 な どをつ
いの
･
H
E
1
くって祈 りを捧 げたO純文時代 は､平和 で安定 した社会 がつづLlぐ(き､ 日本 人のおだやかな性格 と日本文化 の基礎 が育 まれ た と考え られ る｡

主福

士でつ<
B
eft
.
T
E人軌 こtFe
土 偶 は､子 孫 繁 栄 を願 い､ 妊娠 した 女 性 をか た どって お り､｢
縄 文 の ビー ナス｣ とよば れ る｡(
長野

茅野市尖石縄文考古

査官蔵 )EヨEl 北 海 道 函 館 市 か ら出土 した 約 9000年 前 の 漆 塗 りの 副
葬品 (死 者 といっしょに埋 葬 した 品 々) は､ 世 界 最 古 の 漆 製品である｡･と‑ 夢肝臓 野Ei
旧石 器 時代 から縄文 時代 への生活の変化 について.ポイントを 4
つあげ､箇条書きにしてみよう｡

I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT...
The "Harmonious Society" of the Jomon People
The excavation of the Sannai-Maruyama Site, where a Jomon village large-scale in every
way once stood, had a tremendous impact on our perception of the period. At this extensive| 33
site, huge buildings stand in orderly rows and a great number of artifacts were found.
The Sannai-Maruyama Site and the prosperous lives of Jomon people
At the Sannai-Maruyama Site in Aomori Prefecture, archeologists discovered the remains of ahuge Jomon village far larger than anything they had thought possible up to then. The village
existed for about 1,500 years, from 5,500 years ago to 4,000 years ago, and covered an area of
about forty hectares, equivalent to eleven baseball stadiums the size of the Tokyo Dome.
The remains of more than 1,000 dwellings were found, but it seems that the village containedroughly one hundred homes at any given period of time. The remains of thirty-five raised
granaries and over ten large buildings were also confirmed, the largest of which occupied an areaof nearly 140 square meters. Graves, embankments, roads, storage pits, and garbage disposal areas
were all neatly arrayed in a planned pattern. One of the buildings unearthed was built from thetrunks of massive chestnut trees 1.5 meters in diameter. Once reconstructed, it was an immense
raised structure towering fifteen meters. This is a testament to the high level of civil engineering
technology known to the Jomon people. It is believed that this building was a temple, judging
from the fact that the front of the building was designed to face the sun at the time of the summer
solstice, just like the Oyu Stone Circles in Akita. This in turn seems to be evidence that the Jomon
people were sun worshippers.
Artifacts found at the site include not only over 10,000 pieces of pottery and 1,500 clay figurines,
but also sewing needles, clothing, and a handbag made of tree bark, as well as woodwork andcolorfully lacquered pottery, all crafted using highly advanced techniques. There were also a great
number of pendants including bracelets, waist ornaments, hairpins, and necklaces and earrings
made by cutting holes into hard stones like jade. One can see that people were just as
fashion-conscious at that time as we are today. Excavation at the Sannai-Maruyama Site continues
to this day.

A society based on mutual cooperation
The key to the survival of the village, which was permanently settled for 1,500 years and had apeak population of five hundred, was the ability of the Jomon people to secure a stable supply offood across all four seasons. The people of the village extensively cultivated chestnuts, which| 34
were their staple food, as well as potatoes, perilla, millet, and gourds. They practiced agricultureusing wooden farming tools such as shovels and hoes. They also benefited from the ocean'sbountiful stocks of seafood, including fish that they caught with hooks made of the bones andhorns of animals. In this way, the people of the Jomon period enjoyed prosperity from living off
the blessings of nature.
One of the most remarkable characteristics of the Jomon society that endured over 10,000 years isthat no weapons of war have ever been unearthed from any archeological site. Even in very large
settlements like the one at Sannai-Maruyama, no weapons have been found except for bows,
arrows, and spears used in hunting. It seems that the Jomon people maintained a harmonious
society based on mutual cooperation and were rich not just materially, but spiritually as well.
Japan's Jomon forefathers constructed a peaceful society that can fairly be described as aharmonious, characteristically Japanese civilization.

Topic 3 - The rise of civilizations
How did ancient civilizations originate?
| 35 The start of agriculture and use of metal tools
About 12,000 years ago, at the time of the Jomon period in Japan, agriculture and animalhusbandry were gradually coming into use in various places around the world. During this era,
known as the Neolithic period, people used pottery as well as polished stone tools with groundsurfaces, but had not yet developed metal tools.
Shortly after, irrigation was used along the great rivers of Africa and Asia, and intensive
agriculture developed in the form of the cultivation of cereal crops. As a result, the land could
support larger human populations, and that, in turn, fostered the growth of commerce, industry,
and cities where many people could congregate. Metal tools, first bronze and later iron, also cameinto use. The spread of iron tools in particular was responsible for major improvements inagricultural productivity.
The rise of civilizations and birth of nations
Leaders were needed to preside over the construction of large-scale irrigation projects involving
the mobilization of great numbers of people. These leaders collected taxes from the people and, tomanage public affairs, they employed scribes (government officials) who kept records using
written words. These leaders also enacted calendars, enshrined deities, and commanded soldiers.
They won respect from the people and, after unifying a wide area, many became hereditary kings.

農耕の始まりと文明の発生

Around 3,500 BC, the Sumerian civilization in Mesopotamia formed powerful city states that built
terraced pyramids known as ziggurats, wrote in a script known as cuneiform, and used a numeral
system with sixty as its base. Following the collapse of this civilization, the Babylonian Empire

金属器の使用
2000年前､世界 の各 地 で しだ いに
ぽ くち くみが9=せいせ つ き
農耕や牧畜が行われるよ うになった｡表面を磨いた磨製石器 と
どそ
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土器 も使われたが､まだ金属器は使われていなか った この時代
しんせつ モ L:だいを新石器時代 とい うO
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かん が
い
やがてアフ リカや アジアの大 河の周辺 では､潅慨が行われ､
こ くもつ さいばい
農業 (穀物栽培)が発達 したOそれによって多 くの人口を養 えの うこう

古代の文明はどのように発生したのだろうか｡

るよ うになると､商工業 も発達 し､人 々が集 まる都市が生 まれ
せいどう きてつ き
たO金属器 として青銅器､ついで鉄器が使用され､ とくに鉄器
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文明の発生と

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国家の誕生

事 には､工事を指揮す る指導者が必
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こよ古●PIO
た､指導者は､暦を制定 し､神を祭 り､戦いな どを指揮 して人 々せし○うの尊敬を集め､広い地域を統合す るなかで､多 くは世襲の王 とWhen societies possess certain advanced traits such as metal tools, cities, and writing, we callthem civilizations. In addition, an organization that unites people over a broad territory, forming
one community, is referred to as a nation.

t
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こつかを行 うしくみを国家 とい うO
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came into being.

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紀元前 3500年 ごろ､ シュメール人 によって建設 されたメソ
インダス文明の葡1
市の跡■ ■ 34

ポタミア文明は､ ジックラ トとよばれ る階段状の ピラミッ ドの1
5

In 3,000 BC, Egyptian civilization emerged in the Nile River basin. The ancient Egyptians
constructed pyramids using their advanced knowledge in fields such as geometry, and they kept
records on papyrus, a paper made from the papyrus plant, using hieroglyphic characters.
| 36
Around 2,300 BC, the Indus Valley Civilization was born along the Indus River. This civilization
constructed planned cities, but it soon died out. The Aryans invaded from the north and introduced
a status system, later known as the caste system, which made the "Brahmins" the highest class.

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あ る巨大 な都 市 国家 をつ くり､ くさび形 文字 や 60進 法 を使 用

The ancient civilizations of the Yellow and Yangtze River Valleys
In the Yellow River Valley, animal husbandry and cultivation of barley were practiced around6,000 BC. On the other hand, a civilization centered around rice cultivation was founded further
south in the Yangtze River Valley. Soon the Yellow River Valley came under the control of adynasty of kings known as the Shang. The Shang used bronze tools for their religious rituals andthey invented a writing system known as oracle bone script that is the direct ancestor of modern
Chinese characters.
Around the eleventh century BC, the Shang dynasty fell and was replaced by the Zhou dynasty,
which used weapons and farm tools made of iron. Later, as the Zhou dynasty declined, the nation
fractured, sparking a prolonged era of civil war known as the Warring States period. During theviolence, many philosophers emerged, promoting political ideals and model kingship. One ofthem was Confucius, whose teachings are known as Confucianism.
Around the third century BC, Qin Shi Huang unified China for the first time and took the title ofemperor. He standardized China's currency and writing system. His Qin dynasty was succeededby the Han dynasty, which forged a great empire and ruled over China for four hundred years.
Han China absorbed the Korean Peninsula and designated it as the Lelang Commandery. When atrade route known as the Silk Road opened up with the Roman Empire, which flourished inEurope at around the same time, Chinese silk was sent westward to Rome in exchange for horses
and raisins.
Topic 3 Recap Challenge! - Write down all the terms that describe the distinguishing features ofeach of the four great civilizations that arose along major rivers.

したO その文明がほ ろんだ後 は､バ ビロニ アが王 国を築 いたo
紀元前 3000年 には､ナイル河流域 にエ ジプ ト文 明が発生 し､
き か がく
高度 な幾何学の知識 な どを用 いて ピラ ミッ ドを建設 したo また､し▲つけい
5 象形文字 を使 ってパ ピルス (パ ピルス革 でつ くった紙) に記録した｡
チし子 (前551‑ 前479) 春 秋 時

紀元前 2300年 ごろ､イ ンダス川 流域 にイ ンダス文 明が発生
し計画的な郡市を建設 したが､や がてほろびた｡北方か らアー
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1
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分裂 し､その後､職 国時代 が長 くつづ いた｡ 峨乱 の時代 には､と多 くの思想 家 があ らわれ､理想 の政 治や王 の あ り方 を説 いた｡
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かへいを名の った｡始皇帝 は､文字や貨幣を統一 した｡秦 の次 に中国
かん
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ちIうせん
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築 いた｡朝鮮半島 に楽 浪郡を置 いた｡ 同 じころ西方 で栄 えてい
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べて書 き出してみよう｡

35

Topic 4 - The origin of religions
How did religion come into being?
Reverence of nature and ancestor worship| 37 Ancient peoples believed that gods or spirits dwelled within all things, including the mountains,forests, and seas. This is known as animism, from the Latin word "anima," meaning "spirit". They
feared and revered thunderclaps and storms, and they showed gratitude towards both the sunshinethat shone down on their crops and the rain that watered them. They viewed these natural
phenomena as being the work of the gods and offered prayers during rituals corresponding to eachseason. They also prayed that the spirits of their ancestors and the elders of their village would
keep watch over their day-to-day lives. The former is referred to as nature worship while the latteris known as ancestor worship.
Nature worship and ancestor worship were the precursors to religions. Religions come into being
through comprehension of and faith in a world that transcends everyday life, especially a life after
death.

キリスト教 イエス キリストの半幸絹
チェスコ教会の基乱

宗教のおこりA great many deities appear in the mythologies of Japan, Egypt, Greece, and Germany. It isthought that all peoples used to believe in polytheism, which refers to any religion that makes
several deities the object of worship.

宗教はどのように発生し1=のだろうか｡

荊 畠oィタリアの聖フラン

イスラム教 ヒラー山 E
,
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アラビア)の崩笑で鼓窺中､天使ガプリエルからアラ‑の啓示を受ける預言者ムハンマド.

自然への畏敬と古代 の人 々は､山､森 ､海な どあ ら
祖先への感謝ゆ る もの に神 (儲 蓋 = アニ マ ) が
l､
やど
らいめい
宿 ってい る と考 えた｡ これ をアニ ミズム とい う｡彼 らは､雷 鳴
おそ う
や
事
のうこう
や暴風 を畏れ敬 い､草木 に往 く日光や ､農耕期 に降 る雨 に感謝
1
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した｡ これ らの 自然現象 を神の業 と思 い､季節 ご との祭 りで折
さ
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うは
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い 一P
一P4
44
ちLつろ うりを捧 げ た (自然崇拝 )｡ また､祖先 の霊 や村 の長老 が､ 日々
ささの暮 ら しを見守 って くれ るよ うに祈 った (祖 先崇拝).

The advent of monotheism
After the nomadic Hebrew people, the ancient Jews, settled in Palestine on the eastern coast of theMediterranean Sea, they began worshipping a single god unique to their race, a belief known as

この よ うな 自然崇拝 と祖先崇拝 は､宗教 の始 ま りであ るO宗ち▲うえ つ教 は､ 日常 の生 活を超越 した世界 ､ と りわけ死後 の世界 につ い
しんこ うての理解や信仰か ら成 り立 ってい る｡

monotheism. When they were subjugated by the Babylonian Empire, many of them were forcibly
settled in Babylon, the capital city. After being freed in the sixth century BC, they constructed a
temple in the city of Jerusalem. This was the beginning of Judaism, a religion based on faith in asingle god. The tenets of this religion were recorded in The Holy Bible.1

日本神 話､エ ジプ ト神話 ､ギ リシア神話 ､ゲルマ ン神話 な ど*1=The sacred scriptures of Judaism, known as the Old Testament, represent a covenant
forged between the ancient Jews and their one god, Jehovah. The sacred scriptures ofChristianity, known as the New Testament, record a new covenant between God and his
people as conveyed through the deeds of Jesus Christ and the words he exchanged with his
apostles. The religion of Islam uses a holy book called the Qur'an, in addition to the Old and
New Testaments. Adherents of Islam view Muhammad as "the final and greatest prophet."

た しんさ∫うには多 くの神 々が登場す る｡ すべての民族 が､かつ ては多神
教
･
●P121
を信 じていた と考 え られ る｡ 多神教 とは､複数 の神 々を同時 に‑‑■√ ス ト二,̲笑如trニクル̲̲
RtE
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定住す るよ うにな り､一神教 の神 を民族神 と した.バ ビロニ ア
はろ王 国に滅ぼ され､多 くは首都バ ビロンに強制移住 させ られ たが､

巳 ‑柵

,
,
ユ叫

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す聖 なる祭 場と考えられ､近 くに茎もあった｡ →p32■
I 36

紀元前 6世紀 に解放 され､エ ルサ レムに神殿 を建設 した｡ ここ
きJう ぎ
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ん し
んこう
に唯一神を信仰す るユ ダヤ教 が成立 し､その教範 を 『聖召』 に20

Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) and Buddhism
Siddhartha Gautama was born around 560 BC into the royal family of a small kingdom situated in
the southern foothills of the Himalayas. His palace had four gates, and he was profoundly moved| 38
upon seeing a sick man, an old man, a dead man, and a religious ascetic in front of each of thegates. At the age of twenty-nine, he forsook his princely status, abandoned his wife and children,and left the castle on a journey of discovery in the hope of learning a way to escape from worldly
suffering.
At first, he engaged in many strict ascetic rites such as fasting, but realized that he was gaining
nothing from causing pain to his physical body. One day, he sat under a bodhi tree and quietly
meditated. Finally, he achieved spiritual enlightenment and became aware of how people could be
relieved of their suffering. From then on, he was called Buddha, which means "the enlightened
one".
Central to Buddha's teachings are the Middle Way, meaning moderation and avoidance of
extremes, and a belief in karma, meaning that all things happen for a specific reason. According to
Buddhism, one must rid oneself of negative states of mind in order to be freed from humansuffering.
The three great world religions
At the start of the first century AD, a young Palestinian man named Jesus preached God’s loveand forgiveness and became revered by some Jews as the Christ, which means "Messiah". The
Roman prefect governing Palestine at that time sentenced Jesus to be crucified, but a communityof "Christians" was founded by those who believed him to have been the Messiah. Many of thepersecuted Christians left Palestine for other places, but because of their zealous propagation of
their faith, Christianity was eventually declared the state religion of the Roman Empire.
Christianity spread across all of Europe and became a world religion2 professed by many ethnic
groups across many nations.
*2=In contrast to a world religion, a religion that is linked to the culture or traditions of one
specific ethnic group is called an ethnic religion. Examples of ethnic religions include
Judaism and Japanese Shinto. Indian Hinduism surpasses Buddhism in its number ofadherents, but even so is an ethnic religion.

Around the sixth century BC, Buddhism was born in India. Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of
Buddhism, taught the means through which people could be freed from worldly suffering. His
teachings and their accompanying training methods spread from India across Asia, including toSoutheast Asia, China, and Japan.
| 39
In the early seventh century, Muhammad founded Islam in the Arabian Peninsula. Soon, a great
Islamic empire unified western Asia and extended Islam's burgeoning culture across the world.
Like Judaism and Christianity, Islam worships one god, named “Allah”. Its holy book, the Qur'an,
is reputed to be the words of Allah. Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam all became world religions
and have been called "the three great world religions".3*3=Christianity and Islam emerged in civilized regions of western Asia, while Buddhism
emerged within an area influenced by Indian civilization. The birthplaces of world religions
overlap with the birthplaces of world civilizations.
Topic 4 Recap Challenge! - Summarize the distinguishing characteristics of the three world
religions.

Topic 5 - The spread of rice cultivation and the Yayoi culture
How did people's lives change due to the rise of rice cultivation?
| 40 The spread of wet rice cultivation
Rice had already been brought from the continent to the Japanese Isles during the Jomon period.
At some archeological sites on Kyushu in southern Japan, evidence for wet rice cultivation and theirrigation canals that go hand-in-hand with it have been excavated from vegetable fields datingback to around 500 BC. After that, wet rice cultivation spread all over western Japan and evenreached the coastline of Tohoku in northern Japan.
With the start of rice cultivation, the people who had been living on hilly terrain migrated down
into the plains that were more suitable for rice paddies. Here, people gathered together and formed
villages. They worked together as a community and even managed to create large-scale ricepaddies. They scattered unhulled rice directly into those paddies, and then at harvest time gathered
the rice ears using stone reaping knives. The rice crop was dried and stored in the raised
granaries they constructed. The people of each village prayed for a bountiful crop and thenorganized festivals in thanks for their harvest.
The Yayoi culture
Metal tools made of bronze and iron were imported from the continent, and were later produced
within Japan. Bronze swords and spears were initially used as weapons, but soon were also being
used alongside bronze mirrors and bells as ceremonial treasures during festivals. Ironware, on theother hand, was employed for more practical ends in weaponry, farming equipment, and other

稲作を中心とする時代にな
ると､人々の生活はどのよ
うに変化したのだろうか｡

tools. Iron was imported via the Korean Peninsula, but eventually Japan developed its own
foot-operated bellows that were used to smelt iron collected from the iron sand deposits in central
Japan.

i .7%

spread throughout Japan in tandem with rice cultivation. The period when Yayoi pottery was
being used, which extended over about seven hundred years from around the fourth century BC to
the third century AD, is called the Yayoi period, and the agricultural society of this period isknown as Yayoi culture.

作 に適 した平地 に移 り､人 々が集 まってム ラ (村) がで きた｡
だい き ぽもみL:か人 々は共 同で作業 し､大規模 な水 田 もつ くられ た｡籾 は直 まき
いな ほ
い しぽ うち▲つしr)うか く
で､稲穂 のつみ取 りには石 包丁 が用い られた｡収穫 され た穂 をかん そ うたか ゆ か しきそ う こ ◆P32
乾燥 させてお さめ る高床式倉庫 が建て られた｡ ムラでは豊かな 10
みのいの
実 りを祈 り､収穫 に感謝す る祭 りが行われた｡
せいどう き
てつ き
‑
◆P3
45
1
さ らに､青銅器や鉄器 な どの金属器
弥生文化
も大陸か ら伝わ り､のちには国内で
I

銅た
く
●
p
4

Around the same time, the people of Japan started to make a new form of light brown pottery
called Yayoi pottery. It was lighter than the dark brown pottery of the Jomon period, and it wasused for a wide variety of purposes, including jars, pots, and tableware. This form of pottery

西 日本一帯 に も広 が り､海ぞいに東北地方 にまで達 した｡
おか
稲作 が始 まる と､ これ まで小高 い丘 に住んでいた人 々は､稲亨 か ら抑･首脂 ･崩 鐘 矛 は柄 を付けて突き刺す武器o(
嗣剣 ･
嗣矛 は島根 県立 古代 出畢歴 史博
物館蔵･銅鐸 は東京国立博物 館
蔵白 )

‑
⊂38

も生産が始 まった｡ 剣や銅矛 は もともと武器 としてつ くられ
どう
き
▲
う どう
7
はうもつ
たが､やがて､銅鏡や銅ともに祭 りのための宝物 として も鐸とあっかわれ るよ うにな った.一方､鉄骨削ま農具 ･工具や武器 と
ち▲うせん
して実用的に用 い られたo原料 の鉄 は朝鮮半 島か ら輸入 された
さ てつが､のちに中国地方で砂鉄か ら鉄をつ くる､たた ら製鉄 の技術

15

From villages to nations
As food became plentiful thanks to rice cultivation, the population of the villages also rose. This
led to frequent intermingling between the peoples of each village, as well as wars fought over ricepaddies, irrigation water, and crops. Moats were built around the villages to protect them, and for| 41 this reason they are known as moated settlements. The remains of this sort of Yayoi period village
have been found at the Yoshinogari Site in Saga Prefecture and the Toro Site in Shizuoka
Prefecture.
In each village, leaders arose who took responsibility for supervising cooperative work andorganizing festivals. They also played major leadership roles during wars. In time, groups ofmultiple villages united together to form small nations. The leaders of these small nations, whowere called headmen or chiefs, eventually became hereditary kings.
Topic 5 Recap Challenge! - Give four ways in which the Yayoi culture was different from the
Jomon culture.
HISTORICAL KEYWORDS
Villages, Nations, and Communities
The Japanese word mura refers to a village where groups of people live together. This word is
closely related to the Japanese word mure, which means a congregation of people. By contrast, theEnglish word "village" comes from the Latin word villaticum, referring to a collection of farms.
When several farming villages join together politically, they form nations.
The leaders of each small nation, known as “headmen” or “chiefs,” came to be revered as kings.
Both the villages and nations were composed of people sharing territorial or blood ties and boththus constituted "communities".

Section 2 - The making of an ancient nation

古代 国表 の形 成Topic 6 - Ancient Japan as seen in Chinese history books
What do ancient Chinese history books have to say about the state of the Japanese nation?
| 42>r
漢書｣地理志倭は百余国に分立 (紀元前1世弟己)｡

A divided Japan at the turn of the century
During Japan's Yayoi period, China was a powerful ancient civilization governed by a series ofdynasties of emperors, such as the Qin and Han, who controlled vast territories. Chinese history>r後 漢書J東 夷
虚の 最遠 の王 が 後 漢 に胡 鼓 し､光 義 帯よりr
貨等 抜歯 窒｣の金 印を鎧 か る｡
伝

倭国 王 の 訪 井等が 妄 執 こ使 いを出もbooks from this time contain details about the state of Yayoi Japan.

倭国で大乱がおきる｡

ト｢挽志倭人伝｣
倭国の女王卓蘇舟が現に使いを送り､

One of them, The Book of Han, written during the Han dynasty, states that the Japanese people atthe turn of the century, who were known to the Chinese as wajin, were divided into over one
hundred small nations, some of which sent envoys to China. According to The Book of Later Han,
the king of one of these nations, Na, dispatched an envoy to Han China around AD 50 and was

金印を鐘かる｡

bestowed with a gold seal from the Emperor of China.
Yamatai and Himiko
At the turn of the third century, the Han dynasty collapsed and China entered into a period of
conflict between three rival kingdoms, Wei, Shu, and Wu. One portion of the contemporary
history book, Records of the Three Kingdoms, deals with Japan up to the first half of the third
century AD. This section, about 2,000 words long, is called The Book of Wei: An Account of the
Wajin.1

中国の歴 史書が括る古代の 日本
中国古代の歴史書には､日本 はどのような国として書かれていた:のだろうかOOne passage of this work refers to a powerful nation named Yamatai that had subjugated thirty
other Japanese nations and was ruled by Queen Himiko.2 Himiko was said to serve the deities,
administer the government through ritual and magic, and keep the people under her control with amysterious power. It is also written that Himiko sent an envoy to the capital of Wei where theEmperor awarded her a variety of gifts, including one hundred bronze mirrors and a gold seal
bearing the title "Kin to Wei, Queen of Japan".

て
い
●
帝

大 な古 代 国 家 が 広 い 地 域 を 支 配 して い た｡ そ の 中 国 の 歴 史 書芋には ､ 日本 の 弥 生 時 代 の よ うす が記 録 さ れて い る｡
か/
)L
=J
:
そ の うち ､ 漢 の 歴 史 智 『漢 書 』 に は ､ 紀 元 前 後 の 日本 に つ い 5ト l＼
00あ ま りの 小 国 を つ くっ て お り､ 中て ､ ｢倭 人 ｣ (日本 人 ) が 1
2 かんL:上
国 へ 使 い を 送 る国 もあ る と重さ
か れ て い たD ま た ､『後 決 雷 J)に は ､コb
な こ
く
1世 紀 の 中 ご ろ､ 倭 の 国 の 奴 国 の王 が 漢 に使 い を 送 り､ 皇 帝 がさんいん さす
金 印 を 授 け た こ とが 記 され て い たo

l,I
"
朋 と‑

･
:I
. ･
∴
･‑
∴
I
三 国志 』 に は ､ 3世 紀 前 半 ご ろ ま
代 に な っ た. 当時 の 歴 史 普 F*1=Within The Book of Wei, which is part of Records of the Three Kingdoms, there is An
Account of the Eastern Barbarians that discusses a variety of East Asian nations outside
China. That in turn contains one section on the Japanese, referred to simply as The Book of
Wei: An Account of the Wajin.

や よい
日本 が 弥 生 時 代 の こ ろ ､ 中 国 で は ､
57
8
しん b
､
ん
こう P5
秦 や 淡 の よ うに ､ 皇 を い た だ く強償萎抜歯窒｣の益L
E
F
I江戸時代に福岡県の蓋賢岩で発見｡垂は億と同じ｡ (福 岡 市 博 物 館 蔵 ∈〕)q r
三国志Jの中の挽志 (萎
鬼の匡】の歴史書)に､乗アジアの芸者国をあつかった ｢
東夷伝Jがあり､さらにその中に ｢倭人｣の項があるbこの部分をJ議 嘉 盲 矢 岳rt
H
i'
L妄
表立[=
いる｡

‑

■40

で の 日本 に つ い て 書 か れ た 部 分 が あ る｡ これ は ?
弊字 2000字 ほ
ぎ し寸
つじんでん
ば れ て い るo
どの記 述 で ｢
規 志 倭 人伝未Itい
そ こ に は ､ ｢倭 の 国 に は 邪 馬 台 国 とい う大 国 が あ り､30ほ ど
ひ み この 小 国 を 従 え ､女 王 の 卑 弥 呼 が これ を お さ め て い た｣ と記 さ れ
っか
うb
C
E
g
て い た｡ 卑 弥 呼 は 神 に 仕 え ､ 祭 りや 占 い に よ っ て 政 治 を 行 い ､

｣
と
よ
q
や

不 思 議 な 力 で 民 を よ く治 め た とい う. ま た ､ 卑 弥 呼 が 軌 の 都 に使 いおを送親 銚 倭 王 ｣ の 金 印 と銅 鏡 1
00校 な
く り､ 桃 の 皇 帝 か ら ｢どの 贈 り物 を 授 か っ た こ と も智 か れ て い た｡

1
5

JAPAN AS SEEN THROUGH FOREIGN EYESA Society With Little Conflict and No Theft| 43

The Book of Wei: An Account of the Wajin provides us with an outside perspective on the state of
Yamatai during the first half of the third century AD. It records the special characteristics of"wajin" society and even the disposition of the people. It can be considered the earliest written
account of the disposition of the Japanese people. Let's discuss three details documented in thisaccount.
(1.) "Women are not morally loose"
The Book of Wei stated that the women of Japan maintained strict public morals. It also statedelsewhere that men and women of all ages participated together in meetings as equals.
(2.) "There is no thievery"
The fact that The Book of Wei expressly asserted that there was no thievery in Japan suggests that
the Chinese surveying Yamatai were deeply impressed by this. The Book of Sui: An Account of the
Wajin Nation, a description of Japan recorded in the early 600s during a later period of Japanese
history, likewise noted that thievery did not exist in Japan.
(3.) "Litigations are few"
The Book of Wei also mentioned that there was very little conflict in Japan. This suggests that theharmonious society that characterized the Jomon period carried over into subsequent periods ofJapanese history.
An Excerpt from The Book of Wei: An Account of the Wajin"The wajin live on islands in the middle of the ocean southeast of Daifang. Previously, they
were divided into more than one hundred nations. Currently, about thirty nations send envoys tous... Originally, Japan was ruled by a male king. Such kings ruled Japan about seventy or eighty
years ago, but, then, Japan was rocked by an extended period of chaos and infighting. Finally,
they mutually agreed to select a single woman named Himiko as their ruler. Queen Himiko kept
a hold on the people using her spiritual powers. Even as she got older, she did not marry.
Instead, her younger brother assisted her in governing the domain. After becoming queen, she
was seen by few people. One thousand maidservants waited on her. There was also one man
who entered her dwelling in order to serve her meals and convey and relay her messages. She
constructed a palace with imposing fortifications and watchtowers that was always protected byarmed guards."

*2=The words "Yamatai" and "Himiko" are attempts by the Chinese to replicate native
Japanese pronunciation in the Chinese language. However, the Chinese character for "tai"was at that time pronounced very similarly to "to". Therefore, the actual name of thisnation may have been "Yamato".
| 44
The Sino-Barbarian World Order and Japan
China adopted the Sinocentric perspective that it was the only civilized nation on earth and its
neighbors were barbarians. In China, even words referring to Japanese people and places,
including the words Yamatai and Himiko, were written using Chinese characters that suggested
inferiority. The Emperor of China regarded the leaders of barbarian nations paying tribute to
China as his vassals. The Emperor offered these leaders the title of "king" and, after they had
accepted a written appointment, he recognized their right to rule their respective nations. The
nations whose leaders were granted the title of "king" became tributary states under Chinese
tutelage. This is known as the Chinese tributary system and the order it imposed on East Asia is
known as the “Sino-Barbarian World Order”.
Because Japan was divided into many small nations during the Yayoi period, Japan's leaders
accepted titles such as "King of the Japanese Nation of Na under Han China" and "Kin to Wei,
Queen of Japan", which were engraved onto gold seals, to demonstrate that they had the support ofa powerful country and consequently signify their dominance over the other Japanese nations.
Around the year 600 AD, once Japan attained internal political stability, Japan became a so-called"non-subject tributary" that continued to pay tribute to China as a means of receiving thecontinent’s culture, but refused to accept any titles from the Chinese emperor.
Topic 6 Recap Challenge! - Using bullet points, list the details about Yamatai that we know fromancient Chinese history books.

Topic 7 - The Yamato State and the spread of the kofun
What can the spread of the kofun tell us about the expansion of the Yamato State's power?
| 45 National unification under the Yamato StateIn the second half of the third century AD, a powerful federation arose in Japan dominated by thewealthy clans of Yamato in central Japan (modern-day Nara Prefecture). This government is
known as the Yamato State.
Meanwhile, China split apart during the fourth century and, by the fifth century, was divided into
a northern dynasty and a southern dynasty locked in a mutual state of war. Around the same time,
Koguryo became a major power in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula, while Paekche andSilla came to occupy the southern half. These three states also battled each other for supremacy.
The Yamato State gradually unified the country, and we can trace this process by examining the
spread of the Yamato State's characteristic burial mounds.
Front-squared, rear-rounded kofun and the Yamato State
Around the third century AD, mammoth mounded tombs that rose up from the earth like small
mountains were constructed across Japan. These burial mounds are referred to as kofun. The era
when kofun construction was widespread in Japan, which lasted for about three hundred years
until the end of the sixth century, is called the kofun period.
Today, kofun are mountainous and thick with greenery, but back when they were first constructed,
they boasted a commanding presence for graves. Their surfaces were covered with stones thatshone brightly in the sun and clay statues called haniwa, which were shaped like cylinders, humanbeings, houses, and horses, were lined up on their sides and summits. Most of the large-sized
kofun were front-squared, rear-rounded kofun composed of a square-shaped entranceway infront and a circular back. A stone chamber was buried within the circular part, which contained
both the coffin of the deceased and an assortment of burial goods, including mirrors, jewels,
swords, horse gear, and farming tools.

The people who were buried in the kofun were members of each region's wealthy clans. Manymassive kofun were erected in the vicinity of Yamato and Kawachi (modern-day Osaka). This
indicates that the Yamato State was governed through the formation of an alliance between these| 46 regions' most powerful clans.
About 5,200 front-squared, rear-rounded kofun, the Yamato State's preferred style of kofun, exist
throughout Japan, as far south as Kagoshima Prefecture and as far north as Iwate Prefecture. This
would, at least, suggest the influence of the Yamato State.
The successive leaders of this federation of clans styled themselves as "great kings", and later as
emperors,1 and it was they who boasted especially large kofun. The Emperor Nintoku
Mausoleum, or Daisen Kofun, is the largest imperial tomb in the world.
*1=Tenno, an exclusively Japanese word for "emperor", did not come into use until theseventh century. It is customary to refer to all Japanese monarchs of the Imperial line,
beginning with Emperor Jimmu, with the title "emperor". Before the seventh century,
Japanese monarchs took the title ōkimi, meaning "great king".
Topic 7 Recap Challenge! - Describe the extent of the Yamato State's authority on the basis of a
map identifying the locations of Japan's front-squared, rear-rounded kofun.

Topic 8 - Japan's national origin myths
What can the myths and legends of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki tell us about theestablishment of the Yamato State?
| 47 The myths and legends of the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki
The origin and evolution of the Japanese nation are recorded in the form of myths in the Kojiki,
which means "Records of Ancient Matters" in English, and the Nihon Shoki, or “Chronicles ofJapan". The Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki,1 the oldest works of Japanese history, were completed in
the eighth century. The myths and ancient legends contained within included supernatural stories
and cannot be accepted uncritically as historical facts.
*1=The Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki have slightly different contents, but both books have thesame structure, utilizing stories about the deities to explain the rise of the Yamato State.
However, it is thought that these myths and legends were attempts by the ancient peoples of Japanto make sense of the origins of nature, the land they inhabited, and their societies while
incorporating the beliefs they had held since the Jomon and Yayoi periods, such as nature worshipof the mountains and seas, and rice harvest rituals. In the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, the tales of thedeities were organized into consistent narratives and became associated with the genesis of the
Yamato State.
Izanagi, Izanami, and the birth of Amaterasu
When the heavens and earth divided, the deities emerged from the heavens (Takamagahara). A
male deity, Izanagi, and a female deity, Izanami, married and gave birth to eight of the JapaneseIsles.2 This is known as the Kuniumi Myth, literally the Myth of the Nation's Birth.
*2=According to the Kojiki, the Japanese Isles were born one after the other: Awaji,
Shikoku, Oki, Kyushu, Iki, Tsushima, Sado, and, finally, Honshu.
Izanagi and Izanami also gradually produced each of the mountain deities, sea deities, wind deities,
and others, but Izanami finally perished from the burns she received while giving birth to the deityof fire.
Izanagi went to the Underworld3 in the hopes of retrieving his beloved wife. From the darkness,the deceased Izanami instructed him, "I will take up this matter with the Deity of the Underworld,

so until then do not look at me." Nonetheless, Izanagi was unable to keep his promise, and themoment that he gazed upon the lifeless corpse of his wife, he so taken aback that he fled from her.
*3=In Japanese mythology, the Underworld (yomi) is the afterlife or land of the dead.
| 48
Upon his return from the Underworld, Izanagi undertook a purification ceremony in a river tocleanse his body of the contamination of the dead. As he washed his eyes and nose, three new
deities were born from them: Amaterasu, Susanoo, and Tsukuyomi. Amaterasu is the deity
personifying the sun and is the greatest of Japan's deities. She is regarded as the divine progenitor
of the Imperial Family of Japan.
Okuninushi and the Izumo Mythology
On the other hand, Amaterasu's younger brother Susanoo descended to Earth where he saved thedaughter of the earth deity from the dragon Yamata Orochi and made her his wife. Among theirdescendents was the divine Okuninushi, who ruled the Earth from Izumo. This series of stories isknown as the Izumo Mythology.
However, the deities in heaven decided to have Ninigi, the grandson of Amaterasu, become rulerof the Earth. After negotiations, Okuninushi agreed to hand his territories over to Ninigi. This is
known as the Kuniyuzuri Myth, literally the Transfer of the Land Myth.
Ninigi's descent to Earth and Emperor Jimmu
Ninigi descended to Earth together with the deities while bearing the Imperial Regalia of Japan.
This is known as the Tenson Korin Myth, literally the “Myth of the Descent to Earth of the Sun
Goddess' Grandson”. Ninigi then settled in Himuka where he married the daughter of a mountaindeity and had a son named Hoori. Hoori, in turn, married the daughter of the sea deity, who bore
him a son named Ugayafukiaezu. Ugayafukiaezu's child was Kamuyamato Iwarehiko. This is
known as the “Himuka Sandai Myth,” literally the Three Generations of Himuka Myth.
Iwarehiko inherited both the divine power of the heavens and the spiritual powers of the mountainand sea deities. He entered Yamato via the Inland Sea and from there ascended to the throne as
Jimmu, Japan's first emperor.4 This is known as the “Legend of Jimmu's Eastern Expedition,” andit marks the beginning of the Yamato State.

*4=National Foundation Day, the day Jimmu ascended to the throne, was said to have been
New Year's Day 660 BC, which equates to February 11 on the modern-day solar calendar.
This is how Japan's myths and legends describe the foundation of the Japanese nation.
| 49
Topic 8 Recap Challenge! - List out the national origin myths of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki intheir proper order.

I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT...
The Kuniyuzuri Myth and the Ancient Peoples of JapanThe Kuniyuzuri (Transfer of the Land) Myth is the story of how Okuninushi
peacefully transferred his bountiful territories to Amaterasu. An examination of| 50
this myth reveals much about the beliefs of the people of the time and how they saw
the world.
Okuninushi's transfer of the land
Okuninushi, a Japanese mythological figure, is known as the kindhearted deity who saved
the hare of Inaba. He became the glorious ruler of a vast domain centered around Izumo(modern-day Shimane Prefecture).
Meanwhile, the sun deity, Amaterasu, considered to be the ancestor of the modern
Imperial Family, consulted with the other deities in the heavens and ultimately decided tohave Okuninushi relinquish control over his territories. Amaterasu sent an envoy tonegotiate the transfer with Okuninushi. However, the first and the second envoys that she
sent both sided with Okuninushi and did not return. The final envoy she sent,
Takemikazuchi, arrived on Inasa Beach in Izumo, plunged his sword into the ground, satcross-legged, and yelled, "The nations of the Earth are for the descendants of Amaterasu
to rule. Please, relinquish this land!"Okuninushi asked his two sons of their opinion, and then replied to Takemikazuchi: "Inaccordance with what my sons have told me, I will offer up my lands. In exchange, build
a magnificent shrine for me to live in, with pillars extending to the bowels of the earth androof finials rising as far as the heavens, and worship me there. If you do this, I will go into
retirement and disappear from sight."
The ancient Japanese way of thinking
The Kuniyuzuri Myth, as recorded in the Kojiki, contains clues to understanding thethinking of the ancient Japanese people.
Firstly, Amaterasu sent her envoys after discussions with the deities of heaven, andOkuninushi likewise determined his course of action only after he heard out his sons. The
Japanese people have a tradition of mutual consultation, deciding all matters as much as
possible through discussion.

Secondly, in any other part of the world, the circumstances described would have caused
a bloody war over control of territory, but in the Kuniyuzuri Myth, transfer of control was
decided through mutual consent, without any fighting.
| 51 Thirdly, if we consider Okuninushi's state of mind, he surely must have felt aggrieved
over the fact that the lands that he had painstakingly developed with his own sweat andtears were to be ceded to another deity, even though he himself had done nothing wrong
to deserve such a fate. Thus, Okuninushi's last wishes were honored and a huge shrine
was dedicated to worship him. This is the famous Izumo Grand Shrine. The victors in thedispute recognized and honored the accomplishments of the loser, and made sure toundertake the proper rites to appease his soul. The people of ancient Japan viewed this as
the ideal way of conducting politics.
The discovery of a massive shrine suspended in air
During the Heian period, the mnemonic "Unta, Wani, Kyosan" was created to help
children remember the names of the three tallest buildings in Japan in order of height bylikening them to three brothers. The characters used to spell the mnemonic in Japanese
were taken from the masculine names Izumo Taro, the eldest brother whose name comesfrom Izumo Grand Shrine, Daiwa Jiro, the second brother whose name comes from
Nara's Daibutsu Hall, and Kyosaburo, the youngest brother whose name comes from
Kyoto Imperial Palace's Great Audience Hall.
Today, Izumo Grand Shrine stands at twenty-four meters in height, but recently we havelearned definitively from unearthing its pillars up to their base that the ancient Japanese
had managed to build the original shrine suspended at a height of forty-eight meters in theair, higher than the Great Buddha of Nara. The fact that the huge shrine where
Okuninushi's soul was to rest was constructed higher than the Imperial Palace or the Great
Buddha of Nara is perhaps a sign of just how important the Kuniyuzuri Myth was in thenational unification of Japan.
In 2003, Empress Michiko composed the following tanka during a visit to Izumo Grand
Shrine.
"We shall not forget
the illustrious act ofOkuninushi
who surrendered all his lands
and is enshrined here today..."Topic 9 - The nations of East Asia and the Yamato State
What sort of relationship did the Yamato State have with other nations in East Asia
between the fourth and sixth centuries?
Fighting Koguryo to save Paekche| 52 In ancient times, Japan and the nations of the Korean Peninsula were under the sway of politicaltrends within China. Then, in 220 AD, the Han Dynasty fell, ushering in a period of civil war andpolitical disunion in China that lasted for about four hundred years, until the end of the sixth
century. During this time, China’s influence upon neighboring states was markedly reduced.
As China disintegrated, three nations controlled the Korean Peninsula: Koguryo, Paekche, andSilla. Before long, the northernmost state, Koguryo, emerged as the dominant state. At the start of
the fourth century, Koguryo attacked and destroyed the Lelang Commandery, Chinese territory
within the Korean Peninsula, and then turned its attention southward in the second half of the
fourth century by invading Paekche.
Since around the third century, the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula was divided between agreat number of small states. The Nihon Shoki called this general region Mimana, whereas the
Koreans referred to it as Kaya or Kara. This area enjoyed close connections with the peoples ofboth Paekche and Japan. Mimana was a center of production for iron, and it is believed that the
Yamato State carried out its unification of the country by importing iron from Mimana anddistributing it to various regions of Japan.
In the face of Koguryo's attack, Paekche called upon the Yamato State for help. According to astele dedicated to King Kwanggaet'o of Koguryo, who was posthumously dubbed King Hot'ae, aJapanese army crossed the sea and made Paekche and Silla "subjects" of Japan, so the King of
Koguryo responded by dispatching his own troops to drive the Japanese out. Though the Yamato
State did battle with Koguryo, Japan's strategic situation gradually deteriorated. Ultimately,Japanese forces were defeated and withdrew from the Korean Peninsula in 404.
Tribute from the Five Kings of Japan
Around the middle of the fifth century, China entered the Northern and Southern Dynasties period
when the nation was torn into two warring dynasties. The Liu Song Dynasty in the south was
ethnically Chinese, whereas Northern Wei was founded by nomadic tribes. According to thehistory books written by the Liu Song at this time, the Yamato State strengthened its grip on Japanand five successive Japanese kings sent envoys to China to pay tribute.

HISTORICAL KEYWORDS
The Five Kings of JapanThe Book of Song: An Account of Japan documents five successive Japanese kings who sent
envoys to the Liu Song emperors. Their names, written in Chinese style, were San, Chin, Sei, Ko,| 53
and Bu. Historians have various ideas about which Japanese emperors these names refer to, but
most agree that King Bu was the man known in Japan's Nihon Shoki as Emperor Yuryaku, the 21stEmperor.
International Relations in East Asia According to Ancient Inscriptions and ChineseDocuments
Year

Events372

The heir to the crown of Paekche gives the King of Japan a seven-branched sword.

391

Japan makes Paekche and Silla its "subjects".

404

Koguryo and Japan go to war, but Japan is defeated and withdraws its troops fromthe Korean Peninsula.

421

King San of Japan sends an envoy to the Liu Song Dynasty of China.

438

King Chin of Japan is named "Pacifier of the East and King of Japan" by the LiuSong Dynasty.

451

King Sei of Japan is named "Supreme Military Commander of the Six States ofJapan, Silla, Mimana, Kara, Chinhan, and Mahan, Pacifier of the East and King ofJapan" by the Liu Song Dynasty.

478

King Bu of Japan (Emperor Yuryaku) sends a memorial to the Liu Song Emperor.

562

Mimana is annexed by Silla.
An Excerpt from the Memorial of King Bu (Emperor Yuryaku)(as recorded in The Book of Song: An Account of Japan)"Since ages past, our ancestors have personally donned their armor and helmets, and have sallied
forth tirelessly across fields, mountains, and rivers. We subjugated the fifty-five nations of the
Mojin1 in the east, the sixty-six nations of the Shui2 in the west, and even the ninety-five northernnations3 across the sea."(1.) This refers to the people of the Tohoku Region of northeastern Japan. (2.) This refers to thepeople of Kyushu. (3.) This seems to refer to the Korean Peninsula.

The Yamato State paid tribute to the Liu Song Dynasty as a means of countering Koguryo, which
was an ally of the Northern Wei, and preserve its military foothold in southern Korea. The King ofJapan successfully petitioned the Liu Song Emperor for a title recognizing Japan's right to exert
military control over the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. Nevertheless, this title was| 54 largely symbolic. Japan ultimately reversed its diplomatic strategy and, after the reign of King Bu,
ceased to send any further envoys to China.
The rise of Silla and the fall of Mimana
By the sixth century, not only Koguryo, but Silla also was expanding its power in the Korean
Peninsula. Paekche found itself in the difficult situation of being pressured from two sides.
Paekche asked Japan for reinforcements while also sending its own engineers and intellectuals to
Japan.
Meanwhile, Silla and Paekche were competing for control of Mimana, which was eventuallyannexed by Silla in 562. Mimana thus ceased to exist. In order to avert a Japanese intervention,
Silla adopted a friendly stance and gave Japan goods produced in Mimana as gifts.
By the second half of the sixth century, even Koguryo, which had been hostile to Japan for
centuries, was forging friendly ties with Japan and sending envoys there in the hopes of gaining anedge over Paekche and Silla.
Topic 9 Recap Challenge! - Using bullet points, write about the exchanges that took place
between China, Korea, and Japan from the fourth century to the sixth century.

Topic 10 - The introduction of Buddhism
What international conditions led to the introduction of Buddhism to Japan and what
effects did it have?
| 55 The background of Buddhism's introduction
Buddhism started in India around the sixth century BC and was transmitted across Asia in two
directions. The Buddhism that diffused along the southern route into Southeast Asia was
Theravada Buddhism,1 which teaches that individual humans can be saved through rigorous
personal discipline. The Buddhism that was brought northward to China along the Silk Road was
Mahayana Buddhism,2 which teaches that the masses can be saved and whole nations protected
through Buddha's power. Buddhism grew dramatically between the fifth and sixth centuries AD,
during China's Northern and Southern Dynasties period, as it spread from Liu Song China to thestate of Paekche in the Korean Peninsula.
*1=The word "Theravada" means "the school of the elder monks", referring to the monks
who wrote down the earliest Buddhist scriptures. According to Theravada Buddhism,
individual adherents can save themselves only through practicing religious discipline. In thepast, this branch of Buddhism was sometimes called Hinayana, meaning "the lesser vehicle",
but this term was deemed to have derogatory connotations and was abolished in 1950 by aworld council of Buddhists.
*2=The word "Mahayana" means "the greater vehicle". The central tenet of Mahayana
Buddhism is that all ordinary people can be saved without needing to become monks.
Powerful political figures converted to Mahayana Buddhism in the hopes that it would
confer divine protection upon their nations.
In the first half of the sixth century, when Paekche's very survival was at stake by invasions
launched from Koguryo and Silla, Paekche repeatedly asked Japan for military support. To copewith the crisis, King Sŏngmyŏng of Paekche solidified his alliance with Japan. In 552, hepresented Buddhist scriptures and a gilded bronze Buddha statue to the Imperial Court. This was
the introduction of Buddhism to Japan.3*3=There are other historians who put the year of Buddhism's introduction to Japan at 538.

The Soga-Mononobe Conflict
Buddhism arrived in Japan during the reign of Emperor Kimmei. Emperor Kimmei asked thecountry's most powerful clans whether or not Japan should adopt the Buddhist faith. The membersof the Soga clan, who were knowledgeable about international affairs, strongly supported the| 56 adoption of Buddhism, noting that "Every other foreign nation has already embraced Buddhism."
By contrast, the members of the Mononobe clan, who were in charge of Japan's military affairs
and religious rites, opposed Buddhism, arguing that the worship of the deities of foreign nations
would incur the wrath of Japan's indigenous deities. This religious dispute is known as theSoga-Mononobe Conflict. At that time, Emperor Kimmei declined to embrace Buddhism, but hedid permit the Soga clan to accept the new religion independently.
Later, a plague swept through Japan. The Mononobe clan believed this to be punishment fromJapan's deities, and so they threw a statue of Buddha into a river. Incidents such as this soon
escalated the antagonism between the Soga and Mononobe into a full-scale war in which the Soga
annihilated the Mononobe. Following their victory, the Soga constructed Asuka-dera Temple,
Japan's first Buddhist temple.
The Soga and the Mononobe were not fighting over any specific Buddhist teachings, but rather
were merely divided over whether the acceptance of Buddha, who they considered to be a foreigndeity, would bring fortune or misfortune upon Japan. The war was also a political struggle forcontrol of the Yamato State.
The role of the kikajin
A great number of refugees, fleeing the wars that had engulfed much of East Asia, moved to Japanin large groups or even as whole clans. These people were known as the kikajin, meaning"naturalized citizens", or alternatively as the toraijin, meaning "the people who crossed the sea".
The kikajin brought Confucianism to Japan, as well as new skills and techniques in architecture,
civil engineering, metallurgy, and pottery. The style of pottery brought to Japan by the kikajin iscalled Sue-ware.4 They also played important roles in producing written documents in Chinesecharacters for the Yamato State.
*4=Until this point, all Japanese pottery was either baked on an open fire or bisque- fired.
By contrast, Sue-ware was shaped with a potter's wheel and then fired at high temperature
in a multi-chambered kiln built into a mountainside.

Following the introduction of Buddhism, Japan welcomed sculptors of Buddhist altars and statues
and laborers skilled in the construction of temples who came overseas from Paekche. These
immigrants laid the foundation for the development of Buddhist art in Japan.
| 57
The Hata Clan and the Introduction of Sericulture and Weaving
One of the influential kikajin clans responsible for transmitting new technologies to Japan was theHata. It was said that around the fifth century the Hata clan crossed over to Japan from the Korean
Peninsula, carrying with them the art of silkworm cultivation and silk weaving.
Later, a member of this powerful clan, Hata no Kawakatsu, worked as an advisor to Prince
Shotoku. Kawakatsu established Koryu-ji Temple in Uzumasa, Kyoto, as the headquarters of his
clan. Here he enshrined a statue of Maitreya Buddha bestowed upon him by Prince Shotoku. This
statue, known as the "Crown-Coiffed Maitreya", has become Japan's National Treasure #1 in thefield of sculpture.
Topic 10 Recap Challenge! - Concerning the introduction of Buddhism to Japan, explain thearguments of the Soga clan, the arguments of the Mononobe clan, and the decision reached byEmperor Kimmei.