Archeology in Kochi and Ehime Prefectures

As part of a program for the mutual exchange of archeological artifacts, the Tokyo National Museum borrows recently-excavated objects from other museums while lending them objects that were originally excavated from their respective areas.

During this fiscal year, with the cooperation of the Kochi Prefectural Museum of History and the Museum of Ehime History and Culture, we are exhibiting artifacts from Kochi and Ehime prefectures that date back from the Final Jomon period to the beginning of the Kofun period (ca. 11th century BC–ca. 3rd century AD).

Since the time of Japan's rapid economic growth, large-scale construction projects have been accompanied by more opportunities for excavating previously-unexplored wetlands. As a result, wood and bone artifacts preserved in the water have been excavated, and the lives, beliefs, and trade activities of people living in these wetlands have been brought to light. Discoveries of the Itoku site in Kochi and the Miyamaegawa site in Ehime are fruitful results of these excavations.

The artifacts on display show that from the Final Jomon period to the beginning of the Kofun period, Kochi and Ehime prefectures possessed unique characteristics while conducting a thriving trade with various other regions in Japan.