Yoshinogari Saga Moated Settlement
Yoshinogari Site · Yoshinogari Historical Park · Yoshinogari Moated Village
Yayoi 300 BCE–300 CE (Middle Yayoi zenith)·Yayoi Saga — Northern Kyushu rice chiefdom (Himiko candidate)·🇯🇵 Japan, Kyushu, Saga Prefecture, Kanzaki–Yoshinogari, Yoshinogari hills at Chikugo River (Ariake Sea) northern Kyushu plain, Chikushi hills, Japan
About
About Yoshinogari Saga Moated Settlement
Yoshinogari Saga Moated Settlement — Japan's largest Yayoi moated village and Himiko Yamatai candidate (300 BCE–300 CE, 40 ha inner enclosure) on Yoshinogari hills at Chikugo River north Kyushu, excavated 1979–. Yoshinogari revealed double ditched settlement (outer 2.5 km moat 6 m deep), watchtower reconstructions, pit dwellings (600+), storehouses, bronze casting (Korean-style dotaku fragment and sword mold), 2,000+ jar burials, and Chinese Later Han mirrors. The northern inner citadel with heavy palisade suggests Yayoi chiefdom or Himiko's Yamatai. UNESCO tentative 2009, Saga Historical Park now.
Why it mattersLargest Yayoi mega-settlement — Himiko Yamatai leading candidate and bronze–Han trade centre
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Himiko's Yamatai — Yoshinogari vs Makimuku?
Theories
- 01Northern Kyushu Yamatai theory
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 Yayoi Early Ongagawa phase; Middle peak 100 BCE–100 CE
- Period
- Yayoi 300 BCE–300 CE (Middle Yayoi zenith)
- Culture
- Yayoi Saga — Northern Kyushu rice chiefdom (Himiko candidate)
- Builders
- Yayoi rice chiefdoms with Han trade and bronze casters
- Purpose
- Northern Kyushu mega-settlement and bronze–Han trade centre possibly Himiko's Yamatai capital
- Abandoned
- c.300 CE Yayoi→Kofun transition to keyhole
- Rediscovered
- 1986 rescue before Yoshinogari industrial park; 1989 park
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.300 BCE
Yayoi pit village and rice paddy established
c.100 CE
Moated 40 ha citadel with Han mirrors and bronze casting
1979–86
Rescue before industrial park reveals mega-settlement
On the ground
Structures & features
33.3256° N · 130.3867° E · 18 m · 3 mapped features
Inner Citadel and North Palace Area
citadelPalisaded northern inner citadel (40 ha) with elite pit house and Han mirror findspot
33.3260° N · 130.3870° ESouthern Jar Burial Cemetery
cemetery2,000 jar burials with Yayoi jar coffins and bronze grave goods on southern cemetery
33.3250° N · 130.3863° EEastern Watchtower and Outer Moat
moatReconstructed eastern watchtower and 6-m deep outer moat segment
33.3256° N · 130.3875° E
Gallery