is the name of a
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
town in
Japan. It is located near the
Ashida River
The is a river that flows through the eastern part of Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The river provides the primary drainage for the Bingo region.
The source of the river is in the city of Mihara, Hiroshima and flows generally east toward Niimi ...
in present-day
Fukuyama City,
Hiroshima Prefecture. Investigators believe that Kusado Sengen was a minor commercial port town on the
Seto Inland Sea during the
Kamakura and
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...
s.
Exhibits and a reconstruction may be found at the
Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of History
is a prefectural museum in Fukuyama, Japan, dedicated to the history and culture of the Setouchi region. It has a particular focus upon the medieval settlement of Kusado Sengen. The museum opened in the grounds of Fukuyama Castle in 1989.
Se ...
.
Discovery
Kusado Sengen was discovered in 1961 when a large quantity of pottery, porcelain and gravestones were discovered while attempting to re-route the Ashida River. Many historians believed that it was the site of a medieval town named ''Kusado Sengen''. Excavation was not carried out, and the site was buried by a sandbank in the re-routed river.
[
]
Excavation
Excavation of the site was started in 1961 by the Fukuyama Municipal Board of Education.
Several items dating back to the Kamakura and Muromachi Periods were found, and it became obvious that the site was indeed ''Kusado Sengen''. The Ministry of Construction planned river improvements and the construction of a dam. These plans caused the possibility that the sandbank on which the site was located might be destroyed or completely submerged. Serious and long-term investigations therefore became urgently necessary. Accordingly, the Hiroshima Prefectural Institute for the Kusado Sengen-cho Site Investigations was founded in 1973 as a research unit within the Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education.[
Many of the finds from the site that have been excavated are waterlogged and reasonably well preserved. Finds include wells, pits for garbage dumping, ]ditch
A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...
es, pond
A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...
s, graves
A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...
, and a wide range of objects such as pottery, wooden objects, stone objects, metal objects, bone tool
In archaeology, a bone tool is a tool created from bone. A bone tool can conceivably be created from almost any bone, and in a variety of methods.
Bone tools have been documented from the advent of '' Homo sapiens'' and are also known from ''Ho ...
s, fabrics
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
, and organic remains.[
]Pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...
was very common amongst the finds at the site, the most common being earthenware. A great deal of imported pottery from Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
and China was found with it.
Many kinds of wooden objects were discovered. The majority of them were for daily activities such as eating and storage.
Lacquer ware bowls and dishes are regarded as common tableware in the town. These are believed to have been produced in the town, since a lot of lacquering tools were excavated from the site. On many of the lacquer vessels there are designs of living things such as birds and plants.
Other finds include coin
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
s and carpenters' tools.[
]
See also
* List of Historic Sites of Japan (Hiroshima)
References
{{reflist
External links
What is Kusado Sengen?
Archaeological sites in Japan
Former populated places in Japan
Fukuyama, Hiroshima
History of Hiroshima Prefecture