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Pre-Buddhist Cultures

In prehistoric times, people entered Japan from various parts of Asia. Originally hunters and gatherers, these early inhabitants eventually developed pottery, agriculture, permanent settlements, and increasingly sophisticated types of architecture. People were organized into clans, one of which gradually assumed dominance to establish the Yamato State and an imperial line that is still on the throne today.

Preceramic Period (?-10,000 BCE)

During the last Ice Age (Pleistocene Epoch), much of the water in the oceans was captured by glaciers, thereby lowering sea levels around the world. Some time before the end of the Pleistocene, when Kyushu and Hokkaido were still easily accessible from the Asian mainland because of low sea levels, different groups of hunting and gathering peoples entered Japan. Some entered southern Japan via the Korean Peninsula; some entered northern Japan via the northern island of Sakhalin; while others may have come directly from the south by boat.

Thus the Japanese people are not a homogeneous race as many believe. These early Paleolithic inhabitants had a variety of sophisticated stone tools but they lacked pottery or settled agriculture. Very little is known about their appearance or way of life, though archaeological evidence is gradually accumulating.

A flat-land building (heichi jūkyo) in which poles were sloped to the top and thatched, serving as both walls and roof. The ground served as the floor.

Jōmon Period (100000-300 BCE)

About 12,000 years ago, when the Ice Age ended, the climate warmed and sea levels climbed, cutting Japan off from the mainland. A new culture was born in the rapidly spreading deciduous forests, and pottery came into use. These ceramic people are called Jōmon (meaning "rope-marked") due to the practice of decorating their coil pottery by pressing a piece of rope into the damp surfaces of newly made vessels, some of which were utilitarian while others had wildly exuberant shapes. The Jōmon people continued the hunting and gathering way of life of their ancestors, supplemented by small-scale horticulture, including some grains. Recent evidence suggests that toward the end of the Jōmon Period, inhabitants in temperate regions of Japan may have experimented with wet rice agriculture on a small scale.

A flat-land building reconstructed at the Ikegami-sone prehistoric site, Osaka Prefecture, in which the thatched roof is supported on walls made of reed-covered poles.

Jōmon buildings can be classified in different ways. According to one classification system, heichi jūkyo (flat-land dwellings), originally developed in the preceramic period, were simple structures in which the ground served as the floor; tateana jūkyo (pit dwellings) were roofs, or walls with roofs, constructed over circular or rectangular pits; and hottatebashira tatemono (buildings with poles sunk in the ground) were larger buildings with a floor and a roof supported by a post-and-beam structure in which the posts were buried directly in the earth, rather than resting on rocks as in much of the architecture in later periods. Sometimes the floor of the latter was at ground level (hiraya tatemono), and at other times it was raised off the ground (takayuka), as in the case of storehouses or observation towers.

Pit houses were not suitable for wet areas or in places where there was inadequate drainage. Under the right conditions, however, pit houses helped provide protection against cold in the winter and heat in the summer.

Temporary flat-land structures, pit houses, and raised floor structures all continued to be employed in the Yayoi Period and even persisted into historic times for use by commoners. Until recently, it was believed that elevated storehouses were first developed in the Yayoi Period. Recent findings, however, indicate that storehouses had earlier, Jōmon origins.

Flat-land buildings, such as this temporary birthing structure, used until recently to provide ritual isolation for mother and infant, continued into historic times.

Yayoi Period (300 BCE-300 CE)

Around 300 BCE, or a little earlier, new people and cultural influences arrived from the Korean Peninsula, bringing metallurgy, large-scale wet rice agriculture based on irrigation, and wheel-made pottery. Originally centered in northern Kyushu, the Yayoi people initially appear to have fought the indigenous Jōmon people, but eventually mingled and interbred with them. This mixture provided the basis for the present-day Japanese people and culture. Many of the distinctive traits of Japanese culture date from these People of Wa, as they were called in early Chinese historical records. Some scholars believe that the Ainu, currently found only in Hokkaido and Sakhalin, may be descendants of a northern branch of the Jōmon people that escaped physical and cultural blending with the Yayoi people. The origins of the Ainu, however, are controversial.

The increased prosperity brought by the new way of life, with its intensive wet rice agriculture, created distinctions in wealth and an incipient class structure. An increase in population and social stratification eventually led to over 100 small states under the control of a variety of clans known as uji. The clan chief was both the secular and religious leader.

Elevated storehouses, used to protect rice, eventually developed into early Shinto shrines. Based on a model at the National Museum of Japanese History.

Tomb Mound Period (300-710 CE)

By 300 CE, one or more of the Yayoi uji appears to have gained some preeminence over the other clans, giving rise to a succession of imperial dynasties that culminated in the Yamato State of the mid-sixth century.

The Yamato State, based in the area around the current cities of Nara, Kyoto, and Osaka (the Kinki area), controlled a large area, stretching from Kyushu in the west to the Kanto area in the east. The present imperial family of Japan, said to be the longest lived royal dynasty in the world, is believed to be descended from the ruling family of the Yamato State.

The Tomb Mound Period, which derives its name from the common practice of burying royalty and high-ranking clan officials in stone tombs covered with large earthen mounds, lasted from around 300 CE (or a little earlier) until 710. It thus overlaps with the coming of Buddhism in the middle of the sixth century. Buddhism, which was brought from China and Korea, introduced the advanced civilization of the continent, thereby bringing the prehistoric era to an end. Tomb mounds, however, continued to be built for another 200 years or so.

Pit Dwellings

A pit dwelling was constructed by digging a hole about a meter deep and leaning poles against a rectangular framework to create sloping sides. Thatch was tied to the reinforced sides, leaving openings at the top for smoke to escape.

Reconstructed Jōmon and Yayoi Settlements

Reconstructing the past is popular in Japan. The Japanese are intensely interested in their origins and are willing to travel to out-of-the-way places to visit archaeological sites. Various levels of government have responded by investing heavily in reconstructing buildings and other architectural features at prehistoric sites, the most important of which are designated as National Historic Remains.

Sannai Maruyama Iseki

Sannai Maruyama Iseki (iseki means "remains") in Aomori Prefecture is the site of a Jōmon village that existed for around 1,500 years, from 3500 to 2000 BCE. The findings at Sannai Maruyama have forced scholars to change their ideas about Jōmon communities. Contrary to earlier beliefs that Jōmon people had a primitive lifestyle based upon hunting wild animals, the residents of Sannai Maruyama settled in one place for an extended period of time, cultivated some food such as chestnuts, imported goods by boat from different parts of Japan, buried their dead, and lived at peace with their neighbors. So far, reconstruction has been completed for one large and five small pit dwellings, three raised floor structures, and one large structure consisting of posts sunk in the ground (perhaps used as a lookout), which may have had a roof. A committee of experts from the fields of architecture, archaeology, and ethnology are continuing research on how to proceed with reconstruction.

Exterior and interior of the large pit structure used for gatherings at the Fudōdō Iseki Jōmon site.

Fudōdō Iseki

Situated at the northeastern corner of Toyama Prefecture, the Fudōdō site dates from around 3000 BCE. Excavations started in 1973 and so far have uncovered 19 house sites, nine deep holes which seem to have been used for storing food, and numerous earthen and stoneware vessels. Especially notable is the evidence of a huge oval-shaped pit building, measuring 8 by 17 meters, in the middle of the settlement. Because this is four to five times larger than an average house site, and has four sets of stone structures for cooking, it is believed that this building was used for gatherings. This meeting hall and two other buildings have been reconstructed at the site so far.

Smoke hole in the roof of the Fudōdō Iseki pit structure.

Yoshinogari Iseki

Yoshinogari, in Saga Prefecture, Kyushu, is situated on a low hill bordered by a river on two sides. Excavations, begun in 1986, have uncovered habitation sites spanning the entire Yayoi period (300 BCE.-300 CE.). By the latter part of the mid-Yayoi Period, a large-scale settlement guarded by surrounding moats was in place. Excavations have uncovered numerous skeletons buried in ceramic urns and a rich material culture, including bronze implements and glass beads. Both skeletons and material remains indicate a Korean origin.

By the late Yayoi Period", Yoshinogari possessed two smaller areas within the larger area, marked off by inner moats and fences. The most important buildings were located in these smaller areas, one on the south and one on the north. In 1986, two watchtowers and three pit houses were reconstructed in the south fenced area, as well as two raised storage buildings to the west of this fenced area.

Reconstruction of the north fenced area has been under way since 1999. This area, which contains several buildings, was probably the compound of a chief. It includes a pit house and several raised structures, one of which is a large building believed to be an early shrine. The other raised buildings include what appear to be lookout towers, storehouses, and a structure that the chief may have used for residential, political, religious, and ceremonial functions—an early form of a palace. It would have been difficult, however, to construct a fire pit in a raised structure, so cooking was probably confined to the pit house. In later times, new methods of containing fire allowed cooking to be done in raised buildings.

In recognition of the fact that it was the largest Yayoi settlement surrounded by moats, and that it probably developed into a key component of the emerging Yamato State, Yoshinogari has been designated a Special National Historic Remain.

Yoshinogari is a very large Yayoi site containing two smaller areas for the most important structures, one on the north and one on the south. Depicted here are the buildings that were reconstructed in the south area in 1986. They are enclosed by a fence on top of a high earthen wall and two moats. There are entrances at both ends and watchtowers on both sides. Elevated storehouses and numerous pit dwellings lie outside the enclosed area.

Long House at Sannai Maruyama

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of 800 pit structures and 120 post-and-beam structures at Sannai Maruyama. The long house shown here, based on a model at the National Museum of Japanese History, is the largest of the pit structures. Because of its size, it is believed to be a public building used for meetings and ceremonies. The massive roof rests on walls, unlike most small pit structures in which the roof rests directly on the ground.

Ceremonial building at the Ikegami-sone reconstructed Yayoi site. The members of the structure are tied together (see above right), as was common in prehistoric buildings and later farmhouses. Since rope can stretch, such buildings could move during a typhoon without causing serious damage. Next to the building is a covered well, made from a hollowed out camphor tree, probably used for purification ceremonies connected with the large building. Photographs courtesy of Izumi City.

Ikegami-sone Iseki

This Yayoi site, in Osaka Prefecture, is located on a low hill surrounded by a moat, with rivers (that no longer exist) to the east and west. As at Yoshinogari, there is a smaller enclosed area that seems to have been set aside for the chief, as well as factory areas for making stone tools and other products. Ikegami-sone was settled for the entire Yayoi Period, from 300 BCE to 300 CE.

A large-scale excavation was done between 1969 and 1971. In 1994, they discovered the remains of a large building 6.9 by 19.2 meters with a floor area of 130 square meters. Parts of the 17 posts used in the building are still in the ground. Using modern dating methods, it has been determined that one of the posts was cut in 52 BCE, about the middle of the Yayoi Period. So far, one pit house and two elevated post-and-beam buildings have been reconstructed.

A distinguishing feature of this building is the use of thick posts at either end to support a roof with a large overhang. Unlike most Yayoi elevated storehouses, this use of end posts is in the fashion of Shinto shrines, such as those at Ise and Izumo, discussed in the next section. The ceremonial building at Ikegami-sone may, in fact, have been an early shrine.

Changing Conceptions

It was long thought that the Jōmon people lived a simple hunting and gathering lifestyle that preceded rice cultivation, lived in small villages of only five or six simple buildings, used stone tools, and subsisted on wild boar, deer, shellfish, and nuts. In contrast, it was believed that the Yayoi people brought a much more sophisticated culture, including advanced forms of architecture, with them from the mainland.

Though there is undoubtedly some truth to this generalization, the distinction between the two cultures should not be overemphasized. Recent findings indicate that although Yayoi villages were more heavily fortified and exhibit a greater degree of social stratification, Jōmon villages were sometimes quite large, diverse, and persisted over considerable periods of time. Moreover, Jōmon people traveled long distances by boat, engaging in trade with areas as far apart as Hokkaido and western Honshu. Imported items included jade and obsidian implements, fish, and asphalt. The latter was mixed with clay to make utensils and to decorate clay figurines. The Jōmon people also cultivated chestnuts and appear to have experimented with growing other crops. One of the most interesting findings is that there is considerable continuity between Jōmon and Yayoi architecture.

Reconstructed shrine from the northern enclosure at Yoshinogari. Like the elevated storehouses, the shrine was constructed on posts sunk in the ground. It also may have had some of the features of later Shinto shrines, such as verandas that encircled the interior space. The actual appearance of the building, however, is conjectural. For example, it is impossible to know whether it had two stories, as indicated in the reconstruction, or a single story, as in the case of later shrines such as those as Ise

Evidence Used in Reconstructions

Archaeologists working at the Yoshinogari Yayoi site in Kyushu.

Reconstructing what buildings may have looked like at Yoshinogari and other prehistoric sites involves educated guesswork based upon archaeological evidence, designs on bronze mirrors and bells, designs on earthenware pots, and clay models (haniwa) of buildings that have been found in concentric rings on the slopes of tomb mounds. Clues can also be obtained from contemporary ethnographic evidence such as Shinto shrines that have periodically been rebuilt over the centuries, the construction methods used in centuries-old farmhouses, temporary structures that were used until recently for a variety of purposes such as birthing, and architectural styles still found in other parts of Asia that supplied immigrants to Japan in prehistoric times. Piecing these various kinds of data together requires a high degree of teamwork.

legata haniwa (house-shaped clay model) found at the Saitobaru site in Miyazaki Prefecture.

Pot In the Osaka Pre-fectural Museum of Yayoi Culture, from the Karako site in Nara Prefecture, depicting a raised structure.

The Grand Shrines at Ise

The architectural significance of the Ise shrines is that they are an early example of some of the basic principles of architecture now considered to be typically Japanese, such as using thatch for roofing and exposed, unpainted wood for beams and walls, raising the structure on wooden posts, and adapting a building to the natural environment. Of the ancient shrines in Japan, Ise Jingū is the most important.

The main compound (viewed from the south) of the Naikū at Ise Jingū consists of a sanctuary and two treasure houses enclosed by a series of fences. Omitted in the drawing is a small covered annex that protects participants in ceremonies conducted outside the entrance to the sanctuary. To the west of the compound is another white graveled lot where the new Naikū will be located when the present structures are dismantled.

Shinto

The clan chief in prehistoric times was also the clan head of a religion that eventually came to be known as Shinto, the Way of the Gods. Shinto is based upon the belief that there is a divine power in nature (kami) that permeates everything but is more highly concentrated in some things, such as particular waterfalls, trees, animals, people, ancestral spirits, and even human artifacts. Often, Shinto shrines are located near natural phenomena, such as a sacred mountain, where there is an especially high concentration of divine power. The term kami also is used in reference to mythological deities such as Amaterasu-Ōmikami, the sun goddess, from whom the imperial line is said to be descended.

Detail of a picture scroll by Ikebe Gishō depicting a visit to Ise Jingō by the Emperor Taisho on November 14, 1916, four years after he ascended the throne. The procession is passing through the torii (Shinto arches) and thatched gateways to the main shrine compound.

Despite the abstract nature of kami, specific concentrations of power assume the characteristics of individual deities that can be offered domicile in shrine buildings dedicated to them. Thus, when individuals visit shrines, they pay respects to particular kami rather than to an abstract divine power.

Shinto ceremonies are organized around the concept of purification. Blood, death, and disease are highly polluting and must be cleansed if an individual is to communicate with the divine. Ceremonies can be as simple as washing one's hands and mouth at a water basin before praying at a shrine, or as complicated as participating in a full-scale ceremony conducted by a priest, replete with traditional music and dancing by shrine maidens.

Pre-Buddhist Shrines

The three main types of shrine architecture from the Pre-Buddhist period are the Taisha, Sumiyoshi, and Shimmei styles. The Taisha style is represented by Izumo Shrine in Shimane Prefecture. In prehistoric times, Izumo Shrine was situated on a high platform reached by a long flight of steps. According to records kept at the shrine, the original building was 96 meters high, which was later reduced to 48 meters, and eventually to 8 meters, because of the building's tendency to collapse without any apparent cause. Kan-ari Matsuri, a festival for all the Shinto gods in Japan, is celebrated annually at Izumo from October 11 through 17. Since there are no gods at the other shrines during this period, October is known as kannazuki (godless month) in the rest of Japan.

The Sumiyoshi style, represented by Sumiyoshi Shrine in the city of Osaka, consists of four gable-entrance structures overlooking the sea. The Grand Shrines at Ise, on the Kii Peninsula, Mie Prefecture, represent the Shimmei style.

The Setting at Ise

There are two shrine compounds, several kilometers apart, the inner or Naikū dedicated to the sun goddess, and the outer or Gekū dedicated to the goddess of food, Toyo-uke-Ōmikami.

Pre-Buddhist Izumo Taisha, 48 meters high, based on a model at Koyama Industrial High School, which relies on a painting kept at Izumo Shrine and on research by Fukuyama Toshio, an architectural historian.

Despite some minor differences, the styles of the Naikū and Gekū are almost identical. Collectively known as Ise Jingū, the shrines are situated in an ancient cedar forest. Although the main buildings of both the inner and outer shrines are separated from the world by a series of fences that bar most people from entering, the main features of the architecture can be seen in the numerous subsidiary buildings found throughout the two compounds. Basically, the buildings are derived from raised prehistoric rice storehouses that were gradually modified and refined into some of the world's most highly sophisticated structures.

Interior of a shrine at Takachiho in Kyushu where Ninigi-no-Mikoto, grandson of the sun goddess, is said to have descended to a nearby mountain. On the altar is a mirror representing one of the three symbols of divine authority (the other two being the sword and the jewel) received from the sun goddess herself.

The "Historical" Record

According to tradition, long ago, in the Age of the Gods, Ninigi-no-mikoto, grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu-Ōmikami, was presented with a mirror by his grandmother and sent to rule over the land of Japan. His grandmother informed him that the mirror would serve as a symbol of her presence. Ninigi took a beautiful goddess as his consort, but when he refused to take an older, ugly sister as well, the father put a curse on Ninigi's offspring so their lives would be short. Thus the human race was born. Succeeding emperors kept Ninigi's sacred mirror in their palaces, where it was worshipped as a manifestation of the sun goddess. Some time in the latter part of the third century CE, during the final years of the Yayoi Period, the eleventh emperor, Suinin, built a permanent shrine for the mirror and ordered the princess Toyo-sukiiri-hime-no-mikoto to serve the sun goddess as the representative of the imperial family. The mirror is still the central object of worship in many Shinto shrines across Japan, and the head priestess of Ise Jingū is a type of "princess-shaman," in the ancient tradition.

Main Sanctuary at the Naikū

The main sanctuary at the Naikū is a raised rectangular structure, three bays wide by two bays deep, made of hinoki (Japanese cypress) harvested from a forest preserve deep in the mountains. The unpainted wood gradually changes in color over its 20-year life span, from golden brown to gray. Perhaps the most impressive feature is the large roof thatched with the stems of a mountain reed. The roof ridge is supported by two freestanding pillars sunk directly into the earth in the hottatebashira style used in preceding Jōmon and Yayoi elevated storehouses. The walls also rest upon heavy pillars that support the raised floor, which is surrounded by a graceful veranda with a handrail. A sacred post stands under the middle of the floor, above which the sacred mirror is kept in a container resting on a stand. The entrance is in the middle of one of the long sides, a style called hirairi. To avoid an imbalance, the roof thatch narrows as it rises, as do the huge pillars that support the ridgepole. At each end of the roof, the roof poles cross and extend beyond to form the chigi (forked finials). This helps balance the massive outward slope of the roof. Laid across the ridgepole is a row of long, close-set pegs, the katsuogi—ten at the Naikū and nine at the Gekū, reflecting their difference in status. The long slender pegs extending from the gable ends, four on each side of the ridgepole, are known as muchikake.

Rebuilding Program

The shrines are rebuilt every 20 years, a policy begun by the Emperor Temmu in 685, over a century after the formal introduction of Buddhism and the invasion of Chinese culture. It was probably to guard against such growing influence that the rebuilding program was instituted. While many other shrines were rapidly adopting Chinese characteristics, such as curved roofs and painted wood, the straight-line Shimmei style and the use of natural materials was maintained at Ise. Some features, however, such as the metal fittings, the north-south orientation of the buildings, and the design of the gates, appear to be due to continental influence.

The rebuilding program requires a massive expenditure of resources, time, and money since it involves replacing 65 structures and approximately 16,000 artifacts that fill them. This requires a small army of carpenters, thatchers, sculptors, metal workers, cloth makers, and other craftspeople. The rebuilding program commences 12 years after the completion of the preceding program and takes 8 years to complete. It is accompanied by 32 major rituals—beginning with cutting nearly 14,000 hinoki (Japanese cypress or white cedar) trees from an imperial forest preserve in the Kiso mountains of Nagano Prefecture. The trees are floated down the river to a site on the Ise Jingū grounds where priest-carpenters employ ancient tools and rituals to begin fashioning timbers for the new buildings. Thatching the new shrines requires around 25,000 bundles of mountain reeds (kaya).

Major buildings are built on adjoining lots where structures from the previous 20-year cycle were dismantled. At the center of each vacant lot is a miniature wooden building that covers a hinoki stick that marks the spot where the sacred "heart pillar" under the center of the new building will be erected. The newly constructed buildings are supposed to be exact copies of the old shrines. After the new shrines have been authenticated by the priests, the old shrines are torn down and their materials are given to tributary shrines throughout Japan. This method ensures a faithful transmission of the old style. Although there have been several lapses in this rebuilding program, the shrines at Ise Jingū were rebuilt for the 61st time in 1993.

Painting of a pilgrimage to Ise. Pilgrimages became very popular during the Edo Period since travel was safe and people had more money than in previous periods. In 1830, for example, 4,600,000 people visited Ise during a six-month period. Sometimes, those who could not make the pilgrimage sent their dogs with friends or relatives to be blessed by the priests at Ise. This illustration is a detail from a scroll by Tanaka Ekishin, housed in the Jingū Chōkokan Museum near Ise Jingū. Photograph courtesy of the Jingū Chōkokan Museum.

Tomb Mounds

In the late Yayoi Period, burial mounds were widely constructed in a variety of styles. By 300 CE, the growing power of the Yamato State was signified by a concentration of standardized mounds in the Kinki area around Nara. The most common type consisted of a rock crypt embedded in an artificial hill, sometimes surrounded by one or more moats.

Some mounds included semicircular or square platforms at the intersection of the head and neck. It is speculated that these platforms may have served as altars.

Historical Origins

According to ancient Chinese records, Japan consisted of warring states around the second century CE. Eventually, over 30 of these political units formed an alliance with the powerful Yamataikoku State and chose its shaman-queen, Himiko, to be the head of Wa (Japan). When she died, member states attempted to find ways to maintain the unity that Himiko had forged, including the standardization of tomb mounds, particularly in the area around Nara, the center of the Yamato State. In western Japan, vast mounds with a keyhole shape were built for clan chiefs, and funeral accessories such as mirrors, jewelry, and iron implements were buried with them. In the sixth century, there was a decrease in the number of large burial mounds, but an increase in small mounds built for common people. By the seventh century, due to new continental influences, the expression of power had shifted from burial mounds to Buddhist temples and magnificent capitals.

Construction

Sometimes natural hills were modified for use as burial mounds. More commonly, however, burial mounds were constructed. Ditches were dug around the perimeter and the dirt was used to build an artificial hill in the middle. Most ditches were dry, but some were filled with water. In addition to supplying soil, ditches also helped to distinguish mounds from natural hills. A nearby village housed the people engaged in the construction of the mound, as well as factories for making burial objects and storehouses for protecting materials and products. It is estimated that the largest kofun, Nintokuryō-kofun, built in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, took around 6.8 million man days over a period of nearly 16 years to complete. After the mound was constructed, the surface was covered with stones and terra cotta figures (haniwa).

Derived from Yayoi Period ceramic jars on stands, early haniwa were cylinders placed in circles around the central area on the top of tomb mounds. By the end of the fourth century, these cylinders had been transformed into human figures, and by the sixth century, a variety of human figures, chickens, animals, fish, buildings, and various other items were depicted, often quite realistically.

The main parts of a tomb mound are the coffin (made of wood, stone, or earthenware) for protecting the body, a stone chamber to protect the coffin, and mounded dirt to protect and conceal the stone chamber. There were two main types of chamber: pit chambers, usually for one coffin, and cave chambers for two or more coffins. In the case of a pit style chamber, a stone coffin was taken to the top of the mound and the body was placed inside. After a burial ceremony, the coffin was lowered into the chamber, situated near the top of the mound. The chamber was closed with ceiling stones and covered with dirt. In a cave style chamber, a door on the side was connected to a passage that led to the outside of the mound. Both door and passage were constructed of stone.

Mound of Emperor Nintoku, the largest tomb mound in Japan. Surrounded by three moats, the mound has three terraces on which were placed lines of haniwa. Drawing based on a model at the Osaka Prefectural Chitatsu Asuka Museum.

Seventh-century Ishibutai special historical site at Asuka village near Nara. Ishibutai is the largest stone crypt in Japan. One of the boulders composing the ceiling is estimated to weigh around 75 tons. The stone crypt was presumably covered with a mound. It is not known when the upper portion of the mound was removed.

Imperial tomb mounds, such as the Unebi Mound in Nara Prefecture, burial place of the legendary first emperor Jimmu, are well-tended and are marked by a torii-type (Shinto gate) entrance.

Tombs were usually aligned with the cardinal directions, and the inside of the rock chamber was sometimes decorated with paintings of servants, consorts, or mythical birds and animals associated with basic principles of Chinese and Korean cosmology.

Size and Shape

Tomb mounds come in different shapes and sizes. The most basic are circular, square, and keyhole shapes. There were other types as well, such as a square or round head with a rectangular stem. Most circular and square mounds are under 60 meters in diameter, whereas keyhole mounds sometimes exceeded 400 meters in length. The sides of a mound were terraced and haniwa figures were placed in lines on the terraces. Some smaller mounds had only two terraces, whereas large mounds had as many as five terraces, including a flat area on the top of the mound. The largest mound, Nintokuryō-kofun, referred to above, was 486 meters long and 30 meters high. This is only about one-fifth as high as the Egyptian pyramid Khufu, but the ground surface covered is about five times as great. Mounds were often surrounded by one or more moats, some of which still survive.

The slopes of tomb mounds were usually covered with stones or grass between the haniwa-lined terraces.

Ainu Buildings

Until recently, the Ainu, the indigenous people of northern Japan, lived in small, seasonal settlements (kotan), located in food-gathering areas. For example, in spring they lived along the seashore where they collected fish and seaweed; in summer they lived in the mountains where they hunted animals and collected wild vegetables and berries; and in winter they lived in valleys protected from wind and snow.

Early photograph by Kinoshita Seizō, showing an Ainu couple in traditional costume in front of their house.

Traditional Dwellings

The simplest type of dwelling was a kashi. It consisted of a tripod whose sides were covered with branches and woven mats. It was large enough to provide shelter from the rain for a family of four or five. When more room was needed, a beam was placed between two sets of tripods and the sides enclosed to create a kucha, which housed up to 10 people.

A chise, a larger house with a roof set on walls, allowed enough space to stand up, make a fire, and do other kinds of indoor work. Upon entering a chise from the semu (entrance and storage area), one found a large room with small windows and an earth floor, in the middle of which was a square fire pit with mats on both sides. On one side of the room was a raised area on which were placed articles such as lacquer boxes and sacred objects made of shaved wood (inaw). Hanging from the smoke-blackened rafters were bows and arrows. Traditionally, chise were constructed on a riverbank so the sacred objects could face upstream where the gods were believed to reside. A chise lasted around 10 years or longer, depending upon how well it was constructed and maintained.

A traditional Ainu house with entrance/storage room attached to a larger room. The house shown here is based on a model at the National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka.

The chise house shown in the drawing on this page has walls and roof consisting of bundles of reeds or bamboo grass attached to poles tied horizontally to the main frame. Smoke holes are left at the top. The ridge is covered with a cap weighted down with wooden poles that are tied to the rafters. To the left of the main building are two toilets, one for males and one for females. To the right of the building is a cage where a bear cub was raised until it was large enough to be killed in the most important of the Ainu ceremonies. The slain bear was eaten in a ritual feast and its skull adorned and honored. To the right of the bear cage is a small, elevated storehouse, reminiscent of Jōmon kura. In the foreground is a garden, behind which is a drying rack. Vegetables were supplemented by salmon and wild meat such as deer.

Winter houses, called toi-chise, "house of dirt," were built by erecting a roof over a pit and covering it with earth to retain the heat. This type of house was observed in Sakhalin as late as 1946. Dwellings in spring and summer villages were built with less substantial materials, such as poles covered with reeds or grass.

Decline of Traditional Culture

The traditional way of life of the Ainu continued until around the end of the Edo Period (1868). In 1899, the government enacted the Hokkaido Ainu Preservation Law, encouraging the Ainu to live in permanent villages and to cultivate the land. There was little land available, however, as Japanese (Wa-jin) had been immigrating to Hokkaido since the fifteenth century. Laws prohibiting traditional customs and food-gathering practices led to the decline of traditional culture and language, as well as to a lower standard of living than for the Japanese population as a whole.

In the twentieth century, the Hokkaido prefectural government established housing programs for the Ainu, but the houses were so small and poorly built that the Ainu preferred to live in traditional style houses next to the government buildings. In 1997, the Diet passed a new law advocating research on Ainu culture and supporting the preservation of Ainu language, customs, and traditions. It remains to be seen if this law will improve the situation of the Ainu. Ainu leaders are attempting to revitalize traditional culture by teaching the Ainu language and traditional customs to young people. There are only a few elders, however, who possess this kind of knowledge, so the task is daunting and the outcome is uncertain.

There are around 24 reconstructed chise in Hokkaido, and three more in other areas. However, none are actually used as living quarters at present. The way of life of contemporary Ainu is not that much different from that of the larger population, into which they have, for the most part, been assimilated.

Construction of a Poro-chise Building

Poro-chise (large house) building under construction at Shiraoi in 1996. The floor and walls of the finished house have been covered with mats. The roof beams remain exposed. The shelf on the wall is for holding ceremonial objects. A large spark deflector hangs over the recessed fire pit.

When the poro-chise (large house) at the Ainu Museum in Shiraoi, Hokkaido, burned in 1996, the museum staff undertook its reconstruction using traditional building principles they had learned from elders over the years. First, vertical posts were buried in the ground, and purlins were attached to the top to create the walls. Ceiling beams were used to connect the two side walls to create a solid framework. For the roof, two tripods were erected on top of the frame and connected with a ridgepole, leaving smoke holes at both ends. Rafters were run from the wall purlins to the ridgepole, and small poles were attached horizontally across the rafters. The finished roof was covered with fishnets, and overlapping reed bundles were tied vertically to the roof frame, starting with the bottom row. Reed bundles on the top row were bent over the ridge and covered with additional small bundles to create a unique ridge shape. Small horizontal poles were fastened on the outside of the vertical wall posts for attaching reed bundles to build the walls. More small poles were attached horizontally over the reeds to help hold them in place. Window holes were cut and fitted with coverings that are pulled by ropes from inside to close the openings.