Welcome to Episode 3, and part 2 of our series on the Jomon era. In this episode we discuss the boom and bust of the Jomon period, when the Jomon population hit its highest point, especially in the Kanto plain and Chubu highlands. This was the area of the Katsusaka and Otamadai cultures. We’ll discuss the evidence for what we see and what might have happened. Below, find photos taken at the National Museum of Japanese History, with actual and replica pots and figurines. You can see the type of decoration that gave this period its name and some of the wild artistic flourishes that became popular during this period. Also check out the lacquered pots, indicating that it was more than just cord impressions. Finally, the figurines give you a sample of some of the variety found.

Jomon pottery. Photo by author, taken at the National Museum of Japanese History in Sakura, Japan

Middle Jomon pottery. Photo by author, taken at the National Museum of Japanese History in Sakura, Japan

Middle Jomon lacquered clay pots. Photo by author, taken at the National Museum of Japanese History in Sakura, Japan

Middle Jomon replica figurine, or dogu. Photo by author, taken at the National Museum of Japanese History in Sakura, Japan

References

2016 Bausch, Ilona “The Splendor of the Middle Jomon Culture” https://www.academia.edu/32120920/The_splendour_of_the_Middle_Jomon_culture_ceramics_from_the_Central_Japanese_highlands
2007 Kaner, Simon and Ishikawa, Takeshi, “Reassessing the concept of the ‘Neolithic’in the Jomon of Western Japan”, Documenta Praehistorica XXXIV (2007) https://revije.ff.uni-lj.si/DocumentaPraehistorica/article/view/34.1/1809
2002 Mizoguchi, Koji; An Archaeological History of Japan: 30,000 B.C. to A.D. 700
1996 Imamura, Keiji; Prehistoric Japan: New Perspectives on Insular East Asia
1992 Yamagata Mariko, “The Shakado Figurines and Middle Jomon Ritual in the Kofu Basin”; Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1992 19/2-3; https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/2485
1980 Koike, Hiroko; “Seasonal Dating by Growth-Line Counting of the Clam, Meretrix Lusoria”, Bulletin No. 18; The University Museum, The University of Tokyo; http://umdb.um.u-tokyo.ac.jp/DKankoub/Bulletin/no18/no18000.html