Jomon Jiyukan Museum, Sannai Maruyama Archeological Site, Aomori Prefecture, Japan

The Sannai-Maruyama archeological site is a large-scale settlement from the middle to early mid Jomon period in Maruyama, Sannai, Aomori city, Aomori prefecture. Located on the right bank of the Okitadate River. Designated as a National Historic Site in 2000. In addition to the houses and warehouses, the archeological site reproduces a symbolic three-story stilt pillar building, and there is also a display facility for materials and excavated items, the “Jomon Tokyu Museum”. The Aomori Prefectural Office of Education Cultural Property Protection Division Sannai Maruyama Site Preservation and Utilization Promotion Office is conducting an excavation survey.

Jomon Jiyukan Museum
The Jomon Jiyukan Museum is set up between the carriageway and the archaeological site on the south side of the Sannai Maruyama Archeological Site. The Jomon Amusement Hall displays some of the archeological excavations, as well as facilities such as souvenir shops and toilets.

A total of about 1,700 relics, including about 500 important cultural properties excavated from the Sannai Maruyama Site, are on display. After passing through the timescale tunnel at the entrance, you will find the “Jomon Heart” corner on your left. Here, the important cultural property “large plate-shaped clay figurines”, as well as “jade-made pearls” and “large chestnut tree pillars” are displayed.

On the right hand side, “Theme Display-Living the Jomon People’s Life-” corner, dolls and other items are used to easily display the various aspects of Jomon people’s life that can be considered from excavated items. You can see a more detailed explanation on the digital photo frame.

The museum has commentators, so if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Sannai Maruyama Site
The existence of archeological sites in this area has been known since the Edo period. It was recorded that a large number of clay figures were excavated on the second day of the New Year’s 9 (1623) New Year’s Day (1623) in “Eiroku Nikki” (Eroku Nikki, Tateno Koshimoto), in which Yamazaki Rikku recorded the circumstances of the Hirosaki clan. In addition, on April 14, 1796 of Masumi Sugae’s travel document, “Suike no Yama” (Sumikayama), a tile was broken from the place where the old weir of Sannai Village collapsed. It is recorded that fragments such as jars, pots and clay figurines were found.

The full-scale survey was conducted in 1992 as a preliminary survey to construct a new prefectural baseball field. As a result, the site was found to be a large settlement, and in 1994 six chestnut pillars with a diameter of about 1 meter were found, which was considered to be a large building. In the same year, the prefecture stopped construction of a baseball field that had already started construction and decided to preserve the archeological site.

After that, a museum was built and maintained.At the ruins of the six-pillar building, a preservation dome was maintained at a constant humidity, and the actual pillars were stored elsewhere, and replicas were put back in place. Was done. The city planning road was also discontinued when the tomb road was found to be very long.

Archeological overview
Located at the tip of a gentle hill leading from Mt. Hakkoda, the altitude is about 20 meters, and archeological sites spread over a vast area of ​​about 40 hectares. In the settlement, houses, tombs, dumping sites, large stilt pillar buildings, stilt pillar buildings, storage holes, tombs and burial graves, clay mining holes, embankments, roads, etc. are systematically arranged.

This archeological site may be seen from the current site as a circular settlement with houses built around the plaza, but this is different from the place where the houses are arranged non-concentrically by function. It is considered to be in the form. At present, the ring structure of the archeological site is a site where the site was circular when the baseball stadium was constructed, and has nothing to do with the archeological site.

In addition to the pit dwellings and stilt-type warehouses that can be seen in ordinary ruins, there are more than 10 large pit dwellings, about 780 dwellings, and a large stilt pillar building that is thought to have been used for rituals. Is assumed to have been present. In addition, more clay figurines have been excavated than other archeological sites, and they are called thin clay figurines because they are made as thin as a plate. This is very different from the clay figures that represent the parts of the body three-dimensionally during the later and later Jomon periods.

DNA analysis of chestnuts excavated from the archeological site revealed that they were cultivated. Shells of numerous nuts (chestnuts, walnuts, conkers, etc.), as well as cultivated plants such as annual sesame, gourd, burdock and legumes have also been unearthed. Sannai Maruyama people are not relying solely on the activities of collecting the bounty of nature, but planting a large number of nut trees around the village, and it is possible that they have grown annual grass. Through this, the number of residents of this archeological site can be considered as hundreds. At the “Kita no Mahoroba Symposium” held in Aomori City in September 1994, there was a statement that there were 500 residents in the latter half of the mid-Jomon period during its peak period, Objections were raised.

They indicated that the Jomon culture was more advanced than previously thought. The archeological site is likely to be linked to other nearby archeological sites, and the full picture is still unknown.

The Sannai Maruyama Site and a Site That May Be a Series
Kumazawa Ruins
Sannai Ruins
Miuchisawabe Ruins
Sannai cemetery ruins
Chino ruins
Yasuda Suitengu Ruins

The mystery of the end of the archeological site
It is a mystery why such settlements have come to an end. One reason is the cooling of the climate, but it is hard to imagine letting go of the whole village. Some say that there was something special about stopping chestnut cultivation, but it is not known what it is.

Excavated relics
The relics are said to have reached tens of thousands of boxes of cardboard. Although mainly pottery and stoneware, many earthen products and stone products, such as the largest plate-shaped clay figure in Japan, have been excavated. In addition, obsidian, amber, lacquerware, jade pearls, etc., which are presumed to have been obtained through trade mainly in various parts of Japan, have been excavated. 1,958 excavated artifacts were designated as Important National Cultural Properties on May 29, 2003. Since jade is mainly produced in the Itoigawa basin, excavation of jade proves trade with the Joetsu region. It has also been pointed out that the flat-bottomed cylindrical pottery and 耳 -shaped earrings have similarities to the Liaohe civilization (Xinglong Kubo culture) in mainland China.
The animal remains excavated from the Sannai Maruyama archeological site are few in common in the Jomon settlement, with few deer and wild boars, and less than 70% are hares and squirrels. You can get to know some of their dietary habits. It is thought that the deer and wild boar resources supporting the huge settlement were depleted in the background.

Remains
Ruins of the Roppongi Building
It is the most important of the remains detected at the Sannai Maruyama site to date. It is often evaluated by the size of the pillar, but it should be noted that the spacing, width and depth of the pillar holes are all 4.2 meters, 2 meters and 2 meters, respectively. This indicates that surveying technology already existed at that time, and that the people living here had advanced technology at the time.

In particular, 4.2 meters is a multiple of 35 centimeters, and the unit of 35 centimeters has been confirmed at other archeological sites, so the unit of length that can be called “ Jomon scale ” is widely shared as a common standard It is possible that Furthermore, building such a large building would have required a lot of labor, and it can be inferred that there was a leader who could unite the residents of the village and give them the proper guidance. In addition, the pillar body is also provided with a technique of scorching the surroundings to prevent corrosion, which has been a factor that has been able to prevent corrosion for a long time.

Restored building
Various opinions were raised on the restoration of the ruins of the six-pillar building. The place to be built was decided right next to the place where it was assumed that there was a six pillar building, but it was very elaborate that there were opinions that only pillars were standing and conversely there were ornaments etc. Some commented that it might have been.

The proof and construction were conducted by the Obayashi team under the supervision of Shuzo Koyama. In the end, the middle was turned into a three-story building without a roof. However, the fact that there is a floor but no roof, or that there is no roof when there is no floor, cannot be denied a half-hearted feeling, and it is a factor that raises questions as to whether this was good until later. You cannot usually climb here.

Remains of a large pit-type dwelling
On the Sannai Maruyama site, there are a number of large pit-type dwellings over 10 meters wide. The largest of these is 32 meters long and 10 meters wide, which has been restored. An inside tour is also possible.

Pit dwellings
At the Sannai-Maruyama archeological site, many pit-type dwellings, which are thought to have been inhabited by ordinary residents, have been excavated. Regarding the roof, we assumed and restored dwellings with three types of roofs: thatched, bark, and thatched. This is also an inside tour.

Remains of a stilt pillar building (remains of a stilt warehouse)
Pillar holes presumed to belong to a stilt pillar building have been excavated in a range of about 75 meters east-west and about 18 meters north-south. No trace of life could be found around and inside the pillar hole of this pillar pillar building, so it was judged that this pillar pillar building was likely to have been a stilt-type building, and it has been restored as a stilt-type building at present. I have. There is a staircase, and once it was possible to see the inside, but due to the arson on September 27, 2001, it is currently inaccessible and only accessible from the outside.

Ring stone tomb
A stone-circulated tomb (stone circle) has been detected from around the road. This tomb is also considered to be the tomb of Mura. The arrangement of the stones has been attracting attention as it is common to the Komaki archeological site, which is a little farther south. Also, on October 6, 1999, carbonized material was unearthed from one of the tombs, which is said to be the trace of the oldest “wood coffin tomb”.

Archeological maintenance policy
In 1998, the basic plan for archeological site maintenance was compiled, and the following points were raised as the basic policy for archeological site maintenance.

Openly display the actual remains while considering preservation.
Not only the restoration of the building, but also the vegetation.
Utilize archeological sites that allow you to experience and experience the Jomon period.
We will create an environment where visitors can relax and enjoy and provide a variety of services.
Conduct ongoing surveys and research, and develop facilities and systems to be the base for Jomon culture research.
Promote the preservation and utilization plan in stages.

Archeological sites and paid services as “tourist facilities”
In recent years, facilities at the Sannai Maruyama Site have been fully equipped with the construction of the “Jomon Joyukan” and other facilities. However, on the other hand, some observers say that the archeological site has been improved, but it has been turned into a park, and the feeling of the archeological site has diminished. When the idea of ​​paying out came out, the opposition erupted that “the state of the white dome beside the six pillars is not very Jomon-style.” Paid tours were temporarily abandoned, but from April 2019, the ruins and Tokiyukan will be charged as the Sannai Maruyama Archeological Center.

The Sannai Maruyama viaduct of the Tohoku Shinkansen is adjacent to the site, and after opening on December 4, 2010, the ruins can be seen from inside the car. In designing the bridge, care was taken not to damage the landscape.

Permanent exhibition room (Sanmaru Museum)
In addition to important cultural properties such as large plate-shaped clay figurines and Jomon pochettes (knitted baskets), the exhibition reproduces the life of Jomon people. We will use the dolls and other objects to find out about the Jomon people’s lives, and we will use them to find out what life was like at the time. About 1,700 excavated items, including about 500 important cultural properties, are displayed at the heart of the Jomon people.

Special exhibition room
Various special exhibitions and special exhibitions are held. You can display national treasures and important cultural properties. (Available only during special exhibitions and special exhibitions)

General storage
The shelves, which are 4 meters high, store a large amount of earthenware and stoneware excavated.

Jomon Big Wall
As many as 5,120 pieces of Jomon pottery are scattered on the wall at a height of about 6m.

Experience workshop
We offer menus that allow you to enjoy the Jomon period through manufacturing.

Restaurants and shops
The restaurant incorporates the ingredients that the Jomon people would have eaten into the menu, allows them to experience the Jomon period through food, and enjoys from children to elderly people. It can accommodate up to 150 people.

Museum shop
It sells books and Jomon goods on the Sannai Maruyama site.

Many original goods available only here! We also sell a Jomon experience kit that you can take home.