Yayoi culture

Japanese: 弥生文化 - やよいぶんか

Overview

Definition

This was the first culture in mainland Japan where a lifestyle based on food production began. It spanned a period of 600-700 years, from the 4th or 5th century BC to the 3rd century AD. Specifically, it was the first culture based on rice cultivation, which is very different from the preceding Jomon culture, which was based on food gathering even though it involved some cultivation. On the other hand, it shares a commonality with the subsequent Japanese cultures from the Kofun culture onwards, in that they were both based on rice cultivation.

The period of the Yayoi culture is called the Yayoi period, the people who carried this culture are called the Yayoi people, and the pottery of this culture is called Yayoi pottery. However, originally, the culture or era that used Yayoi pottery was called the Yayoi culture or era, and there are still people today who respect this old idea.

[Makoto Sahara]

New and traditional elements

The Yayoi culture is characterized by "new elements" from China and the Korean peninsula, such as full-scale farming, mainly with rice, wheat, foxtail millet, millet, and soybeans, as well as the use and production of iron and bronze tools, and spinning and weaving. At the same time, however, "traditional elements" from Jomon culture, such as pit dwellings, earthenware, and chipped stone tools, are also strongly evident, and, except for the very beginning, "indigenous elements" that developed specifically in the Yayoi culture are also evident, as seen in the development of bronze ritual vessels, bracelets made from conch shells from the South Seas, and bronze bracelets made in the same shape. The fact that both new and traditional elements have existed since the earliest Yayoi culture eloquently demonstrates that the Yayoi culture was not formed by people who came to Japan bearing a certain culture from the continent, but rather that it was a new culture formed by people who arrived bearing a foreign culture and combined it with the local Jomon people.

During the Yayoi period, people began to have specialized technicians, such as bronze casting technicians, and the differentiation of rulers and ruled, that is, the establishment of a class society and the birth of a nation, began to take place.

The Yayoi culture was also the first Japanese culture to have regular contact with the continent. Although there were long periods of interruption in contact with the continent afterwards, China and the Korean peninsula remained in people's consciousness. Therefore, the Yayoi culture can be said to have been the first culture in which the Japanese people became aware of being members of the international community.

[Makoto Sahara]

Yayoi culture area

The Yayoi culture spread to Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu and the islands associated with them. Hokkaido remained outside of this area, and people continued to live a life based on food gathering, just as in the Jomon culture. This culture is called the "Zoku Jomon culture." Until recently, the northern tip of the Tohoku region of Honshu was thought to belong to the area of this Zoku Jomon culture. However, with the discovery of the remains of rice paddies in Aomori Prefecture, there is no longer any doubt that Honshu, all the way to the northern tip, belongs to the area of the Yayoi culture.

On the other hand, in the Ryukyu Islands, even in the Yayoi period, a "late shell mound culture" based on food gathering continued. Yayoi pottery from Kyushu was brought to Okinawa Island, and it has been argued that it may have belonged to the Yayoi culture because it has elements in common with the Yayoi culture, such as box-shaped stone coffins. However, at present, rice cultivation began in Okinawa only in the 10th century, and no evidence of rice cultivation in the Yayoi period has been found.

[Makoto Sahara]

Division of the Yayoi period

Pottery style and period

In the lower layers of the Nabatake ruins in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, and the Itazuke ruins in Fukuoka City, rice paddy remains from what until recently was generally accepted as the latter half of the Final Jomon period have been unearthed, and at the Magarida ruins in Fukuoka Prefecture, part of the remains of a village from this period has been excavated. This "Nabatake/Magarida stage" is called the Early Yayoi period (or Pre-I stage). However, some researchers still consider this stage to be the Final Jomon period as it has been in the past.

This is followed by the Early Period (Phase I), which everyone recognizes as the Yayoi period. The next two periods are problematic, and while Kyushu researchers refer to the period of "Kitakyushu II and III Style Pottery" as the Middle Period and "Kitakyushu IV and V Style Pottery" as the Late Period, researchers in other regions refer to the period of "Kinai II to IV Style Pottery" as the Middle Period and "Kinai V Style Pottery" as the Late Period. Therefore, expressions such as the end of the Middle Period and the beginning of the Late Period cause confusion, as different researchers refer to different periods. However, fortunately, Kitakyushu II to V Style Pottery and Kinai II to V Style Pottery are considered to be roughly parallel in terms of time, so the method of preventing confusion is taken by calling each period II to V.

Additionally, there are divided views on the idea that the "Shonai style pottery" which follows the Style V pottery in the Kinai region is Yayoi pottery, and on the idea that it should be divided into two, with the first half being Yayoi pottery and the second half being Haji ware. The distinction between Yayoi pottery and Haji ware, and ultimately the boundary between the Yayoi period and the Kofun period, must also await a resolution in the future.

[Makoto Sahara]

Iron Age

In the past, the Yayoi period was sometimes called the Bronze Age. It was also sometimes treated as the Neolithic Age. The fact that new elements from the continent included modern polished stone axes such as felling axes (thick clam blade stone axes), working axes (pillar-shaped single-edged stone axes, flat single-edged stone axes), and shellfish knives (stone knives) supported the idea that the Yayoi period was the Neolithic Age. However, today, the Yayoi period is more likely to be considered the Iron Age. No iron tools have been excavated from the early Nabata ruins. However, traces of ironworking have been found on stakes. In general, the first half of the Yayoi period can be considered an incomplete Iron Age, with stone tools still in heavy use. Towards the end of the period, the disappearance of stone tools indicates that the period had completely entered the Iron Age.

[Makoto Sahara]

Yayoi people

The Yayoi people can be distinguished into two groups: immigrants, people who interbred with the Jomon people, and their descendants (immigrant people), and Jomon people who became Yayoi people by adopting Yayoi culture (Jomon people).

[Makoto Sahara]

Migrant

They were tall people with flat faces, with characteristics new to Mongolian humans (Mongoloids), and shared characteristics with ancient people in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, so it is certain that they migrated from there. Some researchers of physical anthropology believe that their original homeland was even further northeastern in mainland Asia. The Yayoi people who migrated are said to have ranged from northern Kyushu to the coastal areas of Yamaguchi and Tottori prefectures, and from the Seto Inland Sea coast to the Kinki region. They may have reached Nagoya, where pottery from the first Yayoi period (Onga River-style pottery) is distributed. What's more, we must now consider the possibility that a small number of them may have reached the coast of the Sea of Japan as far as Aomori prefecture.

[Makoto Sahara]

Jomon

However, in Northwest Kyushu, Southern Kyushu, parts of Shikoku, and most of Eastern Japan, the Jomon people, who had ancient characteristics for the Mongolian race, and were somewhat short with deep-set faces, adopted new culture and changed into the Yayoi people. However, in Southern Kanto, characteristics different from those of the Jomon Yayoi and Jomon people have been recognized, and it is understood that this is the result of changes in living environment and work that have caused changes in physical characteristics.

[Makoto Sahara]

The spread of rice cultivation

From the Korean Peninsula

The home of rice cultivation in Japan is thought to be near the lower reaches of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) in China. It is believed that rice arrived in Japan from there by multiple routes, and that it was not a one-off arrival, but rather was transmitted multiple times from various directions. However, it is certain that the final intermediate point of the main transmission that provided the decisive motivation for the establishment of Yayoi culture was in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, and not only are there many elements in common with the early Yayoi culture, but the products of the Korean peninsula were also brought there.

Furthermore, since the storage pits of the Early Yayoi culture in northern Kyushu and Yamaguchi Prefecture are thought to be descended from those in the cold, dry north of China, it is highly likely that there was an intermediate site in northern China before reaching the Korean Peninsula. On the other hand, the Yayoi culture also includes things such as raised-floor storehouses that were introduced from the hot, humid regions south of the lower Yangtze River basin. However, while there are round-grained Japanese type and long-grained Indian type rice varieties in the lower Yangtze River basin, all Yayoi rice is of the Japanese type, and since agriculture in the lower Yangtze River basin involves pigs, it is thought that rice cultivation was introduced from this area as a tributary. The main source of rice cultivation was surely the Korean Peninsula, which shared a wealth of cultural artifacts with the Yayoi culture and did not have livestock for food.

[Makoto Sahara]

The Tohoku region also started rice cultivation in the early part of the year.

The conventional view of rice cultivation in mainland Japan has been completely renewed. Until recently, it was recognized that villages that made and used pottery from the first period (Onga River pottery) were distributed as far as Nagoya on the Pacific coast and Tango Peninsula in Kyoto Prefecture on the Japan Sea coast. Further east, only a small number of pottery pieces were found, along with local pottery, as pottery that had been carried there. Thus, it was said that full-scale rice cultivation culture first flourished in western Japan, and that rice cultivation began in eastern Japan several decades or even more than 100 years later. It has been explained that people were able to live comfortably by gathering food, that there was resistance from the Jomon culture, or that it took time to improve rice varieties so that it could be cultivated in cold regions.

However, in recent years, "Onga River-style pottery" that matches in detail the pottery from the first period in western Japan has been found in abundance in Iwate, Akita, and Aomori prefectures along the Japan Sea coast, as well as on the Pacific coast of Aomori prefecture, and the remains of rice paddies from this period have been excavated in Sunazawa, Aomori prefecture. Thus, it has now been confirmed that rice cultivation began in the early period all the way up to the Tohoku region.

[Makoto Sahara]

Yayoi pottery

Name and Features

In 1884 (Meiji 17), a piece of pottery with a chipped tip was collected from the Mukogaoka shell mound in Yayoi-cho, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo. It was later recognized as something different from Jomon pottery, and in the 1890s it came to be called "Yayoi-style pottery." The term "Yayoi pottery" was first used in 1975 (Showa 50), and was adopted to align with the current practice of calling it Jomon pottery rather than Jomon-style pottery, with the "style" being used only when further subdividing each type.

Yayoi pottery is made without using a potter's wheel and without using a kiln, by firing it outdoors at around 600-800℃ under conditions of sufficient oxygen (oxidizing flames). It is a red-fired soft earthenware that shares the same basic ceramic techniques as the preceding Jomon pottery and the subsequent Haji pottery. Many of the shapes, patterns, and techniques seen in Yayoi pottery were previously attempted in Jomon pottery elsewhere, and are also common to Haji pottery. Therefore, it is natural that it is difficult to determine whether a certain piece of pottery is Jomon pottery or Yayoi pottery, or Yayoi pottery or Haji pottery, and this reality has led to a new definition of the Yayoi culture.

If we were to look for something new in Yayoi pottery that sets it apart from Jomon pottery, it would be the remarkable use of tools made from iron, which is appropriate for pottery from the Iron Age, such as surface finishing (brush marks) that makes use of the grain of the split board, the technique of finishing by beating with a line-engraved hammer, stamp patterns made from boards with engraved patterns, comb patterns made with a tool with a finely split tip, etc. In addition, we can point out the dramatic decline and disappearance of wavy-rimmed pottery, which was a characteristic of Jomon pottery, and the dramatic increase in storage jars.

[Makoto Sahara]

Equipment type

The main types of vessels that make up Yayoi pottery are jars, deep pots called kame (corresponding to the deep bowls of Jomon pottery), serving bowls and high cups, and also kidai (stands for vessels), which are separate pedestals for vessels. Large jars were used to store water, and in northern Kyushu, extra-large jars were used for the burial of adults (kamekan). Yayoi pottery in western Japan has simple decoration, following the tradition of Jomon pottery, which has few patterns. In northern Kyushu in particular, beauty of outlines and polished surfaces was sought. In the region centered around Kinki, comb-drawn patterns developed. Meanwhile, Yayoi pottery in eastern Japan makes full use of rope patterns and curved patterns, following the tradition of Jomon pottery, which is lively and decorative. From the early to mid-stage Yayoi pottery, the making of pottery and the patterns on it were generally done carefully and over a long period of time, and could be called "slow and skilled" techniques. However, the making of newer Yayoi pottery is generally cruder and quicker, and the patterns tend to be lost, making it a "hasty" technique. This shows that pottery came to be treated as a daily consumable item, and can be judged as an apparent decline in technique.

However, this shift in technology from slow and skilled to quick and clumsy is a reflection of the progress of society. It should also be noted that slow and skilled techniques are still used for vessels arranged in the tombs of influential people and vessels dedicated to the gods, and a division in technology has been noted between quick and clumsy for everyday items and slow and skilled for some people. In western Japan, several small bowls and tall cups have been found in the remains of burnt houses dating to the end of the Yayoi period, indicating that each member of a family had begun to use their own tableware (individual vessels).

[Makoto Sahara]

Life in the Yayoi Period

Settlements and agriculture

The Yayoi people lived in villages consisting of semi-underground pit dwellings. In northern Kyushu and other areas, they initially stored grain in storage pits, but later used raised-floor warehouses. Large villages were surrounded by moats and fenced off from them, and traces of earthen mounds (earthworks) can sometimes be seen. In addition to these moated settlements, villages (highland settlements) were also built on the slopes or tops of hills where it was inconvenient for rice paddy farming. These, along with moated settlements, were defensive settlements. More than 20 remains of Yayoi rice paddies have already been found in various places. The well-known rice paddies in Toro, Shizuoka City, are large (around 13 ares and 20 ares) and have wide ridges. However, small rice paddies (2 to 5 meters on a side) were common.

For cultivation, hoes and plows with wooden blades were used. Whether the rice was transplanted or directly sown has long been debated. At present, the most popular theory is that it was transplanted, and what appear to be the remains of rice stalks have been found in former paddy fields. For harvesting, a tool for picking rice ears called a stone knife was used. As the ripening period of the rice was uneven, the rice was picked from the ripe ears. The harvested rice was stored in storage pits or in raised-floor warehouses, and the required amount was placed in a mortar and threshed with a pestle.

[Makoto Sahara]

Food and clothing

It is said that in ancient Japan, including the Yayoi period, rice was steamed before eating. However, the Yayoi people ate rice by boiling it directly in a deep pot. Sometimes the rice was found to have been left burnt on. Although rice cultivation had begun, the Yayoi people also relied heavily on edible plants, and they also hunted deer and wild boar, and enjoyed fish and shellfish. Pictorial materials show that hunting bows were held long on top and short on the bottom, which coincides with the description in the Gishiwajinden. Towards the end of the Yayoi period, salt production using earthenware began along the coasts from the Seto Inland Sea to Osaka Bay.

The Yayoi period was also the time when people started to make clothes from cloth. They spun thread from wild ramie and cultivated taima and began weaving cloth. Parts of looms have been found in various places. Moreover, the fact that silk unearthed in northern Kyushu is different from that on the continent suggests that sericulture had already begun. According to the description in the Gishiwajinden, Yayoi clothing was a tunic garment made by folding cloth in half and making a hole in the folded part through which the neck could be passed. However, the width of the cloth reconstructed from the excavated parts was only 30 centimeters. It was not possible to cover the body with a single piece of cloth, but rather it could be reconstructed as two pieces folded in half and overlapping each other so that there was an opening at the neck. The Yayoi period had various accessories, just like the Jomon period. However, earrings are the only relics that remain. Among shell bracelets, what is noteworthy is the fact that the custom of men wearing bracelets made from the southern sea snail Gohora on their right hands spread throughout northern Kyushu, and it seems that they indicated a certain occupation or social status. According to pictorial materials from Chugoku, Shikoku, and Aichi Prefectures, Yayoi people appear to have had parallel arched lines tattooed or painted from their foreheads to their cheeks, which recalls the description in the Gishi Wajinden.

[Makoto Sahara]

Rituals and funerals

In the Yayoi period, new spiritual practices such as bone divination (kotsuboku) and rituals using birds on trees began, and they swept away much of the magic of the Jomon culture. The custom of tooth extraction also gradually faded away. Naturally, the center of spiritual life was festivals related to rice cultivation. Bronze bells, or dotaku, were bells that were hung from the necks of livestock on the continent, but arrived without livestock and developed into festival bells in a unique way. They seem to have played a central role in rice cultivation rituals in the area centered around the Kinki region. From northern Kyushu to the Kinki region, weapon-shaped ritual implements developed that imitated the shapes of three types of bronze weapons made in Korea (halberd, sword, and spear). They were probably used as ritual implements in the hope that they would ward off evil.

Yayoi period tombs vary greatly by region and by era. In northern Kyushu, wooden coffin tombs and stone coffin tombs were used at first, followed by jar coffin tombs, and then again by stone coffin tombs. In the area centered around Kinai, square or rectangular burial mound tombs (square moat tombs and platform tombs) were used. In the Kanto and southern Tohoku regions, reburial tombs were initially used, in which the body was allowed to decompose and the bones were placed in pottery. However, burial mound tombs were later adopted. Some of the jar coffin and stone coffin tombs in northern Kyushu were buried with large amounts of mirrors and bronze objects made on the continent, and some of the mound tombs are extra-large, worthy of the name "royal tombs" where the kings of "small nations" who governed villages were buried, as evidenced by the gold seal of King Kanno-no-Nano-Kokuo unearthed on Shikanoshima Island in Fukuoka Prefecture. In particular, the burial mounds of Tatetsuki in Okayama Prefecture are large in scale, and many special vessel stands, which are the origin of cylindrical haniwa clay figurines, are placed inside, suggesting the rise of people of high social status. The communal and shared bronze ritual utensils also became a thing of the past in the face of this rise in the individual, ushering in the Kofun period.

[Makoto Sahara]

Yayoi culture in world history and Japanese history

"Ancientization" and Modernization

Looking around the world, Japan was very late in realizing an agricultural-based lifestyle, and was also very late in starting to use and produce metal implements such as bronze and iron. However, once an agricultural society was formed, it took only 700 to 800 years for a powerful kingship to emerge, as shown by the appearance of ancient tombs on a global scale. This was extremely fast. The speed of this "antiquity" should be noted alongside the speed of modernization, which is attracting attention worldwide. The reason why "antiquity" was realized so quickly may have been because the great China and the Korean Peninsula were nearby, and served as both an example and a threat. However, this would be unthinkable without the premise of the reserves brought about by rice cultivation. In light of this, theories that underestimate the rice production in the Yayoi period must be questioned.

In China, northern Korea, India, Western Asia, Europe, and other parts of the world, when full-scale agriculture began, the cultivation of grains and the raising of livestock for food (meat or dairy) were carried out side by side. However, in Japan, agriculture, mainly rice cultivation, began without any livestock for food, and the only animal that arrived, chickens, were not generally eaten until the early modern period, perhaps because they were considered sacred. Horses and cows, which arrived in the 5th and 6th centuries, were used for riding, transportation, and cultivation. Therefore, the lack of livestock for food in the Yayoi culture had a major impact on Japanese culture thereafter. For example, the technique of castration, which is essential for maintaining and managing a large number of livestock, did not arrive until 1725 (Kyoho 10). This may be related to the fact that the system of castrated men as eunuchs spread to the Korean Peninsula (Silla and Goguryeo) but did not arrive in Japan. Immigrants in the 4th and 5th centuries sacrificed livestock to worship the "Kanjin" gods. However, this custom, common to societies that kept livestock for food, did not take root in Japan. Sacrifices were not adopted in the enthronement ceremony of the Emperor or the first harvest festival (Daijosai), and were also omitted in Confucian ceremonies (Sekiten). Furthermore, oaths made using blood (of livestock or humans), which are common in societies that kept livestock for food, did not arrive. As for food culture, the main reason was that people did not start keeping livestock for food during the Yayoi period, and in addition, Buddhism prohibited the eating of meat, which led to the habit of not eating meat very often. This also led to the formation of a food habit that is rare worldwide, of not eating organs or blood.

[Makoto Sahara]

To a world of struggle

In world history, the establishment of agricultural societies prompted the emergence of defensive groups, the appearance of reliable weapons, the appearance of warrior graves with weapons, and the beginning of the worship of weapons. In Japan, Yayoi culture also possesses all of these characteristics, and the Yayoi period is seen as the period in Japanese history when weapons and war began. Until recently, when people thought of Yayoi culture, they often imagined an idyllic, peaceful rural life. However, the Yayoi period, which was the first step towards Japanese civilization, was also a time when Japan was moving towards a world of conflict and slaughter.

[Makoto Sahara]

"Kanzeki Osamu and Sahara Makoto eds., 'Research on Yayoi Culture', 10 volumes (1985-, Yuzankaku)" ▽ "Higuchi Takayasu ed., 'Illustrated History of Japanese Culture 1: Prehistory and Primitive' (1979, Shogakukan)" ▽ "Sahara Makoto, 'Comprehensive History of Japan 1: The Birth of the Japanese People' (1987, Shogakukan)"

Tatetsuki Ruins
Nationally designated historic site Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture © Kurashiki City ">

Tatetsuki Ruins

Yayoi pottery (storage jars)
Yayoi period (100 BC to 100 AD) Height 40.6 cm . Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art .

Yayoi pottery (storage jars)

Yayoi pottery (jars)
Yayoi period (2nd to 4th century) Height: 27.3 cm . Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art .

Yayoi pottery (jars)

Bronze bell
Yayoi period (1st to 2nd century) Bronze Height: 110.5cm Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bronze bell

Bronze spear
Yayoi period (1st to 2nd century) Bronze Length 85.1 x Width 13.3 cm Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bronze spear

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

総説

定義

日本本土で、食料生産に基づく生活が始まった最初の文化。およそ、紀元前4、5世紀から紀元後3世紀に及ぶ600～700年間を占める。具体的には、稲作農耕が基盤となった最初の文化であって、先行する縄紋（縄文）文化が、多少の栽培を伴ったにせよ、あくまで食料採集を基盤としていたことと大きく異なる。一方、後続する古墳文化以降の日本文化とは、稲作農耕に基づく点では共通する。

　弥生文化の時代を弥生時代、この文化の担い手を弥生人、この文化の土器を弥生土器とよぶ。ただし、本来は、弥生土器を使った文化、時代を弥生文化、時代とよんできたのであって、現在なお、この旧案を尊重する人もいる。

［佐原　真］

新来的要素・伝統的要素

弥生文化は、イネを主とし、ムギ、アワ、キビ、ダイズなどを伴う本格的な農耕のほか、鉄器や青銅器の使用・製作、紡織など、中国・朝鮮半島からの「新来的要素」によって特徴づけられている。しかし同時に、竪穴(たてあな)住居、土器、打製石器をはじめとする縄紋文化からの「伝統的要素」も色濃く認められ、また、ごく初めを除けば、青銅祭器の発達や、南海産巻き貝製の腕輪、およびその形を写した青銅製の腕輪に例をみるように、弥生文化に特有に発達した「固有的要素」も認められる。そして、このうち、新来的、伝統的両要素が、最古の弥生文化以来、ともに存在する事実は、大陸の某文化を担った人々が日本に渡来して弥生文化を形成したものではけっしてなく、外来文化を担って到来した人々が、在地の縄紋人と合体して形成した新文化が弥生文化であることを雄弁に物語っている。

　弥生文化には、人々の間に、青銅器鋳造技術者のような専門技術者が初めて出現した。また、支配する人・される人の分化、すなわち階級社会の成立や国家の誕生が用意され始めた。

　弥生文化は、大陸との交渉が恒常化し始めた最初の日本文化でもある。その後、大陸との交渉が久しくとだえることもあったとはいえ、中国、朝鮮半島は、絶えず人々の意識のなかにあった。したがって、弥生文化は、日本人が国際社会の一員であることを自覚した最初の文化であったといえよう。

［佐原　真］

弥生文化の領域

　弥生文化が広まったのは、九州、四国、本州およびそれに伴う島々であった。北海道はその領域外にとどまり、縄紋文化におけると同様、食料採集に基づく生活が引き続き行われた。その文化を「続(ぞく)縄紋文化」とよんでいる。なお、本州の東北地方の北端部は、近年まで、むしろこの続縄紋文化の領域に属するとみられていた。しかし、青森県下で水田跡の存在が確認されたことによって、本州が北端に至るまで弥生文化の領域に属することは、いまや疑えない。

　一方、南西諸島においては、弥生時代に入っても、食料採集に基づく「後期貝塚文化」が行われた。沖縄本島には、九州の弥生土器がもたらされており、箱式石棺など弥生文化と共通する要素も認められることによって、弥生文化の領域に属した可能性も論じられている。しかし、現状では、稲作が沖縄で開始されたのは10何世紀以来であって、弥生時代における稲作の証拠はあがっていない。

［佐原　真］

弥生時代の時期区分

土器様式と時期

佐賀県唐津(からつ)市菜畑(なばたけ)遺跡、福岡市板付(いたづけ)遺跡の下層では、近年までだれもが縄紋時代晩期の後半と認めてきた時期の水田跡が、福岡県曲リ田(まがりだ)遺跡では、この時期の村跡の一部が発掘されている。この「菜畑・曲リ田段階」を弥生時代早期（あるいは先Ⅰ期）とよぶ。ただし、この段階を従来どおり縄紋時代晩期と理解する研究者もいる。

　これに続いて、だれもが弥生時代と認める前期（Ⅰ期）がくる。これに続く中期、後期が問題であって、九州地方の研究者は、「北九州第Ⅱおよび第Ⅲ様式土器」の時期を中期とよび、「北九州第Ⅳおよび第Ⅴ様式土器」の時期を後期とよぶのに対して、他の地方の研究者は、「畿内(きない)第Ⅱ～第Ⅳ様式土器」の時期を中期、「畿内第Ⅴ様式土器」の時期を後期とよんでいる。したがって、中期末とか後期初めとかいう表現は、研究者によって異なる時期を示すという混乱を招いている。しかし、幸いにして北九州第Ⅱ～第Ⅴ様式土器と畿内第Ⅱ～第Ⅴ様式土器とはそれぞれ時期的にほぼ並行するとみられるので、それぞれの時期をⅡ～Ⅴ期とよぶことによって混乱を防ぐ方法がとられている。

　また、畿内地方の第Ⅴ様式土器に後続する「庄内(しょうない)式土器」を弥生土器とする考え、二つに分けて前半を弥生土器、後半を土師器(はじき)とする考えが分かれており、弥生土器と土師器との区別、ひいては弥生時代と古墳時代との境界も、また将来の解決を待たなければならない。

［佐原　真］

鉄器時代

かつて、弥生時代は青銅器時代とよばれたこともある。また、新石器時代と扱われたこともある。大陸新来の要素のなかに伐採斧(ふ)（太形蛤刃石斧(ふとがたはまぐりばせきふ)）や加工斧（柱状片刃(ちゅうじょうかたば)石斧、扁平(へんぺい)片刃石斧）、穂摘(ほつ)み貝（石庖丁(いしぼうちょう)）など新式の磨製石斧が含まれている事実も、弥生時代を新石器時代と理解する考えを支えていた。しかし、現在では弥生時代をむしろ鉄器時代として扱う考えが強い。早期の菜畑遺跡では鉄器が出土していない。しかし、杭(くい)には鉄器による加工の跡が指摘されている。総じて、弥生時代の前半は、石器をなお多用する不完全な鉄器時代と考えてよい。後半ないし終わりころには、石器が消滅している事実によって完全な鉄器時代に入っていると理解できる。

［佐原　真］

弥生人

　弥生人には、渡来系の人々、彼らと縄紋人が混血した人々、その子孫たちなどの弥生人（渡来系）と、縄紋人が弥生文化を受け入れることによって弥生人となった人々（縄紋系）とが区別できる。

［佐原　真］

渡来系

蒙古人類(モンゴロイド)としては新しい形質を備え、顔の扁平な背の高い人々であって、朝鮮半島南部の古代人と形質が共通し、同地からの渡来は確実である。彼らの原郷土をさらにアジア大陸東北部だろうとみる形質人類学研究者もいる。渡来系の弥生人は、北部九州から山口県、鳥取県の海岸部、瀬戸内海沿岸から近畿地方にまで及んだらしい。弥生時代Ⅰ期の土器（遠賀川(おんががわ)式土器）の分布する名古屋にまで達した可能性がある。それどころか、彼らの少数が一部、日本海沿いに青森県下まで達した可能性もいまや考えねばならない。

［佐原　真］

縄紋系

しかし、北西九州、南九州、四国の一部、東日本の大部分においては、蒙古人種としては古い形質を備え、顔の彫り深くやや背の低い縄紋人たちが、新文化を摂取して弥生人に衣替えした。ところが、南関東では、その縄紋系の弥生人、縄紋人とは異なった形質が認められており、生活環境や労働の変化が身体の形質に変化を与えた結果と理解されている。

［佐原　真］

稲作の伝播

朝鮮半島から

日本の稲作の郷土は、中国の長江(ちょうこう)（揚子江(ようすこう)）下流付近と考えられている。そこから日本への到来の道はけっして一つではなく、また1回限りの到来ではけっしてなく、各方面から何回もの伝播(でんぱ)があった、とみられている。しかし、弥生文化の成立に決定的な動機を与えた主要な伝播の最終仲継地が朝鮮半島南部にあったことは確実であって、早期弥生文化には同地と共通する数々の要素が認められるだけではなく、同地の製品そのものももたらされている。

　また、北部九州や山口県下における前期弥生文化の貯蔵穴は、寒く乾いた中国北部の貯蔵穴の系譜をひくものとみられるから、朝鮮半島に至る前の仲継地が中国北部にあった可能性も大きい。一方、弥生文化には、高床(たかゆか)倉庫のように長江下流域以南の暑く湿った地帯から伝わったものも含まれる。しかし、長江下流域のイネに円粒の日本型と長粒のインド型があるのにかかわらず、弥生米はすべて日本型である点、長江下流域の農業はブタを伴う点からして、同地からの稲作農耕の伝播は支流だったと考えられる。弥生文化と豊富に共通する文物を共有し、かつ食用家畜をもたなかった朝鮮半島からの伝播こそ主流だったに違いない。

［佐原　真］

東北地方も前期に稲作

日本本土における稲作については、従来の見解が一新された。Ⅰ期の土器（遠賀川式土器）をつくり使った村の分布は、太平洋岸では名古屋、日本海岸では京都府の丹後(たんご)半島までと、最近まで認められてきた。それ以東では、運ばれた土器として、地元の土器に伴って少数みられるにすぎなかった。こうして、本格的な稲作文化がまず栄えたのは西日本であって、東日本ではさらに数十年あるいは100年以上も後れて稲作が始まったともいわれていた。そして、食料採集で十分暮らせたとか、縄紋文化の抵抗があったとか、あるいは寒冷地でイネが栽培できるよう品種改良を加えるための期間を要したとか、説明されてきた。

　ところが近年、日本海沿岸の岩手、秋田、青森県、および青森県の太平洋岸で、西日本のⅠ期の土器と細部の点まで一致する「遠賀川系土器」が豊富にみいだされるようになり、そして青森県砂沢(すなざわ)でこの時期の水田跡が発掘された。こうして現在では、東北地方に至るまで、前期に稲作が開始されたことが確認されたのである。

［佐原　真］

弥生土器

名称・特徴

1884年（明治17）東京都文京区弥生町の向ヶ丘貝塚から口の欠けた土器が1個採集された。それがその後、縄紋土器とは違うものと認識されるようになり、1890年代には「弥生式土器」とよばれるようになった。これを「弥生土器」とよぶのは1975年（昭和50）の提案以来であって縄紋式土器でなくて縄紋土器とよぶことにそろえ、また、それぞれをさらに細別するときに限って「式」を用いることにしたものである。

　弥生土器は、ろくろを使わずにつくり、窯を利用せずに、酸素を十分与えた状況（酸化炎）の600～800℃程度で野焼きしたものであって、先行する縄紋土器、および後続する土師器と基本的な窯業技術を共有する赤焼きの軟質土器である。弥生土器にみる形、紋様、技術の多くは、かつてどこかの縄紋土器で試みられており、また土師器にも共通している。したがって、ある土器が縄紋土器か弥生土器か、弥生土器か土師器かを判別することがむずかしいのは当然であって、この現実が、弥生文化の新しい定義を生むことになった。

　あえて弥生土器に縄紋土器と異なる新しさを求めるとすれば、割り板の木目を利用した表面仕上げ（刷毛目(はけめ)）、線刻した叩板(たたきいた)でたたき仕上げる手法、紋様を刻んだ板によるスタンプ紋様、先を細かく割った工具による櫛描文(くしがきもん)等々、鉄器時代の土器にふさわしく、鉄器で加工した工具の利用が著しい点であろう。また、縄紋土器に特徴的な存在であった波状口縁の土器の激減・消滅、蓄えるための壺(つぼ)の激増などが指摘できる。

［佐原　真］

器種

弥生土器を構成するおもな器種は、壺のほか、甕(かめ)とよばれる深鍋(なべ)（縄紋土器の深鉢に相当）、盛付け用の鉢・高杯(たかつき)であって、ほかに器(うつわ)をのせる台を独立させた器台(きだい)もある。なお、大形の甕は貯水用であり、北部九州では特大型の甕を成人の埋葬に用いた（甕棺(かめかん)）。西日本の弥生土器は、紋様の少ない縄紋土器の伝統をひいてあっさりした装飾をもつ。とくに北部九州では、輪郭の美しさ、磨いた面の美しさが追求された。近畿を中心とする地方では、櫛描紋が発達した。一方、東日本の弥生土器は、にぎやかに飾る縄紋土器の伝統をひいて、縄紋・曲線紋を駆使している。弥生土器の作りも紋様も、初めから中ごろにかけては、概して時間をかけてていねいに行っており、「巧遅(こうち)」の技術とよんでよい。しかし、一般に新しい弥生土器の作りは粗略化して手早く仕上げており紋様も失う傾向にあって「拙速(せっそく)」の技術となる。これは、土器が日用の消耗品として扱われるようになったことを示しており、見かけのうえでは技術の低下とも判断される。

　しかし、この巧遅から拙速への技術の転換は、社会の前進の反映である。そして、有力者の墓に並べる器、神に捧(ささ)げる器には、依然として巧遅の技術が発揮されていることも見逃せず、日用品には拙速、一部の人々のためには巧遅という技術の分裂が指摘されている。なお、西日本においては、弥生時代の終わりころに属する焼失した住居の跡から、小型の鉢、高杯が数個体ずつみつかることがあり、家族の成員のひとりひとりがめいめいの食器（銘々器）を用い始めていたことを物語っている。

［佐原　真］

弥生時代の生活

集落と農耕

弥生人は半地下式の竪穴住居からなる村に住んだ。北部九州などでは、初め貯蔵穴に穀物を蓄えたが、のちには高床倉庫を用いている。大きな村は、周りに堀を巡らし、その外に垣を回したらしく、土のかたまり（土塁）の痕跡(こんせき)が認められることもある。これら環濠(かんごう)集落のほかに、水田耕作の生活にとって不便な丘の斜面や頂上に村（高地性集落）を営むこともあった。これも環濠集落とともに防御的集落をなしている。弥生時代の水田跡は、各地ですでに20か所以上みいだされている。以前より有名な静岡市登呂(とろ)の水田は1枚が大きく（13アール前後と20アール前後）、畦道(あぜみち)も太い。しかし規模の小さな水田（1辺2～5メートルもある）が一般的だった。

　耕作には、刃先まで木でできた鋤(すき)、鍬(くわ)を用いた。田植えか直播(じかま)きかは、久しく論じられてきた。現在では、田植え説が有力であって、水田跡から稲株の跡とみられるものもみつかっている。収穫は、石包丁とよばれる穂摘(ほつ)み具を用いた。稲の熟成期が不ぞろいだったため、熟した穂から摘んだのである。収穫した稲は、貯蔵穴か高床倉庫に蓄え、必要分ずつ臼(うす)に入れ杵(きね)で脱穀した。

［佐原　真］

食・衣

弥生時代を含め、日本古代では米を蒸して食べたといわれてきた。しかし、弥生人は、米を深鍋で直接煮て食べた。焦げ付きがそのまま残ってみいだされることもある。稲作が始まったとはいえ、弥生人は食用植物にも大きく依存し、また、シカ、イノシシを狩り、魚貝類も愛好した。絵画資料は狩り用の弓を上に長く下に短く持ったことを示しており、『魏志倭人伝(ぎしわじんでん)』の記載と一致する。弥生時代の終わりに近く、瀬戸内海から大阪湾の沿岸にかけて、土器を用いた製塩が開始されている。

　弥生時代は、衣服を布でつくり始めた時代でもある。野生のカラムシや栽培のタイマを材料として糸を紡ぎ、布を織り始めた。織機の部品も各地でみいだされている。それだけでなく、北部九州で出土した絹が大陸のものとは異なっている事実から、養蚕が始まっていたことも説かれている。弥生時代の衣服は、『魏志倭人伝』の記述から、布を二つに折って折った部分に孔(あな)をあけ、ここに首を通す貫頭衣(かんとうい)だったといわれている。しかし、出土した部品から復原される布幅は30センチメートルであった。1枚の布で身を覆うことはできず、むしろ二つ折りにした2枚を首の部分があくように重ね合わせたものとして復原できる。弥生時代には、縄紋時代と同様、各種の装身具がある。しかし、耳飾りだけは遺物として残っていない。貝製の腕輪のうち、注目をひくのは、南海産の巻き貝ゴホウラ製のものを男が右手に着用する風習が北部九州で広まった事実であって、特定の職能なり身分なりを示したものらしい。中四国から愛知県にかけての絵画資料によると、弥生人は額から頬(ほお)にかけて平行弧線のいれずみあるいは塗彩をしていたらしく、『魏志倭人伝』の記載を想起させる。

［佐原　真］

祭祀と葬制

弥生時代は、骨占(ほねうらな)い（骨卜(こつぼく)）や木の鳥を用いての祭儀など新来の精神生活が始まって、縄紋文化の呪術(じゅじゅつ)の多くを一掃した。抜歯の風習もしだいに衰えた。精神生活の中心になったのは、当然、稲作にかかわる祭りであったろう。青銅のベル、銅鐸(どうたく)は大陸で家畜の頸(くび)に下がっていたベルが、家畜を伴わずに到来して祭りのベルとして特異な発達を遂げたものであって、近畿地方を中心とした地域では稲作儀礼の中心的役割を果たしたらしい。北部九州から近畿地方にかけては、朝鮮製の3種の青銅武器（戈(か)、剣(けん)、矛(ほこ)）の形に倣った武器形祭器が発達した。悪を払い寄せ付けない効果を期待して祭器としたものだろう。

　弥生時代の墓は、地方差、年代差が大きい。北部九州では、初め木棺墓・石棺墓、続いて甕棺墓、そしてさらにまた石棺墓へと移り変わった。畿内を中心とする地帯では、方形、長方形の墳丘墓（方形周溝墓(しゅうこうぼ)、台状墓）を採用した。関東、東北地方南部では、初め遺体を腐らせて骨を土器に収納した再葬墓を用いた。しかし、のちに墳丘墓を採用した。北部九州の甕棺墓、石棺墓には、大陸製の鏡、青銅器を多量に副葬したものがあり、福岡県志賀島(しかのしま)出土の漢委奴国王(かんのわのなのこくおう)の金印が示すような、村々を統轄する「小国家」の王が葬られた「王墓」の名にふさわしい、墳丘墓のなかにも特大型のものがある。とくに岡山県楯築(たてつき)の墳丘墓は規模も大きく、円筒埴輪(はにわ)の起源となった特殊器台を数多く配するなど、身分高い人の台頭を思わせる。人々共同・共有の青銅祭器の祭りも、このような個人の突出の前に過去のものとなり、古墳時代を迎える。

［佐原　真］

世界史・日本史のなかの弥生文化

「古代化」と近代化

世界を見渡すと、日本は農耕を基盤とする生活を甚だ遅れて実現したし、青銅、鉄など金属器の使用・製作の開始も非常に遅れた。しかし、ひとたび農耕社会が形成されると、たかだか700～800年にして、世界的な規模の古墳の出現が示すように強力な王権が台頭している。その速度は非常に速い。この「古代化」の速さは、世界的にも注目されている近代化の速度と並んで注目されてよい。「古代化」がいち早く実現したのは、偉大な中国、朝鮮半島が近くに存在して手本とも脅威ともなったからでもあろう。しかし、また稲作のもたらした蓄えの前提なしにはそれは考えられない。弥生時代の稲の生産高を低く見積もる諸説はこの点からみると疑わざるをえなくなる。

　中国、朝鮮半島北部、インド、西アジア、ヨーロッパなど世界の各地では、本格的な農耕開始にあたって、穀物の栽培と、食用（肉用あるいは乳用）家畜の飼育とが相並んで行われた。しかし、日本では、稲作を主とする農耕が、食用家畜を抜きにして始まり、唯一到来したニワトリも、神聖視されたためか、一般に食の対象とされずに近世に及んだ。5、6世紀に到来したウマ、ウシも騎乗、運搬、耕作用である。したがって、弥生文化に食用家畜が欠落したことは、その後の日本文化に大きく影響した。たとえば、多数の家畜を維持・管理するために不可欠の去勢の技術は、1725年（享保10）に至るまで到来しなかった。これは、去勢男子を宦官(かんがん)とする制が朝鮮半島（新羅(しらぎ)、高句麗(こうくり)）にまで伝わりながら日本に到来しなかったことともかかわりをもつだろう。4～5世紀の渡来人たちは、家畜をいけにえにして「漢神」を祀(まつ)っている。しかし、食用家畜をもつ社会に共通するこの風習は日本に根づかなかった。天皇の即位式、初の収穫祭（大嘗祭(だいじょうさい)）にいけにえは採用されず、儒教の儀式（釈奠(せきてん)）でもこれは省略されるようになった。また食用家畜を飼う社会で広く行われる血（家畜か人間の）を用いての誓いも到来しなかった。食文化についてみれば、弥生時代に食用家畜を飼い始めなかったことがおもな原因となり、加えて仏教が肉食を禁じたことによって、そう頻繁には肉を食べない習慣が根づくことになった。そして、内臓や血を口にしない、という世界的には珍しい食習慣も形成された。

［佐原　真］

闘争の世へ

世界史のうえで農耕社会の成立は、防御的集団の出現、確実な武器の登場、武器を添えた戦士の墓の出現、武器の崇敬の始まりを促している。日本においても、弥生文化はこれらの特徴のすべてを備えており、弥生時代こそ日本史のうえで、武器、戦争が始まった時代としてとらえられる。最近まで、弥生文化といえば、とかく牧歌的な平和な農村生活を想像することが多かった。しかし、日本の文明への第一歩だった弥生時代は、同時に闘争と殺戮(さつりく)の世への歩を進めた時代でもあったのである。

［佐原　真］

『金関恕・佐原真編『弥生文化の研究』全10巻（1985～　・雄山閣）』▽『樋口隆康編『図説日本文化の歴史1　先史・原始』（1979・小学館）』▽『佐原真著『大系日本の歴史1　日本人の誕生』（1987・小学館）』