2003 Volume 10 Issue 16 Pages 71-91
A large quantity of nonlocal pottery has been excavated in Gunma Prefecture dating to the end of the Yayoi and the Early Kofun periods. For this reason it has been thought that the formation of Kofun society in Gunma was strongly influenced by outside pressure. In particular, since the discovery of Haji ware with an S-shaped rim pot in Ota City in 1952, it has been widely argued that there was immigration into Gunma at this time. Recent research has identified the Tokai region as the probable source of that immigration, but problems such as the number of immigrants, why they chose Gunma, and the relations between the immigrants and the people already living in the area have not been resolved. At the same time, some researchers see the movement of non-local pottery as resulting from diffusion and trade rather than population expansion.
In this article the author argues that the presence of non-local pottery should not necessarily be seen as evidence for the movement of people, but rather is the result of cultural interaction. In Gunma Prefecture, much non-local pottery is also excavated from sites of the Middle Yayoi. These are lowland sites thought to be associated with the beginning of rice paddy cultivation. The fact that quite a few of these sites continue through into the Kofun period contradicts the immigration theory and the author explains the presence of non-local pottery as resulting from cultural interaction. Although there are many sites along the Ino River that have produced Tokai style ceramics and are thought to represent immigra-tion from the Tokai region, the author analyzes the Shinpo site which is a good example of a Middle Yayoi site that continues into the Kofun. The remains from Shinpo are argued to support the author's model of cultural interaction in the establishment of Kofun society in Gunma.
