[The Realistic Diet of the Jomon Period] Over 10,000 Years Ago, What and How Did the Japanese Eat?
"The Jomon people just made pottery and hunted, right?"
…Are you thinking something like that?
In fact, the diet of the Jomon period was so sophisticated that it is directly linked to modern food culture and lifestyles.
In this article, based on the latest archaeological findings,
we will delve specifically into what the people of the Jomon period ate, what cooking methods they used, and what kind of "food philosophy" they held.
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Table of Contents
1. What was the Jomon period? A rough review
2. List of what the Jomon people ate
3. Surprising cooking techniques and tools
4. Pottery and the food revolution
5. Nutritional balance and comparison with modern food
6. Food and faith: Awareness of coexistence with nature
7. Recreation of Jomon food and modern applications
8. Summary: "True richness" seen from the Jomon
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1. What was the Jomon period? A rough review
The Jomon period (approx. 13,000 to 2,300 years ago) is
a very long "sedentary hunter-gatherer era" even by global standards.
While other civilizations were moving into agriculture, people on the Japanese archipelago were settling down and building a sophisticated lifestyle culture while utilizing the resources of the forests, seas, and rivers.
Particularly noteworthy is the maturity of their "food culture."
It is surprising that they were even boiling, fermenting, and smoking food using pottery.
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2. List of what the Jomon people ate
◆ Main animal-based foods
• Wild boar, deer, bear
• Birds such as rabbits and ducks
• Salmon, trout, sweetfish, crucian carp
• Clams, short-neck clams, oysters (the stars of shell mounds)
• Whales and dolphins (depending on the region)
◆ Plant-based foods
• Chestnuts, walnuts, acorns (as staples)
• Wild vegetables (fiddleheads, bracken, mugwort, etc.)
• Nuts and berries (bayberry, autumn olive, yuzuriha, etc.)
• Kudzu, yam, legumes
• Seaweed (wakame, kelp, etc.)
They even considered seasonal gathering schedules,a sustainable "forest restaurant"and seem to have lived in an environment that could be called that.
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3. Surprising cooking techniques and tools
The Jomon people's cooking methods were truly diverse.
• Boiling: Cooking with pottery, including soups and porridge-like dishes
• Grilling: Grilling over stones or open flames. Traces of skewers have also been excavated
• Smoking: Preservation using smoking techniques
• Fermenting: Possibility of a fermentation culture (traces of something like fish sauce)
• Grinding: Crushing acorns and walnuts into a paste for consumption
• Pickling: Some regions are thought to have had the prototype of a pickling culture
It is a highly efficient and creative cooking culture that also connects to modern outdoor activities and preserved foods.
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4. Pottery and the food revolution
The birth of Jomon pottery (among the oldest in the world, 16,000 years ago) significantly changed the Japanese diet.
• Boiling became possible, making it easier to handle hard ingredients and remove toxins
• Diversification of dishes through the combination of ingredients
• Became suitable for baby food and food for the elderly
• Smoking preservation also became more efficient with the use of pottery
In other words, pottery was not just a container, but a "device for sustaining life."
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5. Nutritional balance and comparison with modern food
The Jomon diet is actually considered to be quite close to the ideal balanced diet of today.
Nutrient Characteristics of the Jomon diet
Protein Diverse, derived from animals and seafood
Dietary fiber Abundantly consumed from wild vegetables and nuts
Carbohydrates Consumed in appropriate amounts from starches like acorns
Lipids Consumed from nuts like walnuts and from fish
Fermented foods Unconfirmed but possible (good for intestinal environment)
It achieved a balance between storability and nutrition, and "Jomon Paleo Diet"-style eating methods are also attracting attention.
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6. Food and faith: Awareness of coexistence with nature
The spirit of "receiving life" remains strong in the food culture of the Jomon period.
• Careful burial of the bones of hunted animals
• Designs of "fertility" and "harvest prayer" on clay figurines and stone rods
• Existence of rituals related to meals (from archaeological data)
It was not just about "eating to live," but a spirit of dialogue with nature, gratitude, and circulation that was deeply rooted.
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7. Recreation of Jomon food and modern applications
Recently, recipes and cafes that arrange "Jomon food" in a modern way have appeared.
• Walnut and acorn sweets
• Preserved smoked fish and meat
• Pasta and porridge using wild vegetables
• Fermentation x pottery recreation projects
Because it fits keywords such as local ingredients, fermentation, preserved food, and low sugar, Jomon food is being re-evaluated as a sustainable lifestyle.
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8. Summary: "True richness" seen from the Jomon
On the Japanese archipelago over 10,000 years ago,
people lived "with nature," "racking their brains," and "in harmony."
That diet is not just a "fairy tale,"
but poses a question to the way we eat today.
The "connection between food and life" that modern people have forgotten,
the Jomon people felt that in their "everyday" lives.
Why not incorporate a little bit of the Jomon essence into your own dining table?
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