Interactions Between the Jōmon and the Wider East-Asian Region | Jomon Period | Japan

After the Last Glacial Maximum, the Japanese archipelago, which lies just east of China, was separated from mainland Asia by the rising sea, resulting in the formation of the unique Jōmon culture. While rice cultivation began in southern China around 8000 BCE, almost exclusive hunting, gathering, and fishing continued for thousands of years in Japan. Agriculture did not begin in the Japanese archipelago until around 800 BCE. However, this does not mean that there was no interaction with the surrounding East-Asian region. In fact, earrings similar to those found in Southeast Asia and southern China have been excavated throughout the Japanese archipelago at sites associated with the early Jōmon period (circa 5000–3520 BCE). In the lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River in northeastern China, nephrite jade earrings began to appear around 8,000 years ago. At the Kuwano Ruins in Fukui Prefecture, slit-disc earrings and other accessories dating back to 7,000 years ago were found. Analyses of the stone used to make them has revealed that they were made on the Chinese mainland or Korean peninsula.

In the final Jōmon period (circa 1500-800 BCE), millet and rice were introduced to the Japanese archipelago, and grain cultivation began. In northern Kyushu near the Korean Peninsula, an agricultural society based on paddy rice cultivation was established, and over the next 500 years, paddy rice cultivation and agriculture in general spread to eastern Japan.

Historic records from the Edo period (1603-1868) indicate that there were many transient populations from the Philippines, Taiwan, and China entering and exiting Japan in the past. Conversely, the Japanese traveled throughout East Asia prior to Japan’s long period of self-imposed isolation from the 1630s to 1853. People of the Jōmon period also sailed the open seas in wooden canoes, so it is thought that there would have been frequent interactions with other peoples of East Asia, even if only in a limited way. In fact, the remains of a woman with distinct Jōmon DNA have recently been discovered on the Korean peninsula. It is almost certain that more compelling evidence of Jōmon trade and migration will be found outside Japan in the years to come.