Oshoro Stone Circle
Osyoro · Mikasayama
Late Jomon (c.1500 BCE)·Late Jomon·🇯🇵 Hokkaido, Otaru City, Oshoro Bay bluff above Sea of Japan, Japan
About
About Oshoro Stone Circle
Late Jomon oval stone circle (33 m N-S ×22 m E-W, 440 stones, ~100 standing hip-high granite) on bluff above Sea of Japan at Oshoro, Otaru City, 11 km north of Yoichi. Excavated by Kazuchika Komai (Mikasayama) and curated by Naoaki Ishikawa (Otaru Museum), interpreted as 1500 BCE burial ground and market with hill-slope visibility comparable to Washinoki but facing Sea of Japan rather than Funka Bay.
Why it mattersJomon sea-bluff stone circle interpreted as market and burial ground above Oshoro Bay
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Market hypothesis vs cemetery — microlith debitage evidence?
- 02Standing vs fallen — original 100 or 440?
Theories
- 01Hokkaido west-coast Jomon exchange network: Oshoro–Fugoppe maritime–stone circle chain
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.1500 BCE
- Period
- Late Jomon (c.1500 BCE)
- Culture
- Late Jomon
- Builders
- Late Jomon fishers and traders
- Purpose
- Sea-bluff stone circle market and burial ground
- Abandoned
- c.1000 BCE
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.1500 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1311 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
Gallery