Japan in the Ancient World

Date: 8000 b.c.e.-710 c.e.

Locale: Archipelago consisting of four main islands (and several thousand smaller ones) off the east coast of the Asian mainland

Japan in the Ancient World

Japanese archaeologists divide the earliest part of Japanese history into four periods: the Paleolithic (preceramic) period, the Jōmon (cord-marked pottery) period, the Yayoi period, and the Kofun (burial mound) period. Underlying this chronology, however, are two basic problems: First, who are the Japanese, and where did they come from? Second, how do the Japanese or “proto-Japanese” relate to the Ainu, a group of people who have resided in Japan since about 7500 b.c.e. but differ racially, culturally, and linguistically from modern Japanese in significant ways?

Paleolithic Japan (before 10,000 b.c.e.)

The Japanese islands have probably been occupied by humans for at least 30,000 years, if not longer. However, 10,000 years ago, Paleolithic Japan was a cooler place, and the sea level was 125 feet (38 meters) lower; therefore, some of the archaeological evidence of the earliest inhabitants is submerged. These hunters and gatherers, who had an extensive stone-tool inventory, most likely came to southern Japan through present-day Korea or to northern Japan from eastern Siberia, though there is abundant evidence of land connections to Asia at this time throughout the islands. It appears that the complete physical separation of the Japanese islands occurred only as recently as 18,000 to 12,000 years ago.

Jōmon period (c. 10,000-c. 300 b.c.e.)

Starting about 13,000 years ago, when the Japanese climate began to warm, beautiful local pottery traditions—characterized by complex impressions made by twisted cords or sticks on the outside of pots before baking—abruptly appeared at various locales. Such ceramics eventually became commonplace throughout the islands. The Jōmon people (named for this distinctive “cord-marked” ceramic style) were probably the direct descendants of the people of the previous Paleolithic traditions. They were very successful at hunting, fishing, and gathering, and because of the numerous rivers and rugged coastlines, they were largely sedentary. Shell mounds all over the islands indicate how extensively the ocean and rivers were exploited by Jōmon people. The Jōmon pottery eventually came to show distinctive regional styles, suggesting the existence of rather well-defined cultural groups and local folk traditions.

Yayoi (c. 300 b.c.e.-c. 300 c.e.)

About two thousand years ago, a distinct break occurred in the archaeological record. In Kyūshū, the southernmost main island of Japan, bronze from the Korean peninsula and a newer style of earthenware pottery appeared, and iron smelting was developed. These changes characterize the Yayoi period, named after the district in modern Tokyo where certain artifacts were first discovered. The Yayoi period also saw the beginning of Japanese-style intensive irrigated wet-rice cultivation, which became the main means of subsistence for almost everyone on the islands. This agrarian rice-based economy—with basically the same kind of farming practices—would persist until Japan’s westernization in the late nineteenth century.

However, controversy surrounds the origins of this culture. The Yayoi people may have come from overseas and replaced the earlier Jōmon people (as evidenced by the presence of many new technologies from abroad). For many years, Japanese archaeologists have assumed this to be true, with the implication being that the Jōmon people are the ancestors of modern Ainu, and modern Japanese are the descendants of those who migrated from the Asian mainland during the Yayoi and Kofun periods. However, a majority of archaeologists feel that the record probably indicates a gradual but direct continuity from Jōmon people to early, but historically identifiable, Japanese, with any migration from the mainland blending in with the local cultures. In either case, by the end of the Yayoi period, certain institutional structures were in place—a division of labor, the accumulation of prestige and luxury goods by particular individuals, and the rise of complex political organizations—which created a more stratified society, allowing for the development of a full-fledged Japanese state in the Kofun period.

Kofun period (c. 300 c.e.-710 c.e.)

The Kofun period is characterized by the appearance of massive keyhole-shaped burial mounds (kofun), which probably required the labor of hundreds (or even thousands) of people for many years to construct. These tombs were built for the deceased members of the ruling class and could cover seventy acres (twenty-eight hectare) and be as high as 500 feet (152 meters). The earliest kofun tumuli are found in the heartland of Japanese traditional culture, the western Kinai region of Ōsaka, Kyōto, and Nara.

The Japanese imperial system apparently began at this time, with most emperors having large kofun mound tombs made for them. Ōjin Tennō, perhaps the first historical emperor, reigned in the late fourth to early fifth centuries c.e. (though he was said to be preceded by fourteen legendary sovereigns who were thought to be direct descendants of Amaterasu Ōmikami, the Sun goddess and progenitor of the Japanese people). The first Japanese state, the Yamato, probably appeared in this area during the Kofun period (though some argue for an origin on the southern island of Kyūshū). Eventually Kofun period culture and burial mounds stretched from as far south as Kyūshū to as far north as modern Tokyo.

Government and law

It is not clear exactly when the Yamato state was first established, but certainly it was in existence by the fourth century c.e. Chinese and Korean chronicles speak of a recognizable Japanese kingdom, the Yamatai (though it is not clear if this was actually the Yamato state). At this time, Japan and the states of the Asian mainland initiated their first extensive political, cultural, and economic contacts. Early Japanese leaders borrowed many mainland administrative techniques, which contributed to the rise of centralized Yamato hegemony. One technique was to incorporate local chiefs and political units established in Yayoi times into the new nation-state. Prestige goods from abroad, such as Chinese bronze mirrors, became symbols of power; elaborate titles and ranks were given to leaders of the new aristocratic clans (uji) who administered subordinate serflike groups of peasants (be).

The Yamato court underwent a major change in the mid-seventh century when the uji-be system was vastly modified to give the imperial household more authority, culminating in a series of edicts issued by Emperor Kōtoku called the Taika (“great change”) Reforms (645 to 649 c.e.). The intent was to limit the power of the uji chiefdom-families, who were becoming increasingly independent, especially in the eastern plains far from the center of government. In an effort to ensure centralized control over the land and the people, a census was conducted, household registries were required, and a unified tax code was imposed. A Chinese-style civil service system was established with bureaucrats being appointed on the basis of merit rather than heredity, and the Chinese calender was adopted. Local village governments were implemented, and restrictions were placed on the size of kofun mounds and the number of people employed in building them. These restrictions were an attempt to undermine the rank system that gave the local aristocrats much of their legitimacy and symbolic power.

Religion and ritual

The indigenous religion of Japan, Shintō (literally “the way of the gods”), is a complex elaboration and institutionalization of nature and ancestor worship. Local deities abound, and natural forces and entities—the Sun, Moon, major mountains, wind, trees, and rivers—are all thought to possess supernatural powers. Japanese mythology and origin myths are simply articulated Shintō doctrines. In theory, the living emperor is not only the chief political leader of the nation but also its head Shintō priest. Archaeological evidence strongly suggests that both the Yayoi and Kofun peoples—and perhaps the Jōmon people as well—practiced at least incipient forms of Shintō. For example, rituals such as making offerings of food to the ancestors and the gods, common forms of modern Shintō worship, were extensively practiced; items found in burials and Kofun tombs all have Shintō significance. Religious activity was grounded in the local community, centering on agriculture, just as in modern Shintō.

However, in 587 c.e., the empress Suiko, under the guidance of regent Prince Shōtoku, one of the major founders of the early Japanese state, recognized Buddhism, first imported from China and Korea in 552 c.e., as an official religion. This was partly for political reasons; by advocating the adoption of Buddhism and its rituals, the prince and the Soga clan hoped to consolidate their power against their rivals. Because of this radical religious change and its corresponding political developments, Japanese historians have traditionally referred to the end of the Kofun period as the Asuka period (593-710 c.e.). By the end of the seventh century c.e., about half a dozen Buddhist sects were flourishing in Japan; with them came major transformations in philosophy and ritual. For example, as the Buddhist custom of cremation gained acceptance, many aristocrats now devoted more attention to temple building rather than elaborate tumulus construction. However, Buddhism never replaced the Shintō religion; instead, these religions incorporated elements from each other and began a coexistence that is maintained in modern Japan.

Architecture and city planning

Before the sixth century c.e., the center of imperial power shifted with each emperor. After the Taika Reforms in the mid-seventh century c.e., a permanent capital was established near what later became Nara. This city was laid out with perpendicular street-grids following the model of Chinese capitals. The style of Buddhist temples influenced much public and elite architecture. Roof tiles and drainage ditches replaced the thatched wooden houses found in the earlier times.

Language

Linguists believe that the Japanese language is related to Korean, some of the native languages of eastern Siberia and Manchuria, and possibly distantly to Mongolian, Turkish, and other Altaic languages. However, they do not know when the Japanese language reached the islands nor who spoke it. Hypothetical reconstructions of vocabulary and syntax suggest that proto-Japanese speakers moved to the southern island of Kyūshū about 2500 b.c.e. and developed the language there with little outside contact; people on the main island of Honshū presumably spoke some version of the Ainu language. Later, around two thousand years ago, Japanese-speakers expanded northward up Honshū and southward throughout the Ryūkyū Islands. Of course, this is all speculation, but in any event, by the late Yayoi and early Kofun periods, there is little doubt that the Yamato state was a Japanese-speaking polity.

Writing systems and literature

Though Japanese was spoken by the masses in Kofun times, the business of government was not always conducted in that language. Before the Japanese borrowed the ideographic characters from China around 600 c.e., they had no writing system. Because the structures of the two languages are quite different, it was very hard to use these characters to write Japanese. One solution was simply to do all writing of import in Chinese. Therefore, although educated Japanese could enjoy the Chinese classics, the first great masterpieces of Japanese literature did not appear until the start of the eighth century. The very end of the Kofun and the start of the medieval Nara period (710-794 c.e.) saw the compilation of the government-sponsored histories of the Yamato state, the Kojiki (712 c.e.; Records of Ancient Matters, 1883) and the Nihon shoki (compiled 720 c.e.; Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to a.d. 697, 1896), which chronicled the events of the Kofun period and the mythological past. All other earlier works, such as Tennōki (620 c.e.; “record of the emperors”), solicited by Prince Shōtoku and other members of the Soga family in an attempt to justify their authority over the aristocratic uji clans, have not survived.

Visual arts

The most typical artwork of the Kofun period was the haniwa (“clay ring”) figurines that were often placed on the outside of burial mounds. These hollow, unglazed earthenware sculptures ranged anywhere from a foot and a half to five feet (roughly one-half to four meters) in height. Typical haniwa shapes included people, houses, and weapons, but one of the most common subjects was the saddled horse. The depiction of a horse helped support the very controversial horse-rider hypothesis, which held that the proto-Japanese state was established by a group of nomadic warriors from northern Asia who invaded the islands on horseback around 400 c.e. and made themselves rulers. Regardless of the correctness of this theory—most archaeologists see little evidence for it, though some historians like the way it corresponds to the chronologies given in the ancient chronicles—the haniwa do seem to have a military or protective function of guarding the outside of the burial mounds; no haniwa appear to have been placed inside a burial chamber with the deceased.

Women’s life

The status of women in early Japan was rather high, especially compared with the institutionalized patriarchy of later medieval Japan when Confucian ethics and Buddhist doctrines became commonplace. For example, of the fifteen historical (nonlegendary) emperors of the Kofun period, five were women. Also, shamanism was an important part of Yamato court life before the Taika Reforms, and many shamans and mediums were female. Stories of the time tell of the accomplishments of many marvelous women, both historical and legendary, such as Himiko (the queen and head priest of the Yamatai state described in the Chinese historical accounts of the late third century c.e.), Jingū (an empress credited with many military exploits c. 400 c.e.), and Japan’s principal deity, Amaterasu Ōmikami, the Sun goddess. In addition, early Yayoi and Kofun peoples apparently practiced muko-irikon (a matrilocal residence pattern), in which the husband went to live with the wife’s family. The importance, even dominance, of women in traditional farm families continued in many rural areas and has been documented by anthropologists even up through the twentieth century.

Current views

The developments in the Yayoi and Kofun periods determined the direction that the new Japanese state was to take for the next millennia. The rest of Japanese history is, in a sense, just an elaboration of the cultural, political, and social accomplishments of that time. For example, the Japanese imperial line, the longest-running hereditary royal institution in the world, was established during Yamato times, and has lasted until the present. However, this period is important for other reasons as well. As mentioned, there are still a number of unanswered questions from this era, especially regarding Japanese linguistic and ethnic origins. Nihonjin-ron (literally, “the theory of Japaneseness”) is the subject of many debates in Japan. The study of Japanese archaeology and the development of the first Japanese state, then, is of tremendous interest to both Japanese scholars and laypersons. Notions of Japanese identity and sense of self are closely tied to the study of these early times, the most important periods in Japanese history.

Bibliography

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Barnes, Gina. The Rise of Civilization in East Asia: The Archaeology of China, Korea, and Japan. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1998.

Brown, Delmer, ed. Ancient Japan. Vol. 1 in The Cambridge History of Japan. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

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