A Journey Around the Jomon Archaeological Sites That Became World Heritage Sites / Two Sundials and Two Stone Circles - Oyu Stone Circles (1) -

A journey around the Jomon Archaeological Sites in Hokkaido and Northern Tohoku—this time, I visited the
Akita Prefecture stone circle—the Oyu Stone Circles.

The Oyu Stone Circles are located on a plateau 180 meters above sea level in Kazuno City, Akita Prefecture, in the northern part of Akita Prefecture, near the border with Aomori and Iwate Prefectures. From Tokyo, I took the Tohoku Shinkansen to Morioka, and from there, a highway bus for just under two hours to the nearest station, JR Hanawa Line's Kazuno-Hanawa Station. From the station, I took a local bus for about 30 minutes, and the expansive ruins came into view. The longer the journey, the more my anticipation for the ruins grew, and by the time I arrived, my excitement was at its peak!

This site is only open for a limited time; it is closed from mid-November to the end of March due to snow.
In about two months, this scenery will also be buried in snow.

This is a sign installed on the ground.
There are no information boards at these Oyu Stone Circles.
This is because they want you to feel the atmosphere as it was about 4,000 years ago. I will fully savor the Jomon period with this thoughtful consideration!

By the way, what is a stone circle?

A stone circle, as the name suggests, is a structure left behind by the Jomon people where stones are arranged in a circle.

They were mostly built during the Late Jomon period, about 3,000 to 4,000 years ago, and with a diameter of 30 to 50 meters, they are thought to have been monuments related to rituals and ceremonies.

Although there are differences between sites, many have graves under or around the circular stones, and it is believed they served as cemeteries.

So, what about these Oyu Stone Circles!?
What kind of monument were they, exactly?

At the entrance to the ruins, there is the 'Jomon Forest'.
This forest is a corridor connecting the modern day to the Jomon period; once you pass through it, the scenery I mentioned earlier spreads out before you.

Beyond that lies the vast ruins!
The massive structure created by the Jomon people is thought to date back about 4,000 years and was used for 500 years.

When you look closely, you can see that several stones form groups, and those groups connect to create a large circle.

And under these stones, many graves called 'dokou' (earthen pits), made by digging into the ground, have been found.
The placed stones also seem to have served as markers for these graves.

Furthermore, these Oyu Stone Circles have the unique characteristic of being made up of 'two stone circles'.

The first one, located right in front of you after passing through the 'Jomon Forest', is the Manza Stone Circle
.It is made of a 'double circle', with the outer circle being 52 meters in diameter and constructed from about 6,500 stones.

And to the east of this Manza Stone Circle, across the prefectural road, is the Nonakado Stone Circle.
This one is also made of a 'double circle' and is slightly smaller than the Manza Stone Circle, with the outer circle being 44 meters in diameter and constructed from about 2,000 stones.

These two stone circles are thought to have been built at 'almost the same time'.

The positional relationship when viewed from directly above looks like this. (From the guidebook)
On the left is the Manza Stone Circle, and on the right is the slightly smaller Nonakado Stone Circle
.

And the biggest feature of these two stone circles is that between each of their 'double circles', there is something called a sundial-shaped stone assembly.

These sundial-like stone assemblies are made by standing large stones about 1 meter long, placing stones radially around them, and then placing stones to trace an outer circle.

The "shadow of the stone" cast by the large stone standing in the center acts as a...

A "clock" that changes shape with time

Looking even closer, you can see that while most of the stones are "long and thin," "round stones" are placed only at the points that divide the circle into four.

What these round stones indicate are the "four cardinal directions"

"The four cardinal directions" and "the shadow of the stone"
It is believed that the Jomon people used these to understand the movement of the sun, and by watching the shadow of the stone change its angle and length, they "knew the seasons."

The sundial-like stone assembly could be called a "seasonal clock" for knowing the seasons for hunting and gathering food, as well as the periods when they would be shut in by snow.

Now, there are two stone circles, each with its own "seasonal clock."
Why are there two?

When you connect the "centers of the two stone circles," you find the sundial-like stone assembly at each one. And what this connecting line points to is...

"The direction of the sunset on the summer solstice"

Knowing the day with the longest daylight hours of the year seems to have been for knowing the arrival of the short spring and summer.

While knowing the arrival of winter was also important, the arrival of the season of bounty must have been the most heart-lifting news of all.
The sunset of the summer solstice It is also thought that rituals and the like were held while watching this.

The total number of stones in the two stone circles is about 8,500, with sizes ranging from about 30 cm to 1 m, and weights from about 10 kg to 200 kg.
It is believed that they were transported from 2 to 4 km upstream from the river flowing nearby.

Transporting these stones

Obtaining a "seasonal clock" and "the direction of the summer solstice sunset"

For the people of this region, where the snow is deep and the winters are long, this was "something essential for survival," and it was also a time to "rejoice in the arrival of summer, pray to the gods, and deepen their solidarity."

As I pondered the wisdom of the people of that time to survive and the fact that there were joyful and heart-warming moments even in their harsh lives, my own uplifted heart became calm. And this is a place where many Jomon people sleep... I put my hands together in my heart, thinking of them.

To be continued in the next installment.

*Reference Materials
Oyu Stone Circles Guidebook
Jomon Archaeological Sites That Became World Heritage Sites, edited by Yasuhiro Okada, Doseisha Co., Ltd.

Thank you for reading until the end☆彡