Yoshinogari Historical Park

The Yoshinogari Ruins, a national special historic site, is located in the Yoshinogari Hills, which straddle Yoshinogari-cho and Kanzaki-shi, Kanzaki-gun, Saga Prefecture. The site is one of the largest moat encircling settlements of the Yayoi period, surrounded by a double moat, and more than 2,000 kame coffin tombs, rogan, and stilted warehouses have been excavated.

In addition, the ruankan, pit dwellings, and stilt warehouses have been reconstructed, and there is also an exhibition hall for excavated artifacts.

The ruins include approximately 100 reconstructed buildings that recreate a large-scale Yayoi period (710-794) dugout settlement, a scene reminiscent of the Yamataikoku Kingdom as described in the biography of Wei Wei. Visitors can feel as if they have time-traveled back to the Yayoi period.

Inside the building, visitors can see a recreation of what it was like in those days, and can even dress up in Yayoi period costumes. In addition, visitors can enjoy special hands-on programs such as “making of a wooden amulet” and “making of fire” every day and on weekends.

There is also a large lawn area within the ruins where visitors can play on playground equipment or with a big ball. Visitors can also enjoy barbecue at the outdoor cooking area. It is a perfect spot for sightseeing and leisure.

The Yoshinogari Ruins are one of the largest Yayoi period dugout settlement sites in Japan, spanning Kanzaki City and Yoshinogari Town. Surrounded by 2.5 km-long dugouts, the site has been excavated to reveal the remains of numerous dwellings, stilt warehouses, more than 3,000 tortoise coffin tombs, and mound tombs thought to have been the tombs of kings during the mid-Yayoi period. In the tombs, highly skilled copper swords and glass tubular beads were found, suggesting exchange with the Chinese continent and the Korean peninsula. The Yoshinogari Ruins have been designated as a special national historic site and the Yoshinogari Historical Park has been established.

At the Yoshinogari Historical Park, visitors can experience the atmosphere of the Yayoi period through the recreation of a watchtower, a pit dwelling, and a warehouse on stilts. The park is divided into four zones: Entrance Zone, Ancient Forest Zone, Encampment Zone, and Ancient Field Zone. The Ancient Forest Zone recreates the vegetation of the Yayoi period. In the encircled settlement zone, visitors can see buildings such as the main shrine and the watchtower, and experience the lifestyle and culture of the Yayoi period. Visitors can also see excavated artifacts and other artifacts in the exhibition room. In the Ancient Hara Zone, there is a vast lawn and large playground equipment in the style of a watchtower, where visitors can enjoy physical exercise.

At the Yoshinogari Ruins, visitors can enjoy plants such as horse chestnut and ancient wildflowers in spring, and safflower and oga lotus in early summer. In addition, hands-on programs such as “katadama making” and “fire making” are held every day. By visiting the Yoshinogari Ruins, visitors can feel the ancient landscape and culture close at hand.

The Yoshinogari Ruins, which straddle Kanzaki-shi and Yoshinogari-cho, Saga Prefecture, are designated as a special national historic site. The ruins are the site of a large moat encircling settlement from the Yayoi period, and extend over approximately 117 hectares, as revealed by excavations beginning in 1986. Currently, a part of the site is managed by the national government as the National Yoshinogari Historical Park.

One of the features of the site is the remains related to the defense of the village. In the late Yayoi period, a double moat encircling an outer moat and an inner moat was constructed. The outer moat was deeply dug in a V-shape and extended about 2.5 km. The outer moat was fenced off with wooden fences, earthen mounds, and reverse berms to prevent the enemy from entering. In addition, several watchtowers were placed inside the moat encircling the castle. There were two groups of buildings in the inner wall, and a pit building and a stilt building were found. Also excavated were stilted warehouses, storage pits, clay pits, and the remains of bronze artifact manufacturing.

The jar coffins, sarcophagi, and clay tombs are thought to have been communal cemeteries for the general public, as many bodies were gathered in them. On the other hand, there are two mound tombs in the southern and northern parts of the site, which may have been the tombs of village leaders. Inside the jar coffins, human bones with injuries and arrowheads were found, as well as headless bones, suggesting traces of fierce battles. In many cases, glass tubular beads and other ornaments were also buried together, indicating that a sumptuous funerary rite was performed.

Many artifacts such as earthenware, stoneware, bronze, iron, and wood vessels have been excavated, including accessories such as slings and tubular beads, bronze swords, bronze mirrors, textiles, and other ornaments and objects used in rituals. In the surrounding area of the site, many artifacts were excavated in 1998.

Dotaku (bell-shaped bronze bells) were also discovered in 1998 on the periphery of the site. These artifacts and remains share similarities and similarities with other sites in northern Kyushu and other parts of Japan, as well as with those on the Chinese mainland, the Korean peninsula, and the Nansei Islands.

There are also three forward-rectangular burial mounds within the site, which are thought to have been built after the vanished settlements.

History
During the Paleolithic period, knife-shaped stone tools, trapezoidal stone tools, and lancets were found.

It is estimated that people lived around Yoshinogari Hill in the late Jomon Period. Pottery shards were also found.

One of the reasons people began to live in this area was its location near the sea. During the early Jomon period, when the last glacial period ended and the area became warmer, there was a rise in sea level known as the “Jomon sea advance. The Ariake Sea extends to the southern edge of the Yoshinogari Hills and is estimated to have been 2-3 km from the site.

The Ariake Sea had a large difference in tidal range and many shoals, providing favorable conditions for water transportation using the difference in tidal range and an abundant supply of shellfish and crabs. It is believed that a combination of these factors led people to begin settling in the area.

In the Yayoi Period, settlements began to form within the Yoshinogari Hills around the 4th century B.C. and developed into large-scale settlements.

In the early period, scattered settlements were formed in several locations on the Yoshinogari Hill, and moat encirclements appeared in the southern settlements.

In the middle period, a moat encircling the Yoshinogari hill was constructed. Settlements developed and defenses were strengthened. Tomb tombs and jar coffins also began to be seen. Large mound tombs were nearly rectangular, estimated to be more than 4.5 meters high, and sometimes more than 14 jar coffins were buried on top of them. This is a feature not seen in other areas.

In the later period, the moat encircling the site was further enlarged and became a double structure. The buildings also became huge, and the settlement reached its peak around the 3rd century. Two inner enclosures, the northern and southern enclosures, were created, and cultural development was seen. Based on the number of jar coffins, it is estimated that about 1,200 people lived in Yoshinogari and about 5,400 people lived in the entire kuni (province).

The coastline gradually moved farther and farther away from the site.

The coastline gradually moved away, and by this time the area was located near Chiyoda-cho, Kanzaki-shi, and Morotomi-cho, Saga-shi. The mouth of the Chikugo River also moved, and the ruins suggest the presence of a port. Yoshinogari Hill is thought to have interacted with this port through the Johara and Tate Rivers.

Some studies suggest that the Yoshinogari mound tombs originated directly from Jiangnan and Shandong Peninsula in China, rather than through them.

In the Kofun period, the moat at the Yoshinogari site was filled with earthenware and the settlement almost disappeared. Similar events occurred in moat encircling settlements in the Kinki region and elsewhere.

Upland settlements also disappeared. This is because the wars had subsided and moats, earthen mounds, and upland settlements were no longer needed. In the Kofun period, the number of dwellings at the Yoshinogari site decreased, and the hills became cemeteries, where posterior frontal round tombs and periglacial tombs were constructed. People cultivated the low marshy land to make rice paddies and moved the foundation of their lives to the plains.

It is estimated that buildings such as the Kanzaki-gun government office existed during the Ritsuryo period (Nara and Heian periods).

During the Ritsuryo period, the land was rezoned, but the name “Yoshinogari” (吉野ヶ里) is still used today, and many other place names, such as “XX-gari” (○○ヶ里), can be found within the former Kanzaki-gun.

In the modern era, fierce battles were fought in and around Yoshinogari during the Saga Rebellion. In the Showa period (1926-1989), artifacts such as Yayoi earthenware and jar coffin tombs were excavated, and academic research began, but did not attract much attention.

Plans to Build a Factory Complex
In the 1970s, a part of Yoshinogari Hill was destroyed for the creation of farmlands and orchards and for soil mining. At the same time, many jar coffins began to be excavated in the Yoshinogari hillside area around this time. The site was also a candidate for the relocation and reconstruction of the prefectural high school, but the plan was abandoned due to the wide range of artifacts that had been excavated.

In the late 1970s, Saga Prefecture made a survey plan to develop a factory complex in the southern Yoshinogari Hills. However, it was too busy with preliminary surveys to implement the plan.

In the 1980s, Saga Prefecture made a plan to develop a factory complex in the southern Yoshinogari Hills to attract companies. In 1983, a preliminary survey began, and in 1986, a full-scale survey revealed that the ruins were spread over a wide area of approximately 59 hectares. As a result, the prefectural government decided to scale back its plans for the factory complex.

Full-scale excavation
Excavation site in 2000. Excavation took place over a long period of time.
Awareness-raising activities by archaeologist Makoto Sawara and other experts and citizens’ groups became active, and on February 23, 1989, some media outlets began reporting extensively on the site. In fact, the day before that, February 22, was the day that a large-scale moat encircling settlement was discovered at the Yoshinogari Ruins. This led to a large number of daily visitors from all over Japan, and in March of the same year, the prefectural government decided to halt development of the area overlapping the ruins.

The site was subsequently designated as a historic site in May 1990 and a special historic site in April 1991, and in 1992 the Cabinet decided to develop a national historical park.

Initial media reports suggested that the site might be related to the Yamataikoku Kingdom, and some even suggested that it might be the site of the Kyushu

Dynasty. However, the current prevailing view is that the Yoshinogari site was simply one of several “kunis” that existed in northern Kyushu.

Incidentally, on April 6, 2006, Yoshinogari Ruins was selected as No. 88 on the list of the 100 best castles in Japan.