The Jomon period, which lasted about 10,000 years, changed greatly with the arrival of rice cultivation beginning around the 4th century BCE. Let us examine the transition from the Jomon period to the Yayoi period.
Basic Knowledge
Near the end of the Jomon period, temperatures fell worldwide, and the population of eastern Japan decreased. Meanwhile, new culture began arriving from the continent in western Japan.
From around the 10th to the 4th century BCE, rice cultivation (wet-rice agriculture) was introduced to northern Kyushu through the Korean Peninsula. The earliest wet-rice fields have been confirmed at sites such as the Nabatake Site in Saga Prefecture and the Itazuke Site in Fukuoka Prefecture.
Along with rice cultivation came metal tools (bronze and iron tools), weaving, and new pottery (Yayoi pottery). This major revolution fundamentally changed lifestyles in Japan and brought about the transition from the Jomon period to the Yayoi period.
Food Mainly hunting, gathering, and fishing → Mainly rice cultivation
Tools Mainly stone tools → Use of metal tools (bronze and iron)
Pottery Thick and decorative (Jomon pottery) → Thin and practical (Yayoi pottery)
Society Equal small groups → Differences in wealth and emergence of social ranks
Housing Mainly pit dwellings → Combination of pit dwellings and raised-floor storehouses
Earliest wet-rice fields Nabatake Site (Saga Prefecture) and Itazuke Site (Fukuoka Prefecture)
Further Study (Background and Impact)
The arrival of rice cultivation was not merely a change in food production; it was a major revolution that transformed society from its foundations.
① Permanent settlement: People had to live permanently in a particular place to maintain rice fields
② Food surplus: Because rice could be stored, surplus production became possible
③ Differences in wealth: Surplus became private property, creating rich and poor people
④ Need for cooperation: Groups were needed to clear fields and manage waterways → leaders appeared
⑤ Emergence of warfare: Conflicts over wealth, land, and water became serious → moated settlements appeared
In this way, society changed from the relatively equal society of the Jomon period into a “complex society” with social ranks and classes. However, rice cultivation spread mainly in western Japan, while Jomon-style life continued longer in eastern Japan. In Hokkaido, rice cultivation did not arrive, and a unique culture developed.
- Arrival of rice cultivation = through the Korean Peninsula, beginning in northern Kyushu
- Earliest wet-rice fields: Nabatake Site (Saga) and Itazuke Site (Fukuoka)
- Metal tools (bronze and iron) and weaving also arrived with rice cultivation
- Rice cultivation → surplus production → differences in wealth, social ranks, and warfare
- Moated settlements = defensive settlements prepared for warfare, a Yayoi characteristic
- Jomon-style life continued in eastern Japan and Hokkaido
- The transition from Jomon to Yayoi varied greatly by region
Points of Caution (Easily Confused)
① The date of the arrival of rice cultivation has been pushed earlier as research has progressed. It is now thought to have begun around the 10th century BCE; the older theory placed it around the 4th century BCE. Textbooks may differ. ② The beginning of the Yayoi period differed by region: northern Kyushu = 10th–4th century BCE, eastern Japan = after the 4th century BCE. ③ Rice cultivation did not reach Hokkaido, which followed its own path: Post-Jomon culture → Satsumon culture → Ainu culture. ④ Okinawa also developed its own Shell Midden culture after the Jomon period before entering the Gusuku period. ⑤ Jomon and Yayoi people were not separate races, but intermarriage with immigrants progressed in western Japan.
Practice
- State the route by which rice cultivation arrived and the region where it first spread.
- Name three changes that the arrival of rice cultivation brought to society.
- State the name of the culture that developed in Hokkaido after the arrival of rice cultivation elsewhere.