Consists of four main islands : Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu
Most major cities (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Yokohama, etc.) are on the island of Honshu
Its location relative to Korea and China has played a major role in the development of Japanese culture
Lies mostly in the Temperate Zone - northernmost areas have very cold winters while southernmost are subtropical
Much wetter than other countries in the Temperate Zone
Heavy rainfall promotes forest growth and high yield rice production
Total land area is about 1.5 times UK; however only about 17% is arable.
Many volcanoes and much seismic activity
Prehistoric Japan
Not clear where the first people of Japan originated
There appears to have been inhabitants since at least 30,000 B.C.
Japan was connected to Asia during the ice age. It is assumed that the first inhabitants walked in from the Asian mainland
About 10,000 BC land links submerged Japan became islands
First pottery is produced around this time. (World’s first?)
Pottery is decorated with impressions from rope
The name for the period (Jomon Age) ca. 10,000 BC to 400-300 BC originates from this practice
The Jomon people were primarily hunters and gatherers.
Lived in pit dwellings, often near coast for the supply of fish, especially shellfish. Many mounds of shells remain. Serve as source of information as many artifacts are preserved in the mounds.
Small clay figurines that appear to have been used in religious rites. Seem to have been associated with shamanism - putting unseen forces into human or animal form.
Shamanism - characterized by belief in unseen world of gods, demons and ancestral spirits that are responsive to shamans
Jomon period ends with new influx of culture from Asian continent. Most importantly, wet-rice agriculture.
Disagreement whether the Jomon people are the ancestors of the present-day Japanese
Previously it was held that a new people arrived from Asia via Korea and displaced the Jomon. It is now felt that the Jomon culture changed under influences from China.
The new culture is known as the Yayoi from the site in Tokyo where remains were first found. The period from ca. 300 BC - 300 AD is known as the Yayoi Period.
This period is marked by introduction of rice cultivation, use of bronze and iron, and a new sense of design in pottery showing a more restrained decoration and emphasis on naturalness. This style is seen as the root of contemporary Japanese aesthetic preference.
Japan did not have a long Bronze Age; bronze was mostly used for decorative objects such as mirrors. Metal was generally more important for use in weapons. Much warfare among various areas in later Yayoi times.
The pottery of Jomon times seems to have been used mainly for preparation and serving of food. Yayoi sees introduction of new shapes and purposes - jars for storing rice, etc., pots for cooking, and vessels with pedestals for formal serving of food.
Vessels for storing rice are especially significant, as the accumulation of rice led to a class society based on wealth measured in terms of the amount of rice possessed.
As in the case of the origin of the Japanese race, the origin of the Japanese language is also unclear. Until fairly recent times Japanese was usually regarded as unique with no closely related languages. In the late 1800s and early 1900s a relationship to Korean was suggested on the basis of many cognates (similarly pronounced words with similar meanings). However this was rejected for most of the next 50 or so years.More recently the majority of linguists have come again to regard Japanese as being related to the Altaic language family which includes Korean, Turkish, Mongolian and Manchurian. However, there also appear to be elements from Austronesian languages (Pacific area, Malayan, etc) and some suggest Southeast Asian sources such as Vietnamese, Burmese, etc. There do appear to be elements of Pacific languages, but most linguists today see Japanese as essentially an Altaic language with close ties to Korean.
Ono Susumu, perhaps Japan’s most distinguished linguist, holds that Japanese is an Altaic language much influenced by the language of an early race of people in Japan (i.e., the Jomon). This idea challenges the modern explanation of the evolution of culture in Japan that holds the Yayoi culture was developed by the Jomon people under the influence of an influx of Chinese culture via Korea. I.e., that the Jomon are the ancestors of the modern Japanese.
To further complicate matters a new development occurs around AD 300. This is marked by a new form of burial in which giant burial mounds (kofun) are constructed for the rulers and aristocrats. Terra cotta figurines often several feet in height were implanted around the edges and on top of the tombs. The figures known as haniwa represent people, animals, houses, boats, etc. The earliest are plain cylinders apparently intended to prevent erosion of the mounds.
The inclusion of horse haniwa has led to further speculation about cultural development in Japan. As there are no mentions of horses in Chinese records of Japan before this time, a theory has been advanced that a horse-riding people invaded Japan via Korea and established themselves as the rulers of Japan. This theory is not generally accepted, but has its adherents. In any case there is not much doubt that a new dynasty arises at this point. There remain many loose ends in the investigation of the origins of the Japanese.
Among them is the lack of an explanation for the presence of the Ainu. The Ainu are Caucasian-like people now found in Hokkaido. Previously they were believed to be the Jomon people who were driven north as the Yayoi culture advanced.
The Japanese histories of the 8th century refer to “hairy people” whom the armies of the court fought and drove away. Since the Ainu are hairier than the Japanese, this lent support to the idea that these were the remnants of the Jomon culture being driven North. However, both Japanese and Chinese refer to uncivilized people in general as hairy - that is, dirty, unkempt and uncouth. The suggestion now is that these “hairy people” were merely the enemies of the new rulers.
It is now felt likely that the Ainu never lived south of Hokkaido, but where they came from and when remains a mystery.