Harunotsuji (Iki)
Harunotsuji Site · Harunotsuji Iki Island Trading Town
Yayoi 300 BCE–300 CE (Ikikoku under Wei Zhi Wa federation)·Yayoi Iki–Tsushima maritime (Wa – Wei Himiko federation)·🇯🇵 Nagasaki Prefecture, Iki Island, Ashibe Town, Haranotsuji hill overlooking Hakata Bay strait (Tsushima Basin maritime hub), Japan
Wikipedia contributors · CC (see file page)
About
About Harunotsuji (Iki)
Wei Zhi One Country of Ikikoku capital (c.300 BCE–300 CE Yayoi hub) at Harunotsuji on Iki Island mid-strait between Kyushu and Korea — 100 ha double-moated maritime trading town with 2 km outer moat and Chinese Han mirror workshop (47 Wei bronze mirrors found) excavated 1996–2000, yielding Changsha–Liaodong bronze swords and Japanese Yayoi–Mumun frontier registry. Harunotsuji is arch-identified as Wei Zhi 'Ikikoku' of 3,000 households under Queen Himiko's federation, with 400 m plaza and warehouse rows controlling Korea–Kyushu Strait maritime passage from Liaodong via Tsushima–Iki to Yoshinogari.
Why it mattersLargest Yayoi maritime trading town and 47-Han-mirror hoard — Wei Zhi Ikikoku core proving Wa maritime hegemony as Himiko's Han gateway.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why 47 identical Han mirrors cached vs Yoshinogari's single?
- 02Is Iki the Pindao state between Tsushima–Matsurokoku?
Theories
- 01Iki–Tsushima–Hakata bronze mirror redistribution chain; Himiko's Wei silk exchanged at Harunotsuji–Iki market
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.300 BCE Early Yayoi fishing base; moated town 100 BCE
- Period
- Yayoi 300 BCE–300 CE (Ikikoku under Wei Zhi Wa federation)
- Culture
- Yayoi Iki–Tsushima maritime (Wa – Wei Himiko federation)
- Builders
- Iki mariners and Yayoi Wa federation under Himiko → Iyo
- Purpose
- Strait maritime hub and Wei legitimation bronze mirror redistribution port for northern Kyushu
- Abandoned
- c.300 CE towards Kofun provincial office at Iki kokufu
- Rediscovered
- 1996 expressway survey exposes 47 Han mirrors; 1998–2000 Harunotsuji confirms Ikikoku extent
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.300–100 BCE
Early trading base with Changsha swords and shell ornaments
c.100 BCE–239 CE
Wei Zhi Ikikoku peak: 2 km moat, 400 m plaza, 47 Han mirrors in situ
1996–2000
47 Han Wei mirrors — largest single Yayoi mirror hoard — prove Ikikoku as Himiko gateway
On the ground
Structures & features
33.7500° N · 129.7200° E · 25 m · 2 mapped features
- Outer 2 km Moat and Twin Warehouse Row (100 ha)fortification2000 m outer ditch with inner moat 800 m and twin warehouse rows 30 m on plaza 400×50 m33.7505° N · 129.7205° E
- Central Plaza and Han Mirror Hall (47 mirrors)structure400×50 m central plaza with 18×12 m hall and pit where 47 Han bronze mirrors lay stacked33.7495° N · 129.7195° E
Gallery