Hello. I am Shimokura K, the mayor of Jomon Village.
This “Jomon Village” site was once completely shut down, but has since been relaunched on a very small scale. I hope it will help you expand your horizons regarding ancient Japanese history and future predictions about the direction of human society.
(Please note that some of the people and materials featured on this site, including myself, are fictional.)
My Perspective on Ancient Japanese History
■The Origins of the Japanese People■
There are various theories regarding the ancestors of the Japanese people.
Currently, the prevailing theory holds that the Jomon people, who originally inhabited the archipelago, were joined by the Yayoi people who migrated from the continent, and through repeated intermarriage, they formed the modern Japanese people.
I basically agree with this view, but what exactly is a “Jomon person”? If we define them as the people who lived on this archipelago during the Jomon period, then the Jomon people were likely not a single ethnic group, but rather a collection of multiple ethnic groups.
In *
What People Were Your Ancestors?* (Tokuma Shoten, Katsuya Tanaka and the Research Society for the History of Japan’s Indigenous Peoples, 1986),
- Ainu
- Izumo Clan
- Hayato
- Kumabito
- Korean/Han Chinese
- Sushin
- Wa
- Sanka
- Tsuchigumo
- Oriental peoples
- Mu and Polynesians
- Tenson clan
These 12 ethnic groups and categories are presented.
While some of these may overlap, and others seem to group together elements from different categories, it is almost certain that by the late Jomon period, multiple ethnic groups were scattered across the Japanese archipelago, each occupying distinct territories.
Conversely, it would be unnatural to assume that only a single ethnic group inhabited the region from Hokkaido to Kyushu.
For example, while the Ainu are the only ethnic group on the archipelago to have preserved their Jomon-era ethnic identity almost entirely intact to the present day, it is highly implausible to imagine that only Ainu-related peoples inhabited the Japanese archipelago in ancient times.
■The Path to Tenson Clan Rule■
The Japanese archipelago, where multiple ethnic groups had coexisted for a long time, was rapidly integrated into a centralized “state” system through the influx of ideas and technologies from the continent during the period spanning the Yayoi and Yamato eras.
While the prevailing theory holds that the group known as the “Tenson Clan,” who migrated from the Korean Peninsula, established the Yamato court and became the ancestors of the current Imperial Family, some scholars believe that even before the Tenson Clan, multiple ethnic groups had already crossed over from the continent to the archipelago and established fairly large-scale regional states.
The so-called Izumo Dynasty falls into this category.
The Izumo Dynasty was a confederation of multiple ethnic groups. It is said that leadership was held either by an intellectual class with roots in Mesopotamia or by a people originating from the Korean Peninsula—who were of the same lineage as the Tenson clan that arrived later. In any case, I believe it is certain that a large regional state had been established across western Japan prior to the Yamato court.
The “Myth of the Transfer of the Country” found in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki likely recounts the history of how the Amatsukami clan—a later group of immigrants who migrated northward from Kyushu—repeatedly employed military intimidation, intrigue, and marriage alliances to eventually seize control of this Izumo Dynasty.
In the early days of the Yamato court, leaders of the Izumo lineage likely played a role in the ruling class as part of a sort of “coalition government.” Wasn’t the “Taika Reform” a prime example of a coup d’état aimed at establishing sole rule?
■Izumo vs. Yamato■
Shortly after the establishment of the Yamato court, the leaders of the Izumo faction were ousted from the ruling class.
However, their influence did not disappear so easily. The religious beliefs of the Izumo dynasty had begun to spread widely and deeply among the indigenous peoples of the Japanese archipelago.
I believe that the Izumo deities emerged when the indigenous peoples’ inherent tendency toward nature worship—such as sun worship and reverence for earth deities (local gods)—was skillfully incorporated into the religious policies of the Izumo deities, and elements of ancestor worship were added in the form of clan deities.
Although the Izumo-affiliated leaders were driven northward, they formed alliances with indigenous peoples in various regions and attempted to oppose the Yamato court.
The “oni” (demons) were one of the “symbols of heresy” that emerged from this context.
Numerous historical texts and sites attest to the fact that the court feared the Izumo deities greatly.
The Yamato court claimed that they were sent from heaven and were the legitimate descendants of the heavenly deity (Amaterasu).
On the other hand, the Izumo faction based their claim to legitimate rule on the fact that they had arrived on this land (the Japanese archipelago) first and established the first nation, as well as their deep ties to the indigenous peoples and their intimate familiarity with the local deities.
Even after being driven out by the heavenly descendants, they sought to resist the rule of the Amatsukami (the gods of the heavenly descendants) by aligning themselves with the gods of the mountains, rivers, seas, forests, and the land.
It is said that Japanese shrines fall into two categories: the Kunitsukami lineage and the Amatsukami lineage. The Kunitsukami are associated with the Izumo lineage, while the Amatsukami are associated with the Tenson lineage (the Yamato lineage). Even if they appear to be the same kind of “shrine” at first glance, the significance behind their establishment is said to be different. I believe this is a theory that deserves more attention.
In other words, while shrines of the Amatsukami lineage are purely for the worship of heavenly deities, those of the Kunitsukami lineage have a strong connotation of appeasing the wrath of the Izumo deities by enshrining the local gods. They were established out of fear of the curse of the Izumo lineage—a lineage the Tenson clan had destroyed in the process of ruling this country. For the Tenson clan, the shadow of the Izumo lineage was that powerful.
For a book that examines how the people and ideas of the Izumo lineage have been passed down to the present day, see Takeshi Hara’s *The Ideology of “Izumo”* (Kodansha Academic Library).
■The Japanese: A Greatly Mixed-Blood People■
The Kojiki and Nihon Shoki were compiled by the conquerors and those in power; naturally, they were written to justify the actions of those in authority. Even if documents had existed written from the perspective of the conquered, they would likely have been almost entirely destroyed by those in power.
So-called ancient histories and traditions have been dismissed as forgeries and erased from history education. However, if we label them as forgeries simply because they were written later to suit certain narratives, then the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki would also be “forgeries.”
Even the ancient history described in history textbooks is, in the end, largely based on imagination.
We who live in the modern era have no way of knowing what kind of land the Japanese archipelago once was, or what kind of people lived there and how they lived.
However, one thing is certain: it is impossible that modern Japanese people have been a single, independent ethnic group since ancient times.
Is it not the case that modern Japanese people are a complex blend of the bloodlines of the many ethnic groups that currently make up the nations of Asia?
I believe this realization is of the utmost importance. Prejudice against certain ethnic groups and unfounded feelings of superiority have, until now, led to numerous wars, acts of terrorism, and massacres. If we can at least recognize that making a fuss about “blood” is ridiculous, we might be able to curb, to some extent, the folly of repeating such mistakes.
Furthermore, when discussing the excellence of the Japanese people, traits such as their diligence and their emphasis on rules and group discipline are often cited; however, I suspect that these qualities stem largely from the Yayoi (immigrant-derived) temperament that arrived later, rather than from a Jomon-era temperament.
Yet, in the name of modernization, contemporary Japanese people have destroyed the precious natural environment of this land. In our blind faith in the religion of the economy, we have lost our sense of purpose. Furthermore, a negative side has emerged where those in power twist rules to suit their own convenience or deliberately make them complex to create loopholes.
In today’s stifling environment, isn’t it necessary to reexamine the Jomon-like openness—a temperament that loves nature and reveres the invisible forces dwelling within it—which has been neglected until now?
I believe that living in harmony by striking a balance between Jomon-style openness and pacifism and Yayoi-style diligence and conscientiousness—while avoiding conflict—is precisely the strategy Japan needs today.
We who live in the villages must once again learn what the demons sealed away in the mountains have witnessed. With this sentiment in mind, I have decided to quietly establish this Jomon Village here. Anyone who wishes to cherish the Jomon spirit is always welcome, whether as a villager or a guest.
(First Village Chief, K. Shimokura)
Village Chief
home