burial jars – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

Later History

With the start of the Burial Mound Period in at the late 3rd Century, the Yoshinogari settlement rapidly decreased. Four keyhole-shaped burial mounds were built on the land of Yoshinogari. After a long time, local historians noticed that a lot of pieces of burial jars and earthenware were found in the area about 100 years ago. In 1986, Saga Prefecture decided to develop the area as an industrial park. As a result, before the development, there were some research on the buried cultural properties. Yoshinogari Ruins were meant to be destroyed after the research. However, the huge scale ruins were revealed in 1989. The media reported the ruins sensationally as if they were the Yamatai Country. Visitors suddenly rushed to the ruins, too. The prefecture reversed its decision and announced it would preserve the ruins instead. The ruins were designated as a National Special Historic Site in 1991. The Yoshinogari Historical Park finally opened in 2001.

Unearthed relics at Yoshinogari site, in the Exhibition Room

A distant view of the Yoshinogari Historical Park

My Impression

I think there are no other ruins like the Yoshinogari Ruins, which show the real image of the Yayoi Period. The ruins can be seen as a theme park rather than a historical park. You can see the settlements already had some elements of castles found in Japan later on. However, it’s up to you whether Yoshinogari Ruins should be considered are a kind of castle or not. I recommend visiting them and making your own impression.

The entrance of the North Inner Enclosure

The restored circular moats with fences at the Moat-Enclose Entrance Grounds

How to get There

If you want to visit the ruins by car, it is a few minutes away from Higashi-Sefuri IC on the Nagasaki Expressway.
You can park in the parking lots for visitors in the park.
If you want to use public transportation, it takes about 15 minutes on foot from the JR Yoshinogari-koen Station.
To get to Yoshinogari-koen Station from Tokyo or Osaka: Take the limited express from Hakata Station and transfer to the local train on the Nagasaki Line at Tosu Station, after using the Shinkansen super express or by plane.

Features

Ruins becomes Historical Park

Today, Yoshinogari Ruins have been well developed as the Yoshinogari Historical Park. The ruins are also one of the largest ones of the Yayoi Period in Japan, with over 100 hectares. The park has four entrances for visitors in all the directions. If you stand in front of the largest gate, the East Gate, it looks like a theme park. Many events are actually held in the park to attract visitors, including families and groups. Many buildings and structures of the Yoshinogari settlement were also restored after being excavated. The original excavated relics and items were buried again or taken to preserve them.

The East Gate of the Yoshinogari Historical Park.

The aerial photo around the castle

Moat-Enclose Entrance Grounds

If you enter the park through the East Gate and walk into the center, you will first be at the Moat-Enclose Entrance Grounds. There are restored circular moats around the wooden gate which looks like a shrine gateway. The moats are dug like a U letter (originally V letter), with fences on the earthen walls in front of them and abatises behind. This is where the real entrance of the settlement was in the past.

The restored circular moats with the earthen walls, fences and abatises around

The original cutout model of the circular moats like a V letter, shown in the Exhibition Room

South Inner Enclosure with people living

You will next find the South Inner Enclosure where people lived. There are also a turret gate, watch towers, a cooking house, a meeting room, and residences, surrounded by fences and moats. You can climb up to the platforms of these gate and towers to enjoy a view and understand how to protect the enclosure. They were also all restored based on the findings of the excavation.

The turret gate of the South Inner Enclosure

Beside the South Inner Enclosure, you can visit the Exhibition Room which shows the unearthed items and the history of the settlement. You should check out a lot of burial jars used as for tombs. A set of two jars were usually used in the tomb, with both rims put together to seal the body in. About 3,000 tombs were discovered at the site, and the total number is estimated to be about 15,000. This burial system is one of the features of the settlements in the Yayoi Period.

A lot of burial jars exhibited in the room

North Inner Enclosure, Center of Settlement

The highlight of the ruins should be the North Inner Enclosure, the center of the administration. The enclosure, which looks like a primitive castle, is surrounded by the doubled moats and dense wooden fences with an alternate gate. Of course, they were all restored as to what they had been. There are restored shrines, high-floored storehouses and houses, and watchtowers inside. You can see this is the special spot for the settlement at first sight.

A moat and fences surrounding the North Inner Enclosure

In particular, the Main Shrine is a building composed of two floors standing above high pillars. The first floor was supposed to be used as the meeting room for the leaders. The top floor was likely used to pray an oracle. Some figures are set in both floors to make visitors understand what the rooms were used for. The figure praying was probably made based on the impression of Himiko.

To be continued in “Yoshinogari Ruins Part3”
Back to “Yoshinogari Ruins Part1”

タグ: burial jars

88.Yoshinogari Ruins Part3