S. Kaner
rise to one of the major controversies of Japanese archaeology which continues to the present
day, and which feeds the mass tourism industry.^35 It is unlikely, for instance, that the enormous
scale of the reconstructed Yayoi settlement at Yoshinogari in Saga prefecture would have been
supported so assiduously by both the prefectural authorities and the Highways Agency had it not
been for the (no matter how faint) possibility that this was indeed Himiko’s residence.
Valuing the past from the premodern to the hypermodern
The archaeology of the Jōmon and Yayoi periods in Japan represents a very rich field of dis-
course. Neither period was defined as such during until the Meiji era, when archaeology was
introduced to Japan as part of the movement toward “civilization and enlightenment,” and
indeed archaeology is itself a thoroughly modern discipline, with a firm basis in rational, scient-
ific observation and interpretation. As Peter Bleed noted, however, in his 1986 survey of Edo
period antiquarians and the roots of Meiji period archaeology, aspects of the particular forms of
“premodern” antiquarian endeavors have in some ways shaped later archaeology, creating a tra-
dition of study somewhat distinctive from archaeology in other countries.^36
This chapter has sought to explore some of those themes a little further. The immense scale of
the Japanese archaeological achievement, in particular during the years of rapid economic devel-
opment from the 1960s to the early 2000s, and the particularities of doing archaeology in Japan,
with its intense networking, strong local and regional traditions of study, and great emphasis
placed on the civic responsibility of the archaeologist, have all together produced an archaeologi-
cal record for the Jōmon and Yayoi periods that is rich, nuanced, and, with current developments
in digitization exemplified by the Digital Repository of Japanese Archaeological Reports now
held by the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, aided by new online trans-
lation tools on the cusp of becoming freely accessible to global audiences for the first time.^37
With the slowdown in economic development and the associated relative decrease in the
numbers of archaeological excavations, Japan’s highly trained archaeological workforce, whether
in national institutions and museums, universities, or local government centers, has increasing
opportunities to reflect on the larger significance of the discoveries of the past century. There is
recognition of the need for new ways in which to engage in with their public, both domestic and
foreign, capturing some of the imagination and energy evident in the hypermodern. One result
has been virtual encounters with goggle- eyed Jōmon dogū avatars in Second Life and Bronzog
Pokémon Go designed after a dōtaku. Advances in 3D printing technology, moreover, open up
new opportunities for everyone to handle exact replicas of fragile originals, and to experience
something of the haptic thrill appreciated by Early Modern antiquarians.
There are also signs of increasing international collaboration, each bringing new possibilities
for the application of new research methods, from genetics to isotopes, artistic interpretations,
and display techniques. Through the records left by Early Modern antiquarians, we can see that
the intellectual curiosity that drove men like Arai Hakuseki and Kimura Kenkadō is something
to be cherished by contemporary specialists, operating in our own hypermodern world.
Notes
1 Timon Screech, “Europe in Asia: The Impact of Western Art and Technology in Japan,” 318. Massimo
Soumaré, Japan in Five Ancient Chinese Chronicles.
2 Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects.
3 The terms “Tokugawa period” and “Edo period” are synonymous, the latter designating the geographic
center of political power, and the former the family who held it. For more on periodization in Japanese
history, see the introduction to this volume, or Karl F. Friday, “Sorting the Past.”