Introductory Routes of Rice to Japan: An Examination of the Southern Route Hypothesis

dc.contributor.author Takamiya, Hiroto en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2010-08-04T19:49:57Z
dc.date.available 2010-08-04T19:49:57Z
dc.date.issued 2001 en_US
dc.description.abstract The beginning of rice agriculture in Japan impacted every aspect of life in most parts of the archipelago. It was the Japanese version of the "Neolithic Revolution." Because rice is so important today for Japanese and thought to have been so since the Yayoi period, when and how rice agriculture began in Japan has been intensively studied. Accordingly, three hypotheses, (1) Northern, (2) Chanjian (central coastal China), and (3) Southern routes have been proposed. The third hypothesis was originally proposed by the well-known ethnologist Kunio Yanagita in 1952. Since then, many scholars have attempted to examine this hypothesis. The possibility of this hypothesis based on archaeological, botanical, and ethnological data that have been accumulated in the last fifty years is summarized. Direct data, plant remains that I was able to collect and analyze to test this hypothesis are evaluated. The archaeobotanical data suggest that food production began on the island of Okinawa from the eighth to tenth centuries A.D. and foragers were living on the island during the Yayoi period. The data thus agree with archaeological data and the Southern route hypothesis is rejected. KEYWORDS: origins of rice agriculture in Japan, the Southern route, archaeobotanical data, Ryukyu archipelago, Okinawa. en_US
dc.identifier.citation Takamiya, H. 2001. Introductory Routes of Rice to Japan: An Examination of the Southern Route Hypothesis. Asian Perspectives 40 (2): 209-26. en_US
dc.identifier.issn 1535-8283 (E-ISSN) en_US
dc.identifier.issn 0066-8435 (Print) en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10125/17154
dc.publisher University of Hawai'i Press (Honolulu) en_US
dc.relation.ispartofseries Volume 40 en_US
dc.relation.ispartofseries Number 2 en_US
dc.subject origins of rice agriculture in Japan en_US
dc.subject the Southern route en_US
dc.subject archaeobotanical data en_US
dc.subject Ryukyu archipelago en_US
dc.subject Okinawa en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Prehistoric peoples--Asia--Periodicals. en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Prehistoric peoples--Oceania--Periodicals. en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Asia--Antiquities--Periodicals. en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Oceania--Antiquities--Periodicals. en_US
dc.subject.lcsh East Asia--Antiquities--Periodicals. en_US
dc.title Introductory Routes of Rice to Japan: An Examination of the Southern Route Hypothesis en_US
dc.type Article en_US
dc.type.dcmi Text en_US
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