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98-659: The Jōmon period was rich in tools and jewelry made from bone, stone, shell and antler; pottery figurines and vessels; and lacquerware . It is often compared to pre-Columbian cultures of the North American Pacific Northwest and especially to the Valdivia culture in Ecuador because in these settings cultural complexity developed within a primarily hunting-gathering context with limited use of horticulture . The approximately 14,000-year Jōmon period

196-746: A "lacquer." The oldest lacquer tree found is from the Jōmon period in Japan, 12600 years ago. The oldest lacquerware in the world, burial ornaments which were created in 9th millennium century B.C., were unearthed at the Kakinoshima site in Hakodate , Hokkaido , Japan. Various prehistoric lacquerwares have been unearthed in China dating back to the Neolithic period and objects. The early known lacquerware

294-519: A Jōmon sample (Ikawazu shell-mound, Tahara , Japan) and an ancient sample from the Tibetan Plateau (Chokhopani, China) found only partially shared ancestry, pointing towards a "positive genetic bottleneck" regarding the spread of haplogroup D from ancient "East Asian Highlanders" (related to modern day Tujia people , Yao people , and Tibetans , as well as Tripuri people ). The genetic evidence suggests that an East Asian source population, near

392-593: A currently unidentified source population into the Jōmon period population of Hokkaido . Although these specific alleles can explain the unusual physical appearance of certain Ainu individuals, compared to other Northeast Asians, the exact origin of these alleles remains unknown. Matsumura et. al (2019), however, states that these phenotypes were shared by prehistoric south Chinese and Southeast Asian peoples. Full genome analyses in 2020 and 2021 revealed further information regarding

490-736: A nut bearing tree, but also because it was extremely durable in wet conditions and became the most used timber for building houses during the Late Jōmon phase. During the Final Jōmon period, a slow shift was taking place in western Japan: steadily increasing contact with the Korean Peninsula eventually led to the establishment of Korean-type settlements in western Kyushu, beginning around 900 BC . The settlers brought with them new technologies such as wet rice farming and bronze and iron metallurgy, as well as new pottery styles similar to those of

588-514: A pit grave dating from the first half of the Initial Jōmon period (approx. 9,000 years ago) Japanese lacquering technology may have been invented by the Jōmon. They learned to refine urushi (poison oak sap) – the process taking several months. Iron oxide (colcothar) and cinnabar (mercury sulfide) were used for producing red lacquer. Lacquer was used both on pottery, and on different types of wooden items. In some cases, burial clothes for

686-662: A quarter of all paddy fields in Japan. Chiba Prefecture is famous for its peanuts, also being the largest producer in Japan. Rare species of the lichen genus Menegazzia are found only in Honshu. Most of Japan's tea and silk is from Honshu. Japan's three largest industrial regions are all located on Honshu: the Keihin region , the Hanshin Industrial Region , and the Chūkyō Industrial Area . Honshu

784-565: A red or black background. Shwezawa is a distinctive form in its use of gold leaf to fill in the designs on a black background. Palace scenes, scenes from the Jataka tales, and the signs of the Burmese Zodiac are popular designs and some vessels may be encrusted with glass mosaic or semi-precious stones in gold relief. The objects are all handmade and the designs and engraving done free-hand. It may take three to four months to finish

882-454: A series of artistic innovations from which craftsmen producing purely utilitarian or decorative pieces would also benefit. Creating images with crushed eggshell, painting pigment over gold and tin foil and adding sand to lacquer were all techniques developed by those first students. The metallic color lacquerware for which Vietnamese craftsmen are rightly famous, was first developed by artists experimenting with many innovative techniques. After

980-664: A single handle or hsun gyaink are usually plain red or black. Daunglan are low tables for meals and may be simple broad based or have three curved feet in animal or floral designs with a lid. Water carafes or yeidagaung with a cup doubling as a lid, and vases are also among lacquerware still in use in many monasteries. Various round boxes with lids, small and large, are known as yun-it including ones for paan called kun-it ( Burmese : ကွမ်းအစ် ; betel boxes). Yun titta are rectangular boxes for storing various articles including peisa or palm leaf manuscripts when they are called sadaik titta . Pedestal dishes or small trays with

1078-436: A small vessel but perhaps over a year for a larger piece. The finished product is a result of teamwork and not crafted by a single person. The most distinctive vessel is probably a rice bowl on a stem with a spired lid for monks called hsun ok . Lahpet ok is a shallow dish with a lid and has a number of compartments for serving lahpet (pickled tea) with its various accompaniments. Stackable tiffin carriers fastened with

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1176-536: A stem with or without a lid are known as kalat for serving delicacies or offering flowers to royalty or the Buddha . Theatrical troupes and musicians have their lacquerware in costumes, masks, head-dresses, and musical instruments, some of them stored and carried in lacquer trunks. Boxes in the shape of a pumpkin or a bird such as the owl, which is believed to bring luck, or the hintha ( Brahminy duck ) are common too. Screens and small polygonal tables are also made for

1274-429: A variety of small objects carried by people, and larger objects such as furniture and even coffins painted with lacquer. Before lacquering, the surface is sometimes painted with pictures, inlaid with shell and other materials, or carved . The lacquer can be dusted with gold or silver and given further decorative treatments. East Asian countries have long traditions of lacquer work, going back several thousand years in

1372-526: Is February 11, 660 BC. That version of Japanese history, however, comes from the country's first written records, the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki , dating from the 6th to the 8th centuries, after Japan had adopted Chinese characters ( Go-on / Kan-on ). Some elements of modern Japanese culture may date from the period and reflect the influences of a mingled migration from the northern Asian continent and

1470-643: Is a painting technique in Vietnam . It developed from the painters of the Hanoi EBAI in the 1930s and today is counted a national painting style with many famous painters. In 1924 the Ecole des Beaux Arts was established in Hanoi . This institution was to be the birthplace of the revitalised art of lacquer painting. In 1934 the school opened its lacquer department and it was from here that well known contributors to

1568-403: Is conventionally divided into several phases, progressively shorter: Incipient (13,750–8,500 BC), Initial (8,500–5,000), Early (5,000–3,520), Middle (3,520–2,470), Late (2,470–1,250), and Final (1,250–500). The fact that this entire period is given the same name by archaeologists should not be taken to mean that there was not considerable regional and temporal diversity; the time between

1666-456: Is evidence that these deaths were not inflicted by warfare or violence on a large enough scale to cause these deaths. The origin myths of Japanese civilization extend back to periods now regarded as part of the Jōmon period, but they show little or no relation to the current archaeological understanding of Jōmon culture. The traditional founding date of the Japanese nation by Emperor Jimmu

1764-886: Is heavy, bulky, and fragile and thus generally unsuitable for hunter-gatherers . However, this does not seem to have been the case with the first Jōmon people, who perhaps numbered 20,000 individuals over the whole archipelago. It seems that food sources were so abundant in the natural environment of the Japanese islands that they could support fairly large, semi-sedentary populations. The Jōmon people used chipped stone tools , ground stone tools, traps, and bows , and were evidently skillful coastal and deep-water fishers. Incipient Jōmon (14,000–7500 BC) Initial Jōmon (7500–4000 BC) Early Jōmon (5000–3520 BC) Middle Jōmon (3520–2470 BC) Late Jōmon (2470–1250 BC) Final Jōmon (1250–500 BC) Traces of Paleolithic culture, mainly stone tools, occur in Japan from around 30,000 BC onwards. The earliest "Incipient Jōmon" phase began while Japan

1862-472: Is home to a large portion of Japan's minimal mineral reserves, including small oil and coal deposits. Several coal deposits are located in the northern part of the island, concentrated in Fukushima Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture , though Honshu's coal production is negligible in comparison to Hokkaido and Kyushu . Most of Japan's oil reserves are also located in northern Honshu, along

1960-465: Is known as moxian (polish-reveal) in which a design is built up with lacquer in certain areas, the remaining areas are filled with lacquer of a different color, and the entire surface is polished down. Especially the art of inlaying lacquer with mother-of-pearl was intensively developed during the Song dynasty. However, during the Song, the artistic craft also made use of inlaid gold in a process of which

2058-435: Is produced throughout the Japanese archipelago, with many regional techniques and variations. Besides the very old Kamakura tradition mentioned above (and still alive today), the port town of Wajima provides a good example of regional lacquerware. Wajima-nuri , dating back to the 16th century, is characterized by use of the elm-like Japanese zelkova ( keyaki 欅), powdered earth, and delicate features formed from cloth. (See

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2156-513: Is roughly 1,300 km (810 mi) long and ranges from 50 to 230 km (31 to 143 mi) wide, and its total area is 227,960 km (88,020 sq mi), making it slightly larger than the island of Great Britain . Its land area has been increasing with land reclamation and coastal uplift in the north due to plate tectonics with a convergent boundary . Honshu has 10,084 kilometres (6,266 mi) of coastline. Mountainous and volcanic, Honshu experiences frequent earthquakes (such as

2254-412: Is seismically active, and is home to 40 active volcanoes. In 2011, an earthquake of magnitude 9.0–9.1 occurred off the coast of Honshu, generating tsunami waves up to 40.5 meters (133 ft) high and killing 19,747. It was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan , and the fourth most powerful earthquake in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900. The tsunami subsequently led to

2352-701: Is the largest and most populous island of Japan . It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait , north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea , and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits . The island separates the Sea of Japan , which lies to its north and west, from the North Pacific Ocean to the south and east. It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and

2450-399: Is the secretion of the lac bug ( Tachardia lacca Kerr. or Laccifer lacca ). It is used for wood finish, lacquerware, skin cosmetic, ornaments, dye for textiles, production of different grades of shellac for surface coating. The Atharvaveda text 1200 BCE – 1000 BCE devotes a chapter to 'lākshā' and its various uses. Barniz de Pasto ( es ) is a lacquer-like varnish technique originating in

2548-578: Is to engrave intricate patterns in the lacquer surface and to fill the intaglio with gold powder. The knowledge of the Chinese methods of the lacquer process spread from China during the Han, Tang and Song dynasties, eventually it was introduced to Korea, Japan. In Japan, the art of lacquerware-making came along with Buddhism and other cultural artifacts from China via the Korean Peninsula during

2646-711: The chōnin class and samurai class collected inro of high aesthetic value, precisely designed with lacquer. Marie Antoinette and Maria Theresa are known collectors of Japanese lacquerware and their collections are now often exhibited in the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles . In the Meiji period (1868-1912), Richly-decorated lacquerwares in original designs were popular domestically, and even more so with Western buyers during this period of European and American fascination with Japanese art . Shibata Zeshin 's lacquer work

2744-543: The Great Kantō earthquake , which heavily damaged Tokyo in September 1923; and the earthquake of March 2011 , which moved the northeastern part of the island by varying amounts of as much as 5.3 m (17 ft) while causing devastating tsunamis). The highest peak is the active volcano Mount Fuji at 3,776 m (12,388 ft), which makes Honshu the world's 7th highest island . There are many rivers, including

2842-648: The Himalayan mountain range , contributed ancestry to the Jōmon period population of Japan, and less to ancient Southeast Asians. The authors concluded that this points to an inland migration through southern or central China towards Japan during the Paleolithic. Another ancestry component seem to have arrived from Siberia into Hokkaido. Archeological and biological evidence link the southern Jōmon culture of Kyushu, Shikoku and parts of Honshu to cultures of southern China and Northeast India . A common culture, known as

2940-884: The Holocene climatic optimum , when the local climate became warmer and more humid. The degree to which horticulture or small-scale agriculture was practiced by Jōmon people is debated. Currently, there is no scientific consensus to support a conceptualization of Jōmon period culture as only hunter-gatherer . There is evidence to suggest that arboriculture was practiced in the form of tending groves of lacquer ( Toxicodendron verniciflua ) and nut ( Castanea crenata and Aesculus turbinata ) producing trees, as well as soybean , bottle gourd , hemp , Perilla , adzuki , among others. These characteristics place them somewhere in between hunting-gathering and agriculture. An apparently domesticated variety of peach appeared very early at Jōmon sites in 6700–6400 BP (4700–4400 BC). This

3038-728: The Kurushima Kaikyō Bridge ; Shimotsui-Seto Bridge , Hitsuishijima Bridge , Iwakurojima Bridge , Yoshima Bridge , Kita Bisan-Seto Bridge , and the Minami Bisan-Seto Bridge ), the Seikan Tunnel connects Honshu with Hokkaidō, and the Kanmonkyo Bridge and Kanmon Tunnel connect Honshu with Kyūshū . These are notable flora and fauna of Honshu. Being on the Ring of Fire , the island of Honshu

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3136-674: The Mumun pottery period . The settlements of these new arrivals seem to have coexisted with those of the Jōmon and Yayoi for around a thousand years. Outside Hokkaido, the Final Jōmon is succeeded by a new farming culture, the Yayoi (c. 300 BC – AD 300), named after an archaeological site near Tokyo. Within Hokkaido, the Jōmon is succeeded by the Okhotsk culture and Zoku-Jōmon (post-Jōmon) or Epi-Jōmon culture, which later replaced or merged with

3234-672: The Pre-Columbian era that is a specialty of Pasto, Colombia . It is made by chewing the resin of the Andean mopa-mopa shrub ( Elaeagia pastoensis ) into thin layers, and then painting it and applying it to a wood, metal, clay or glass surface using heated stones. Historically, the technique was applied to wooden keros , drinking vessels. Known in Mexican Spanish as laca or maque (from Japanese maki-e ), Mexican lacquer has independent origins from Asian lacquer. In

3332-468: The Satsumon culture around the 7th century. At the end of the Jōmon period the local population declined sharply. Scientists suggest that this was possibly caused by food shortages and other environmental problems. They concluded that not all Jōmon groups suffered under these circumstances but the overall population declined. Examining the remains of the people who lived throughout the Jōmon period, there

3430-462: The Satsumon culture . Using archaeological data on pollen count, this phase is the warmest of all the phases. By the end of this phase the warm climate starts to enter a cooling trend. After 1500 BC , the climate cooled entering a stage of neoglaciation , and populations seem to have contracted dramatically. Comparatively few archaeological sites can be found after 1500 BC. The Japanese chestnut, Castanea crenata , becomes essential, not only as

3528-533: The Shinano River , Japan's longest. The Japanese Alps span the width of Honshu, from the 'Sea of Japan' coast to the Pacific shore. The climate is generally humid subtropical in western Japan and humid continental in the north. Honshu has a total population of 104 million people, according to a 2017 estimate, 81.3% of the entire population of Japan. The largest city is Tokyo (population: 13,988,129),

3626-541: The Tibetan Plateau and Southern China is associated with the D1a2a (previously D1b) and D1a1 (previously D1a) lineages. Geneflow from ancient Siberia into the northern Jōmon people of Hokkaido was also detected, with later geneflow from Hokkaido into parts of northern Honshu ( Tohoku ). The lineages K and F are suggested to have been presented during the early Jōmon period but got replaced by C and D. The analysis of

3724-476: The reunification , the art of lacquerware was slowly dying out in Vietnam. But since the 1980s, the government has recognized it as a vital cultural and economic force and has encouraged the business community to invest in the craft. As a result, we see a resurgence of lacquerware and a proliferation of lacquerware products from Vietnam. In India, the insect lac or shellac was used since ancient times. Shellac

3822-582: The second-most populous after the Indonesian island of Java . Honshu had a population of 104 million as of 2017 , constituting 81.3% of the entire population of Japan, and mostly concentrated in the coastal areas and plains. Approximately 30% of the total population resides in the Greater Tokyo Area on the Kantō Plain . As the historical center of Japanese cultural and political power,

3920-600: The "broadleafed evergreen forest culture", ranged from southwestern Japan through southern China towards Northeast India and southern Tibet, and was characterized by the cultivation of Azuki beans . Some linguists suggest that the Japonic languages were already present within the Japanese archipelago and coastal Korea, before the Yayoi period, and can be linked to one of the Jōmon populations of southwestern Japan, rather than

4018-477: The "dual structure theory" regarding the population history of Japan must be revised and that the Jōmon people had more diversity than originally suggested. A 2015 study found specific gene alleles , related to facial structure and features among some Ainu individuals, which largely descended from local Hokkaido Jōmon groups. These alleles are typically associated with Europeans but absent from other East Asians (including Japanese people), which suggests geneflow from

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4116-467: The 10th century, such as diaoqi ( carved lacquer ) which involves building up layers comprising thinly-applied coats of lacquer and carving it into a three-dimensional design; qiangjin (engraved gold) in which fine lines are incised, an adhesive of lacquer is applied, and gold foil or powder is pressed into the grooves; and diaotian or tianqi (filled-in) in which the lacquer is inlaid with lacquer of another color. A variation of diaotian or tianqi

4214-569: The 13th century. Evidence for older lacquerware in Bagan remains inconclusive. Bayinnaung 's conquest and subjugation in 1555–1562 of Manipur , Bhamo , Zinme ( Chiang Mai ), Linzin ( Lan Xang ), and up the Taping and Shweli rivers in the direction of Yunnan brought back large numbers of skilled craftsmen into Burma. It is thought that the finer sort of Burmese lacquerware, called Yun, was introduced during this period by imported artisans belonging to

4312-521: The 8th century, and carved lacquerware came to Japan from Ming dynasty China during the 14th century. One of the earliest Japanese techniques for decorating the lacquer surface was, besides painting simple designs, the gold and silver foil inlay of the Nara period (710–784). This technique was transmitted from China during the Tang dynasty. Coromandel lacquer is a Chinese export type, so called because it

4410-608: The Asuka and Nara periods , between the 7th and 8th centuries, Chinese lacquer art forms were imported to Japan. In the Heian period (794-1185), various Maki-e techniques characteristic of Japanese lacquerware were developed. While the method of drawing designs with a brush by dissolving gold powder in lacquer is a common technique in other countries, the method of drawing designs with lacquer and then sprinkling gold, silver, or copper powder of various sizes and shapes on top to polish them

4508-475: The Han dynasty. In the Tang dynasty (618–907), Chinese lacquerware saw a new style marked by the use of sheets of gold or silver made in various shapes, such as birds, animals, and flowers. The cut-outs were affixed onto the surface of the lacquerware, after which new layers of lacquer were applied, dried, and then ground away, so the surface could be polished to reveal the golden or silvery patterns beneath. This

4606-547: The Japanese article, 輪島塗 . A more complete list of regional lacquer traditions is available in the Japanese article .) Ryukyuan lacquerware is one of the chief artistic products of the Ryukyu Islands (today Okinawa Prefecture of Japan ); it is quite distinct from the lacquerware found among the surrounding cultures. Nevertheless, Chinese and Japanese influences are present. Yun-de is lacquerware in Burmese , and

4704-468: The Jōmon is heterogeneous, and it may be indicative of diverse peoples who possibly belonged to a common culture, known as the Jōmon ". A study by Lee and Hasegawa of Waseda University concluded that the Jōmon period population of Hokkaido consisted of two distinctive populations which later merged to form the proto-Ainu in northern Hokkaido. The Ainu language can be connected to an " Okhotsk component" which spread southwards. They further concluded that

4802-422: The Jōmon lineages. The maternal haplogroups M7a , N9b , and G1b have been identified from ancient Jōmon specimens. According to study " Jōmon culture and the peopling of the Japanese archipelago " by Schmidt and Seguchi (2014), the prehistoric Jōmon people descended from diverse paleolithic populations with multiple migrations into Jōmon-period Japan. They concluded: " In this respect, the biological identity of

4900-487: The Jōmon people were rather diverse, and mitochondrial DNA studies indicate the Jōmon people were closely related to modern-day East Asians. The contemporary Japanese people descended from a mixture of the various ancient hunter-gatherer tribes of the Jōmon period and the Yayoi rice-agriculturalists, and these two major ancestral groups came to Japan over different routes at different times. The modern-day Japanese population carries approximately 30% paternal ancestry from

4998-502: The Jōmon. This is far higher than the maternal Jōmon contribution of around 15%, and autosomal contribution of 10% to the Japanese population. This imbalanced inheritance has been referred to as the "admixture paradox", and is thought to hold clues as to how the admixture between the Jōmon and Yayoi cultures took place. According to Mitsuru Sakitani the Jōmon people are an admixture of several Paleolithic populations. He suggests that Y-chromosome haplogroups C1a1 and D-M55 are two of

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5096-1019: The Ming dynasty made a trip to Japan to study Japanese techniques, and a Japanese visited a Chinese imperial workshop in Beijing during the Ming dynasty. It is well documented that the Yongzheng Emperor had a formidable interest in Japanese lacquer, yangqi , and this was reflected in many of the works produced in the Imperial workshops during his reign. In the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1600) also made its way into Colonial Mexico ( Manila Galleons ) and Europe by Nanban trade . Japanese lacquerware attracted European aristocrats and missionaries from Europe, and western style chests and church furniture were exported in response to their requests. The Edo period (1603–1868) saw an increase in

5194-568: The Yun or Northern Thai people of the Chiang Mai region. Lacquer vessels, boxes and trays have a coiled or woven bamboo-strip base often mixed with horsehair. The thitsee may be mixed with ashes or sawdust to form a putty-like substance called thayo which can be sculpted. The object is coated layer upon layer with thitsee and thayo to make a smooth surface, polished and engraved with intricate designs, commonly using red, green and yellow colors on

5292-460: The ancient temples of Bagan. At the village of Kyaukka near Monywa in the Chindwin valley, however, sturdy lacquer utensils are still produced for everyday use mainly in plain black. A decline in the number of visitors combined with the cost of resin, which has seen a 40-fold rise in 15 years, has led to the closure of over two-thirds of more than 200 lacquerware workshops in Bagan. Sơn mài

5390-527: The archipelago, the vegetation was transformed by the end of the Ice Age. In southwestern Honshu, Shikoku , and Kyushu, broadleaf evergreen trees dominated the forests, whereas broadleaf deciduous trees and conifers were common in northeastern Honshu and southern Hokkaido . Many native tree species, such as beeches , buckeyes , chestnuts , and oaks produced edible nuts and acorns. These provided substantial sources of food for both humans and animals. In

5488-403: The art export market, promoting Japan's lacquers and other decorative arts at a succession of world's fairs . Lacquer from Japanese workshops was recognised as technically superior to what could be produced anywhere else in the world. Today, the Japanese government has designated excellent lacquer artists as Living National Treasures and is encouraging them to make lacquerware. Lacquerware

5586-469: The art including; Bui Trang Chuoc, Nguyen Van Binh, Nguyen Khang, Nguyen Duc Nung, Nguyen Tien Chung, and Pham Van Don would emerge. It was the first generation of Vietnamese students of the Indochina School of Fine Art during the 1930s, who elevated the craft of lacquer painting to a truly fine art. Less interested in decor than their craftsmen predecessors, it was also these men who would begin

5684-549: The art is called Pan yun ( ပန်းယွန်း ). The lacquer is the sap tapped from the varnish tree or Thitsee ( Gluta usitata , syn. Melanorrhoea usitata ) that grows wild in the forests of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is straw-colored but turns black on exposure to air. When brushed in or coated on, it forms a hard glossy smooth surface resistant to a degree from the effects of exposure to moisture or heat. The earliest fragments of lacquerware basketry found in Bagan dates back to

5782-531: The black base of lacquerware, and the entire lacquerware is covered with shiny gold and silver grains. Primitive lacquer was used in Japan as early as 12,600 BC, during the Jōmon period . Lacquer was used in Japan as early as 7000 BCE, during the Jōmon period . Evidence for the earliest lacquerware was discovered at the Kakinoshima "B" Excavation Site in Hokkaido . These objects were discovered in

5880-540: The capital of Japan and part of the Greater Tokyo Area , the most populous metropolitan area in the world. Honshu is connected to the islands of Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku by tunnels and bridges. Three bridge systems have been built across the islands of the Inland Sea between Honshu and Shikoku ( Akashi Kaikyo Bridge and the Ōnaruto Bridge ; Shin-Onomichi Bridge , Innoshima Bridge , Ikuchi Bridge , Tatara Bridge , Ōmishima Bridge , Hakata–Ōshima Bridge , and

5978-755: The cases of China, Japan and Korea. The best known lacquer, an urushiol -based lacquer common in East Asia, is obtained from the dried sap of Toxicodendron vernicifluum . Other types of lacquers are processed from a variety of plants and insects. The traditions of lacquer work in Southeast Asia , South Asia and the Americas are also ancient and originated independently. True lacquer is not made outside Asia, but some imitations, such as Japanning in Europe, or parallel techniques, are often loosely referred to

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6076-486: The ceramic fabric always remained quite coarse. During this time Magatama stone beads make a transition from being a common jewelry item found in homes into serving as a grave good. This is a period where there are large burial mounds and monuments. This period saw a rise in complexity in the design of pit-houses , the most commonly used method of housing at the time, with some even having paved stone floors. A study in 2015 found that this form of dwelling continued up until

6174-554: The cord-marking that gives the period its name and has now been found in large numbers of sites. The pottery of the period has been classified by archaeologists into some 70 styles, with many more local varieties of the styles. The antiquity of Jōmon pottery was first identified after World War II, through radiocarbon dating methods. The earliest vessels were mostly smallish round-bottomed bowls 10–50 cm high that are assumed to have been used for boiling food and, perhaps, storing it beforehand. They belonged to hunter-gatherers and

6272-738: The core vocabulary of (Insular) Japanese. He suggests that Austronesian-speakers arrived in Japan during the Jōmon period and prior to the arrival of Yayoi period migrants, associated with the spread of Japonic languages. These Austronesian-speakers were subsequently assimilated into the Japanese ethnicity. Evidence for non-Ainuic, non-Austronesian, and non-Korean loanwords are found among Insular Japonic languages, and probably derived from unknown and extinct Jōmon languages. Modern public perception of Jōmon has gradually changed from primitive and obsolete to captivating: Lacquerware Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer . Lacquerware includes small or large containers, tableware,

6370-502: The dead were also lacquered. Many lacquered objects have turned up during the Early Jōmon period; this indicates that this was an established part of Jōmon culture. Experts are divided on whether Jōmon lacquer was derived from Chinese techniques, or invented independently. For example, Mark Hudson believes that “Jomon lacquer technology was developed independently in Japan rather than being introduced from China as once believed”. During

6468-519: The earliest Jōmon pottery and that of the more well-known Middle Jōmon period is about twice as long as the span separating the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza from the 21st century. Dating of the Jōmon sub-phases is based primarily upon ceramic typology , and to a lesser extent radiocarbon dating . Recent findings have refined the final phase of the Jōmon period to 300 BC. The Yayoi period started between 500 and 300 BC according to radio-carbon evidence, while Yayoi styled pottery

6566-421: The earliest era from which notable quantities of lacquerware have survived, with states, later kingdoms, of Qin and Chu producing the largest number of lacquerware. The state of Chu having the geographical advantage and warmer climates enabled dedicated mass cultivation of lacquer trees and for lacquerware to become a commercial industry. Because of this, Chu-state became famous for its lacquerware exports in

6664-664: The economy along the northwestern Sea of Japan coast is largely based on fishing and agriculture. The island is linked to the other three major Japanese islands by a number of bridges and tunnels. The island primarily shares two climates, with Northern Honshu having a mainly humid continental climate while the south has a humid subtropical climate . The name of the island, Honshū ( 本州 ) , directly translates to "main province" or "original land" in English. Humans first arrived in Honshu approximately 37,000 years ago, and likely earlier. The first humans to arrive in Honshu were Stone Age hunter-gatherers from Northeast Asia, likely following

6762-458: The focused cultivation of lacquer trees and the development of the techniques used. In the 18th century colored lacquers came into wider use. With the development of economy and culture, the artistic quality of lacquered furniture has improved. Hon'ami Kōetsu and Ogata Kōrin brought the designs of the Rinpa school of painting into lacquerware. From the middle of the Edo period, inro became popular as men's accessories, and wealthy merchants of

6860-442: The highly productive deciduous forests and an abundance of seafood, the population was concentrated in Honshu and Kyushu, but Jōmon sites range from Hokkaido to the Ryukyu Islands . Tigers once existed in the Japanese archipelago, but they became extinct in prehistoric times. The Early Jōmon period saw an explosion in population, as indicated by the number of larger aggregated villages from this period. This period occurred during

6958-463: The humidifying rooms used in production of lacquered wares. The term " Japanning " in the 17th century is a term for the technique used by Europe to emulate Asian lacquer, derived from the then famous Japanese lacquer. The general characteristic of Japanese lacquerware is the widespread use of various Maki-e techniques compared to other countries. As a result, there are many works in which relatively vivid gold and silver patterns and pictures shine on

7056-541: The island includes several past Japanese capitals, including Kyōto , Nara , and Kamakura . Much of the island's southern shore forms part of the Taiheiyō Belt , a megalopolis that spans several of the Japanese islands. Honshu contains Japan's highest mountain, Mount Fuji, and its largest lake, Lake Biwa . Most of Japan's industry is located in a belt running along Honshu's southern coast, from Tokyo to Nagoya , Kyōto , Osaka , Kobe , and Hiroshima ; by contrast,

7154-451: The later Yayoi or Kofun period rice-agriculturalists. Japonic-speakers then expanded during the Yayoi period, assimilating the newcomers, adopting rice-agriculture, and fusing mainland Asian technologies with local traditions. Vovin (2021) presented arguments for the presence of Austronesian peoples within the Japanese archipelago during the Jōmon period, based on previous linguistic research and specific Austronesian vocabulary loaned into

7252-617: The meltdown of 3 nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant , leading to the Fukushima nuclear disaster . Honshu island generates around US$ 3.5 trillion or more than 80% of Japan's GDP . Fruit, vegetables, grains, rice and cotton make up the main produce grown in Honshu. The Tohoku region, spanning the north-eastern part of the island, is notable for its rice production, with 65% of cultivated land being rice paddy fields – almost

7350-786: The migration of ice age megafauna . Surviving artifacts from this period include finely-crafted stone blades, similar to those found in Siberia . Honshu was the target of devastating air raids during the Pacific War of World War II . The first air raid to strike Honshu and the other home islands was the Doolittle Raid . With the introduction of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress , the firebombing of Tokyo culminated in Operation Meetinghouse ,

7448-640: The most destructive air raid in human history, which destroyed 16 square miles (41 km ; 10,000 acres) of central Tokyo , leaving an estimated 100,000 civilians dead, and over one million homeless. The war ended with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki shortly before Japan's surrender and signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on September 2, 1945, on board the USS ; Missouri  (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay . The island

7546-741: The most heavily used. The San'yō Shinkansen , connects the two largest cities in western Japan, Shin-Osaka in Osaka with Hakata Station in Fukuoka . Both the Tokaido Shinkansen and the Sanyo Shinkansen help form a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt megalopolis. The island is divided into five nominal regions and contains 34 prefectures, including metropolitan Tokyo. Administratively, some smaller islands are included within these prefectures, notably including

7644-583: The neighbouring states in the Zhou kingdom , with literary references found in books like Zhuangzi and Shangshu , and providing some cultural cross-pollination between the southern culture of Chu and the culture of Zhongyuan . At the time of the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), special administrations were established to organize and divide labor for the expanding lacquer production in China. Elaborate incised decorations were used in lacquerware during

7742-739: The northeast, the plentiful marine life carried south by the Oyashio Current , especially salmon , was another major food source. Settlements along both the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean subsisted on immense amounts of shellfish, leaving distinctive middens (mounds of discarded shells and other refuse) that are now prized sources of information for archaeologists. Other food sources meriting special mention include Sika deer , wild boar (with possible wild-pig management), wild plants such as yam -like tubers, and freshwater fish. Supported by

7840-532: The origin of the Jōmon peoples. The genetic results suggest early admixture between different groups in Japan already during the Paleolithic , followed by constant geneflow from coastal East Asian groups, resulting in a heterogeneous population which then homogenized until the arrival of the Yayoi people. Geneflow from Northeast Asia during the Jōmon period is associated with the C1a1 and C2 lineages, geneflow from

7938-413: The peoples of the Japanese islands to develop independently. The main connection between the Japanese archipelago and Mainland Asia was through the Korean Peninsula to Kyushu and Honshu . In addition, Luzon , Taiwan , Ryukyu , and Kyushu constitute a continuous chain of islands, connecting the Jōmon with Southeast Asia , while Honshu, Hokkaido and Sakhalin connected the Jōmon with Siberia . Within

8036-526: The pre-Hispanic period, a substance from the larvae of aje scale insects and/or oil from the chia seed were mixed with powdered minerals to create protective coatings and decorative designs. During this period, the process was almost always applied to dried gourds, especially to make the cups that Mesoamerican nobility drank chocolate from. After the Conquest , the Spanish had indigenous craftsmen apply

8134-430: The size of the vessels may have been limited by a need for portability. As later bowls increase in size, this is taken to be a sign of an increasingly settled pattern of living. These types continued to develop, with increasingly elaborate patterns of decoration, undulating rims, and flat bottoms so that they could stand on a surface. The manufacture of pottery typically implies some form of sedentary life because pottery

8232-448: The southern Pacific areas and the local Jōmon peoples. Among those elements are the precursors to Shinto , marriage customs, architectural styles, and technological developments such as lacquerware , laminated bows called " yumi ", and metalworking. The relationship of Jōmon people to the modern Japanese ( Yamato people ), Ryukyuans , and Ainu is not clear. Morphological studies of dental variation and genetic studies suggest that

8330-530: The state of Guerrero, Uruapan and Pátzcuaro in Michoacán and Chiapa de Corzo in Chiapas. The most popular modern lacquerware are small boxes, sometimes known as cajitas de Olinalá . Honshu Honshu ( 本州 , Honshū , pronounced [hoꜜɰ̃ɕɯː] ; lit.   ' main island ' ) , historically called Akitsushima ( 秋津島 , lit.   ' Dragonfly island ' ) ,

8428-455: The technique to European style furniture and other items, changing the decorative motifs and color schemes, but the process and materials remained mostly the same. Asian lacquerware and artisans brought by the Nao de China also had an influence on the style and motifs of colonial Mexican lacquerware. Today, workshops creating lacquerware are limited to Olinalá , Temalacatzingo and Acapetlahuaya in

8526-431: The tourist trade today. Bagan is the major centre for the lacquerware industry where the handicraft has been established for nearly two centuries, and still practiced in the traditional manner. Here a government school of lacquerware was founded in the 1920s. Since plastics, porcelain and metal have superseded lacquer in most everyday utensils, it is today manufactured in large workshops mainly for tourists who come to see

8624-404: The west coast, spanning Niigata, Yamagata , and Akita Prefectures. Most of Japan's copper, lead, zinc and chromite is located on Honshu, along with smaller, scattered deposits of gold, silver, arsenic, sulfur and pyrite . The Tokaido Shinkansen , opened in 1964 between Tokyo and Shin-Ōsaka , is Japan's first high-speed rail line. It is the world's oldest high-speed rail line and one of

8722-460: Was abundantly exported to China where the Ming and Qing rulers generally described Japanese lacquerwares as " foreign lacquer " ( yangqi ). Yang Ming, and famous lacquer man Zhejiang , made annotations for A Record of Decoration with Lacquer, ... People of the Ming dynasty once recorded: “The decoration art with lacquer coated with gold originated (maki-e) from Japan". Yang in the reign of Xuande of

8820-443: Was already similar to modern cultivated forms. This domesticated type of peach was apparently brought into Japan from China. Nevertheless, in China, itself, this variety is currently attested only at a later date of 5300–4300 BP. Highly ornate pottery dogū figurines and vessels, such as the so-called "flame style" vessels, and lacquered wood objects remain from that time. Although the ornamentation of pottery increased over time,

8918-505: Was developed in Japan. This made it possible to make the gold and silver of lacquerware brighter than before. In the Kamakura period (1185–1333), carved lacquer from the Song dynasty of China was imported to Japan. However, many Japanese lacquer craftsmen did not adopt the Chinese method of depositing lacquer and then carving it; instead, they created Kamakurabori , a method of carving wood and then coating lacquer. Japanese lacquerware

9016-466: Was done by a technique known as pingtuo . Such techniques were time-consuming and costly, but these lacquerware were considered highly refined. It was also the period when the earliest practice of carving lacquerware began. The art of inlaid gold, silver, and mother-of-pearl continued from the Tang into the Song dynasty (960–1279). Several existing decorative techniques gradually developed further after

9114-552: Was especially popular. In addition, lacquerware called Shibayama , which was created in the Edo period, became popular for its showy style, inlaid with gold, silver, shellfish, ivory, coral, tortoise shell and ceramics, and reached its peak during this period. Lacquerware called Somada , which was created in the Edo period and characterized by regular patterns of finely cut seashells, gold leaf and silver leaf, also became popular during this period. The government took an active interest in

9212-646: Was found in a Jōmon site of northern Kyushu already in 800 BC. The earliest pottery in Japan was made at or before the start of the Incipient Jōmon period. Small fragments, dated to 14,500 BC, were found at the Odai Yamamoto I site in 1998. Pottery of roughly the same age was subsequently found at other sites such as in Kamikuroiwa and the Fukui cave . The first Jōmon pottery is characterized by

9310-554: Was introduced during the Shilla period (668 A.D. – 935 A.D.). The Goryeo dynasty (918–1392), considered the golden period of this craft, was influenced by Buddhism. The term for lacquer is urushi (漆), source of the English hybrid word " urushiol ". Etymologically, urushi may be related to the words uruwashii ("beautiful") or uruoi ("watered", "profitable", "favored"), due speculatively to their value or shiny appearance, or perhaps

9408-462: Was shipped to European markets via the Coromandel coast of India. The very term 'Najeonchilgi' is a combination of two particular words: 'najeon'– mother-of-pearl and ‘chilgi’ which refers to lacquerware. ‘najeon’ refers to the composite material which forms the inner shiny shell layer. The Three Kingdom period (57 B.C. – 668 A.D.) witnessed the introduction of the first method and the second one

9506-535: Was still linked to continental Asia as a narrow peninsula. As the glaciers melted following the end of the last glacial period (approximately 12,000 BC ), sea levels rose, separating the Japanese archipelago from the Asian mainland; the closest point (in Kyushu ) about 190 km (120 mi) from the Korean Peninsula is near enough to be intermittently influenced by continental developments, but far enough removed for

9604-565: Was thought to be a red wooden bowl, which was unearthed at a Hemudu culture ( c.  5th millennium BC ) site in Zhejiang , China. During the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600–1046 BC) of China, sophisticated lacquer process techniques developed became a highly artistic craft. During the Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC), lacquerware began appearing in large quantity. This is

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