It is widely believed by archaeologists that Japan has been inhabited by people for over 30,000 years. The unique landscape of Japan, with its islands and mountains (as seen in the map above) influenced how these early peoples of Japan lived. To learn more about the societies in Japan prior to the rise of the Imperial Family in the Yamato and Heian periods, read through the resources below.
Cord-marked pottery is the characteristic ware of the earliest inhabitants of Japan. These Neolithic people, known as the Jōmon (cord-marking) culture, existed on the abundant fishing and hunting on the Japanese islands from at least the fifth millennium B.C., surviving in some areas until the third century A.D. During this period handmade utilitarian wares were treated with inventive, often extravagant artistry, and regional separations between groups resulted in a wide range of types and styles. This earthenware food vessel, which came from the Aomori Prefecture in northeastern Japan, is remarkable for the fine quality of its clay and its sophisticated decoration. The cord-marked herringbone pattern was reproduced by cords knotted together and twisted in opposite directions.
The swirling, dynamic appearance of the rim of this bowl is one of the most recognizable characteristics of wares from Japan’s oldest-known civilization. Although most Jōmon containers were cooking vessels, the wildly irregular rim of this type seems unsuitable for practical use and may instead have served a ritual function. Built with coils of clay smoothed by hand and with paddles, the bowl has a dramatically simpler lower body that was impressed with a rough cord before being fired in an open pit.
The Jōmon period is the earliest period in Japanese history, lasting from roughly 14,000 to 300 BCE. The Jōmon people were primarily hunter-gatherers, hunting land animals and gathering vegetables and nuts on the land as well as hunting and fishing at sea. Harpoon heads such as this one testify to the importance of seafood in the diets of some Jōmon communities, especially those close to the sea. Fish bones found at Jōmon archaeological sites indicate that the Jōmon hunted fish not only close to the shore but also farther out in the open sea, where larger fish could be caught. There is even evidence that the Jōmon ate pufferfish, a poisonous fish considered a delicacy in modern Japan.
The Jōmon period is the earliest period in Japanese history, lasting from roughly 14,000 to 300 BCE. The Jōmon people were primarily hunter-gatherers, hunting land animals and gathering vegetables and nuts on the land as well as hunting and fishing at sea. Using implements such as this fishhook, Jōmon communities, especially those close to the sea, were able to consume a variety of fish. Fish bones found at Jōmon archaeological sites indicate that the Jōmon hunted fish not only close to the shore but also farther out in the open sea, where larger fish such as tuna could be caught. There is even evidence that the Jōmon ate pufferfish, a poisonous fish considered a delicacy in modern Japan.
The Jōmon people were primarily hunter-gatherers, hunting land animals and gathering vegetables and nuts on the land as well as hunting and fishing at sea. Fish net sinkers, which would have been used to weigh down nets when catching fish, testify to the importance of seafood in the diets of some Jōmon communities, especially those close to the sea.
The Jōmon period is the earliest period in Japanese history, lasting from roughly 14,000 to 300 BCE. Using materials such as bone, antlers, and stone, the Jōmon people created a variety of utilitarian objects, such as this needle. The small eye at the top would likely have served a function similar to a modern sewing needle, allowing the Jōmon people to practice basic sewing and create textiles.
The Jōmon people were primarily hunter-gatherers, using arrowheads such as this one to hunt a variety of land animals. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Jōmon hunted over 60 species of mammal throughout the Japanese archipelago, including tanuki (Japanese raccoon dogs) and monkeys, both of which would likely be considered unpalatable in contemporary Japanese society.
Like most figurines found at Jōmon sites, this one is broken at the waist, perhaps deliberately. Archaeologists conjecture that such figurines were used in ancient practices to ensure fertility.
By the Middle Jōmon period, the food supply in Japan had stabilized enough that the Jōmon people could focus their activities more on crafts and spiritual life. This led to the development of a wide variety of body ornaments, including necklaces and hairpins, some of which feature very elaborate designs. It is speculated that body ornamentation may have served a religious or spiritual purpose, but it may also have represented social rank and status.
Careful workmanship and attention to the natural beauty of the material are evident in many of the tools, weapons, and ornaments found in Jōmon sites. Stone tools, which were first roughly fashioned in Paleolithic times, were by the Jomon period meticulously chipped and smoothly polished, attesting to the ancient roots of Japan's renowned penchant for refined design and workmanship. This hunting implement, for example, is characterized by a carefully formed leaf shape and evenly beveled edges that required great skill and patience to create.
This small, bulbous-shaped bottle with narrow neck is typical of wares found at Late Jōmon sites in the Tōhoku region. While the southern and western parts of Japan were responding to foreign influences at this time, this area in northern Honshu became a center of traditional pottery production. Although the red pigment applied to the surface of this vessel is unusual, the sophisticated, incised decoration is typical. The small size of this bottle and its relatively simple, compact profile exemplify Late Jōmon ceramic-making trends, which reveal a declining interest in sculptural embellishment and elaborate decoration in favor of greater integration of ornamentation and form. The thin walls of the bottle indicate improvements made in potting methods. Flanking the shoulders and lower section are two sets of apertures, through which a thin cord could be threaded to suspend the container.
The polished axe (masei sekifu) or celt is the most common type of stone implement used during the Neolithic age in East Asia. Such examples have been excavated with Jōmon pottery, as well as with Yayoi pottery and bronze artifacts. The earliest Japanese examples are said to date to 30,0000 years B.C., and are among the oldest stone implements in the world.
This yokobe, or barrel-shaped vessel with a neck on its side, was produced to store liquids, primarily sake. It was coil-built in sections and smoothed by being beaten with wood tools. Fired standing on its side in a high-temperature, Korean-style single-chamber tunnel kiln (anagama), it acquired its streaked surface from falling ash.
Produced during the late Yayoi period, the distinctive clapperless Japanese bronze bells known as dōtaku are thought to derive from earlier, smaller Korean examples that adorned horses and other domesticated animals. Dōtaku were buried, singly, in pairs, and in large groups—occasionally with bronze mirrors and weapons—in isolated locations, often on hilltops, perhaps to ensure a community’s agricultural fertility. Later dōtaku had relatively thin walls and would not have resonated, so it assumed their purpose was primarily ritual.
