Japan in the Period of 0 A.D.

Lion.Kanzen · May 13, 2019

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Chieftain residence.

Vs Ceremonial Hall.

Reveal hidden contents

Edited May 13, 2019 by Lion.Kanzen

Lion.Kanzen · May 13, 2019

SB 1 Ceremonial Water building or Nango-Ohigashi.

https://orjach.org/module/power-of-water-rock/

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The remains at Nango-Ohigashi included two rows of wooden posts on either side of the wooden water conduit and cistern, enclosed by traces of a wooden fence. This is reconstructed as a roofed structure as shown in this reconstruction. The fence may have demarcated a sacred area that was difficult to see into from outside, within which ritual ceremonies, perhaps including musical instruments of the sort sometimes depicted by haniwa tomb figures..

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granary.

Storage pit / Warehouse.

Wei Battery Ram.

Archery

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Early Japanese used bows of various sizes but the majority were short with a center grip. This bow was called the maruki yumi and was constructed from a small sapling or tree limb. It is unknown when the asymmetrical yumi came into use, but the first written record is in the Book of Wei, a Chinese historical manuscript from the 3rd century AD, which describes the people of the Japanese islands using "spears, shields, and wooden bows for arms; the wooden bows are made with the lower limbs short and the upper limbs long; and bamboo arrows with points of either iron or bone."^[1] The oldest asymmetrical yumi found to date was discovered in Nara and is estimated to be from the 5th century.

It goes without saying that the evolution of Japanese archery closely coincides with the development and use of the Japanese bow. The earliest known inhabitants of the Japanese islands, a hunter-gatherer culture known as the Jomonrelied heavily on the use of the bow. Their bows were of different lengths but most were the short, center-gripped type common to other primitive cultures. The Jomon bow was primarily used as a hunting tool but it is quite probable that it was also used in tribal warfare and ritual. From around 250 B.C to A.D. 330 the Yayoiculture flourished. During this time the bow came to be used as a symbol of political power. Legend says that Japan's first ruler was Emperor Jimmu, (illustration at right) who ascended to the thone in 660 B.C. And while many historians dispute this, the fact remains that in paintings and descriptions of his life Jimmu is always depicted holding a long bow, a symbol of his authority. A bronze casting from the Yayoi period appears to show the use of a long asymmetrical bow. And a written account compiled by the Chinese in the third century describes the Japanese as using a bow with upper and lower limbs of differing length, so it is highly likely that the unique asymmetrical design of the Japanese bow was adopted during the Yayoi period.

The Ancient Period

During this period Japan was strongly influenced by Chinese culture. It was then that ceremonial archery became an important part of the court system. The Japanese bowmakers also began to borrow the composite construction used by the Chinese, and by the tenth century had developed a two-piece composite bow using bamboo and wood. The Ancient period also saw the rise of the samurai, or warrior class, and the bow saw even greater use as a weapon of war as the samurai struggled to establish themselves as a powerful new social class.

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