Group I
Research Group on Japanese Culture and Shinto
as its Cultural Foundation
Yoshida Eiji
The Research Group on Japanese Culture and Shinto as its Cultural Foundation isconducting research on the formation and development of Shinto and Japaneseculture, as well as undertaking comparative study involving other Asian cultures.
In this way, it hopes not only to elucidate the domestic developmental process of thevarious cultures linked to Shinto and National Learning between the prehistoric
Jomon period and antiquity, but also to take the larger East Asian context into
account. To achieve these goals, our research is focused on the fields of archeology,
ancient Japanese history, ancient literature, oral traditions, and Shinto studies.
1.) Archeaology
Regarding “Japan’s cultural foundation,” the field of archeology aims at
illuminating the cultural characteristics of Jomon and Yayoi culture, and the ways
in which then-emerging rites of worship and ritual culture played roles in thecultures of later periods.
In contrast to the Old Stone Age during which all of East Asia sharedlargely similar cultural forms, the Jōmon period, which saw the emergence anddevelopment of a unique culture on the Japanese archipelago, greatly contributed tothe emergence of Japan’s fundamental culture. In order to show whatcharacteristics and universal traits the Jōmon culture possessed among East Asia’s
New Stone Age cultures and how it influenced the succeeding Japanese cultures
and the emergence of Shinto, we will conduct comparative research on the New
Stone Age cultures of the Siberian coast, North-East China, and the Korean
peninsula. These cultures were on the same civilizational level as the hunting,fishing, and gathering society of the Jōmon culture. One important method toachieve the above objective is the excavation of sites dating from the end of the Old
Stone Age to the beginning of the New Stone Age in the Siberian coastal region. We
intend to take this approach as our cardinal point for the inspection of theemergence of earthenware in Asia, the comparison of agricultural and production
techniques, and the study of sites and objects related to the spiritual culture ofthese areas. In regard to the excavations in the Russian coastal region, we havegained the cooperation of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and a joint research
program has been arranged with Far Eastern National University in Vladivostok.
This summer, a three-year excavation project will commence.
At the same time, what came to form the basis for Japan’s fundamental
culture was the rice cultivation that emerged during the Yayoi period. The rice
farming culture of the Korean peninsula and other parts of East Asia greatly
influenced the establishment and development of Japan’s Yayoi culture. Therefore,
we will comprehensively elucidate the form of relationship that existed between the
rice-growing culture and society of the Yayoi period and the following Kofun periodon the one hand, and on the other, East Asia’s rice-growing cultures and societiesthat are its source of origin. We will also research the rites of worship that wereconducted in relationship to the rice-farming culture of the Yayoi period bycomparing the special characteristics and universal traits of Yayoi culture with therice growing cultures of China, Korea and Northern Vietnam. However, after the
Yayoi period and up to the present, millet cultivation has existed in Japan alongside
rice cultivation. Thus, research will be advanced considering the culture of millet
cultivation as well. For this project, research programs have been arranged with the
Department of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Peking
University, Shandong University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, theCultural Relics and Archaeological Research Institutes in many Chinese provinces
and municipalities, Shanghai Museum, Pusan National University in Korea, andthe Vietnam Archeology Institute. Since last year full-fledged surveys in the various
localities have commenced. We also plan to hold an international conference in thefield of archeology concerning the cultures of the Jōmon and Yayoi periods inDecember of this year.
2.) Ancient Japanese History
The project Cultural Exchange between Japan and East Asia in the field of ancientJapanese history aims at elucidating the way in which the formation of Japaneseculture has been influenced by continental and Korean culture. Emphasis is put on
Tang China, Paekche, Silla, and Bohai. We are mainly looking at the period from
antiquity to the Middle Ages. The role this influence has played in the birth anddevelopment of rites of worship in Shinto and other ritual cultures is given special
consideration. Particular attention will also be paid to findings derived from thefields of archeology and historical geography.
In concrete terms, we have already conducted research focusing on the cultures ofremote regions, trade culture, religious culture, foreign cultural imports, and theburial culture represented foremost by the kofun burial mounds of ancient andmedieval Japan. Last year we surveyed the keyhole-shaped tombs in Korea’s
Jeollanam-do region, the historical sites related to the Heian period monk Ennin in
China’s Shandong peninsula, and the activities of inhabitants of Silla in that region.
Surveys were also conducted on the spread of medieval Kamui pottery from
Tokunoshima. Likewise, research was conducted on orthographic cultures. We havegained the cooperation of a large number of research facilities, such as the Instituteof History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Institute of North-East
Asian Studies at Beijing University, the Department of Sino-Foreign Relations at
Shandong University’s School of History and Culture, the Department of KoreanStudies at Shandong University, the Shandong Provincial Culture Bureau and theChang Po-Go Memorial Project Group at the National Museum of Korea. Last year,
we organized two international conferences under the titles “Cultural Exchange
among the Countries of Ancient East Asia,” and “Religious-Cultural Exchange in
East Asia Involving Deities and Buddhism.” This year, too, from December 13 to 14,
an international conference will be held dealing with cultural exchange.
3.) Ancient Literature and Oral Traditions
In the fields of ancient literature and ethnology, we aim to create a new National
Learning focusing on the formation of the notion of kami in Japan and its
comparative cultural analysis. The basis for this research will be provided by thefindings of Takeda Yukichi’s inquiries into the Kojiki, Nihon shoki, Man’yōshū, andFudoki. We will also use Orikuchi Shinobu’s ethnological methodology. To achieve
our aim, we will implement the following three projects:
1.) We will elucidate the process of the formation of the notion of kami in Japan bytaking a comparative approach. As part of this approach, comparative analyses
will be conducted on annual rites performed by minority nationalities insouthwestern China displaying a resemblance to Japan’s ritual and oral culture,with especial emphasis placed on the rites for summoning deities and the songs
performed on these occasions. The expressions of vocal offerings to the deitiesand utterances emanating from the deities found in the oral transmissions
among the Tong, Miao, and Bai nationalities will be given particular attention.
This project will be jointly conducted with the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences.
2.) Dividing the Japanese archipelago for research purposes into the two
geographical areas of Ryukyu and Yamato, we will clarify the process offormation of the notion of kami in Japan. Surveys will be carried out on theritual and oral cultures found in Okinawa and Amami for the Ryukyu
geographical region and on the ones found in Iwasuzuri, Izumo, and Tsugaru for
the Yamato geographical region.
3.) We plan to re-examine, categorize, and publish various materials relating to theformation of the notion of kami by using the collections at the Professor
Orikuchi Memorial Research Institute of Antiquity, the Kawano Collection, andthe Takeda Collection.
As part of project 1.), we organized a joint research group with the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing last year and are making progress in thecollection of material on Chinese folk art and the organization of this data in a
database. In regard to project 2.), we have conducted surveys on the oral cultures
relating to sacred sites on Okinawa island and the Yaeyama islands, the oral
cultures connected to rituals and religious festivals, and the oral cultures found invillage society. Taking the results of these surveys into account, we are currently
working towards the publication of source materials related to the formation of thenotion of kami.
4.) Shinto Studies
In the field of Shinto studies, we will conduct research about the bronze mirrorsthat have been objects of worship in Japan from the Yayoi period onward. Bronze
mirrors have been worshipped since antiquity as one of the three divine regalia andhave played an important role in ancient religious rites and the emergence of Shinto,
as symbolized by the fact that the object of worship at the Ise Shrine is a bronze
mirror. Differing from the view purported in previous research, that bronze mirrors
are simply ancient artifacts, our research will elucidate the meanings and roles thatthe bronze mirrors have had in the various beliefs, rituals, and festival activities
that have been part of Japanese tradition ever since the Yayoi period. The findings
accumulated by the Kokugakuin University-based Ritual Archeology Society will

form the basis of this research project. Since last year, we have been advancing
surveys on Korean bronze mirrors and the remains of sites of worship as well. This
year we will commence our main research inquiries.
The above is an overview of the research projects of Group I. The main
characteristic of our research is that we will re-examine and academicallyreconstruct Shinto and Japanese culture by drawing on a synthesis of research
results from a variety of fields. The creation of an environment that allows young
researchers such as COE research assistants and graduate students to advancetheir research interdisciplinary and internationally has been all but completed andwe hope to be able to disseminate the results of our projects starting this year.