Hirota Site: A Yayoi and Kofun-Period Cemetery in Japan

Site at a Glance

Rating

★4.1

Popularity

Low

Country

Japan

Primary era

Classical

External website

Open ↗

Eras represented

Classical, Medieval

Civilizations

Yayoi

Site type

Burial

Remains

Necropolis

History

The Hirota Site is a cemetery in Japan created and used by communities from the late Yayoi period through the late Kofun period, extending into the seventh century. Located on Tanegashima, the cemetery preserves evidence of burial customs and cultural connections linking the southern islands of the Japanese Archipelago.

Discovery and excavation

The site came to light in 1955 when a typhoon caused part of a coastal sand dune facing the Pacific Ocean to collapse. Human bones and shell products were exposed in the fallen sand. Archaeologists excavated the cemetery between 1957 and 1959, initially examining an area of about 230 square metres. Their work revealed 90 burial features containing the remains of 157 people.

The cemetery’s upper layer was associated with pottery from the late Yayoi period and included deliberate reburial, in which bones were gathered and interred after an earlier stage of burial. The lower layer contained bodies placed from the end of the early Yayoi period to the beginning of the middle Yayoi period. Together, these layers show that the site was used over a long period and that burial practices changed through time.

Island connections and burial customs

The designs on Hirota’s shell products closely resemble patterns on bone objects from late Jomon sites on the main island of Okinawa and on Amami Oshima. This similarity indicates a cultural tradition spreading northward along the island chain. The reburial custom found in the upper layer is also considered to have originated in the south, while some theories trace its more distant origins to Jiangnan, the region south of the lower Yangtze River in China.

The human remains reveal distinctive local practices. These include removal of a single lateral incisor from the upper jaw and flattening of the back of the head. Adult men had an average height of approximately 154 centimetres, while adult women averaged about 143 centimetres. The male average was lower than that recorded for contemporary Yayoi populations in northern Kyushu, whereas the female averages were similar.

Protection and interpretation

Excavated materials from the cemetery were designated National Important Cultural Properties in 2006, a status protecting objects judged especially important to Japan’s cultural heritage. The site itself became a National Historic Site of Japan on March 28, 2008. Additional objects held by Minamitane Town were added to the cultural-property designation in 2009. A museum adjoining the cemetery opened on March 1, 2015, and the surrounding area was developed as an archaeological park.

Remains

The cemetery occupies coastal sand dunes in southern Tanegashima, with the burial ground facing the Pacific Ocean. Its remains include earthen pit graves, stone graves, multiple burials involving more than one individual, joint burials, and deposits where bones were gathered together after an earlier burial. The cemetery is arranged in upper and lower layers, with different burial positions, pottery, and associated objects providing evidence for changing practices.

Burial layers

Upper-layer reburials

The upper layer contains gathered and reburied bones associated with late Yayoi pottery. Many of these deposits included shell products engraved with distinctive individual patterns. The combination of reburied human remains and decorated shell objects gives this layer a particular connection to the southern burial tradition.

Lower-layer graves

The lower layer contains numerous bodies placed on the back, known as supine burial, or in flexed positions with the limbs bent. Pottery associated with these graves dates from the end of the early Yayoi period to the beginning of the middle Yayoi period. Some burials included shell bracelets, while other grave goods included small shell beads and elaborately patterned shell ornaments.

Shell ornaments and imported materials

More than 44,000 shell products were recovered from the cemetery. Particularly notable are shell plaques with individually patterned designs and pendants shaped like dragons. Some objects were made from Sinustrombus latissimus and from shells belonging to the Conidae family, which includes cone snails. Several shells were not native to Tanegashima and had been brought from the southern seas, providing physical evidence of contacts beyond the island.

Related archaeological remains

A slight hill immediately behind the coastal dunes yielded Ichiki-style and Issou-style pottery from the late Jomon period in 2003. Further cemetery remains were found west and north of the main site in 2005, extending the known archaeological area beyond the original excavated ground.