is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

consisting of a Jōmon period cave dwelling in the Nishiyama-gumi neighborhood of the town of Sakawa,

Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 757,914 (1 December 2011) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and ...

on the island of

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1978.

Overview

The cave is located halfway up a hill in the Sakawa Basin in the middle basin of the Niyodo River. It is an inverted U-shaped

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

cave with an opening four meters wide and six meters high facing south. The first chamber extends for eight meters, and a four-meter wide opening on a side wall leads to a second chamber with height of two meters and depth of eight meters. It was named for a statue of

Fudō Myōō or Achala ( sa, अचल, "The Immovable", ), also known as (, "Immovable Lord") or (, "Noble Immovable Lord"), is a wrathful deity and ''dharmapala'' (protector of the Dharma) prominent in Vajrayana Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism., Jp. re ...

that was enshrined in the first chamber. Archaeological excavations conducted from 164 found

Jōmon pottery The is a type of ancient earthenware pottery which was made during the Jōmon period in Japan. The term "Jōmon" () means "rope-patterned" in Japanese, describing the patterns that are pressed into the clay. Outline Oldest pottery in Jap ...

with pressed ridge patterns, stone axes and stone arrowheads from the early Jōmon period. The site is about 20 minutes by car from Sakawa Station on the

JR Shikoku The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has ...

Dosan Line is a railway line in Shikoku, Japan, operated by the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects Tadotsu Station in Tadotsu, Kagawa, and Kubokawa Station in Shimanto, Kōchi. The line links the city of Kōchi with northern Shikoku a ...

; however, there are no facilities at site.

References

External links

Sakawa town home page
{{Prehistoric caves Sakawa, Kōchi Historic Sites of Japan History of Kōchi Prefecture Caves of Japan Jōmon period sites Cave dwellings

Overview

See also

References

External links