The 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 recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

containing the ruins of five ''noborigama''-style kilns located in the Ashimura neighborhood of the city of

Tahara, Aichi is a Cities of Japan, city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 60,206 in 22,576 households, and a population density of 315 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Tahara is situated in sout ...

in the

Tōkai region The is a subregion of the Chūbu region and Kansai region in Japan that runs along the Pacific Ocean. The name comes from the Tōkaidō, one of the Edo Five Routes. Because Tōkai is a sub-region and is not officially classified, there is ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The kilns were built in the late

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

and were in use into the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1971.

Overview

The kiln ruins are located in a valley southwest of Ashigaike in the central part of the

Atsumi Peninsula The is a peninsula in southern Aichi Prefecture, central Honshū, Japan. Geography It has an approximate length of east-west, separating Mikawa Bay (to the north) from the Pacific Ocean to the south, with Ise Bay lying to its west. It fa ...

. Until the discovery of this site 1950s, it was not known that pottery had been made on the

. With the

archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

of this large kiln site by the Tahara Town Board of Education in 1964, it became clear that a type of black pottery of unknown origin which had been discovered in many locations in the Tōkai region originated from this location. A total of eight kiln traces were discovered. Pottery produced at the Ōarako site was used for everyday items, such as large storage containers, tea bowls and funerary urns. Some of the pottery shards discovered at this site bore the name of "Fujiwara Okinaga", who was the '' kokushi'' of

Mikawa Province was an Provinces of Japan, old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Mikawa''" in . Its abbreviated form name was . Mikawa bordered on Owari Province, O ...

from 1136 to 1155. The excavated items are stored in the Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum located in

Seto Seto may refer to: Places *Seto, Aichi, production place of Japanese pottery and venue of Expo 2005 * Seto, Ehime, facing the Seto Inland Sea * Seto, Okayama, adjacent to Okayama, in Okayama Prefecture *Seto Inland Sea of Japan *Setomaa (''Seto ...

. The site is located a 50-minute walk from the "Noda" bus stop on the Toyotetsu Bus from

Mikawa-Tahara Station is a railway station in the city of Tahara, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, operated by the Public–private partnership Toyohashi Railroad. Lines Mikawa Tahara Station is a terminal station of the Atsumi Line, and is located 18.0 kilometers from ...

on the

Toyohashi Railroad Atsumi Line The is a railway line in eastern Aichi Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Toyohashi Railroad ("Toyotetsu"). The line runs from the centre of Toyohashi, Aichi, Toyohashi, traversing the centre of the Atsumi Peninsula, a l ...

; however, as the ruins were backfilled after excavation, there is nothing to see at this location.

References

External links

Tahara city museum site

{{in lang, ja Mikawa Province History of Aichi Prefecture Tahara, Aichi Historic Sites of Japan Japanese pottery kiln sites

Overview

See also

References

External links