Tawayama
Tawayama Site · Tawayama Yayoi Settlement
Yayoi 300 BCE–300 CE (Early–Middle–Late) → Kofun transition·Yayoi (Sea of Japan coastal)·🇯🇵 Tottori Prefecture, Tottori City, Tawayama foothills / Matsue-Shimane border (Aoya–Tawayama Yayoi cluster, Sea of Japan coast), Japan
About
About Tawayama
Yayoi coastal plain settlement (c.300 BCE–300 CE) at Tawayama on Sea of Japan plain near Tottori–Matsue — Yayoi paddy-field system with raised-floor granaries and moated village (ring ditch 150 m diameter) showing Izumo–Inaba coastal exchange; contemporaneous with nearby Aoyakamijichi lacquered wooden comb series and Mukibanda giant Yayoi settlement. Tawayama distinguishes from Mukibanda by plain-rice ecology vs hilltop bronze, proving Japanese sea-coast Yayoi was already stratified.
Why it mattersSea of Japan plain Yayoi granary model complementing hilltop Mukibanda bronze — coastal-rice stratification.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why Tawayama ring ditch contracts despite Aoya trade surge?
Theories
- 01Yayoi sea-coast stratification precedes Kofun chiefdoms; Izumo–Tottori bronze network
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 paddies; village c.100 BCE
- Period
- Yayoi 300 BCE–300 CE (Early–Middle–Late) → Kofun transition
- Culture
- Yayoi (Sea of Japan coastal)
- Builders
- Yayoi millet–rice farmers and lacquer-wood artisans
- Purpose
- Coastal plain rice village with Izumo bronze exchange hub
- Abandoned
- c.300 CE towards Kofun mound burial shift
- Rediscovered
- 1980s Tottori Yayoi salvage near Tawayama road works
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.300–100 BCE
Early Yayoi paddy fields and ditch
c.100 BCE–200 CE
Moated village 150 m and granary cluster; Aoya lacquer trade
2020
Mukibanda–Aoya–Tawayama re-mapping as Tottori Yayoi archipelago
On the ground
Structures & features
35.4500° N · 134.0500° E · 25 m · 2 mapped features
Ring Ditch and Pit Dwelling Core (150 m)
settlement150 m ring ditch with pit dwellings and postholes of Yayoi village centre
35.4505° N · 134.0505° ERaised-Floor Granary Cluster and Paddy Checks
agricultural12 raised-floor granaries 4×5 m and paddy field checks 20×10 m on plain periphery
35.4495° N · 134.0495° E