[Hida City, Gifu Prefecture] A Remarkable Achievement After 30 Years! 377 Items Including "Sekibo" (Stone Rod), a Prayer Tool from the Jomon Period Excavated in Miyagawa Town, Hida City, Designated as National Important Cultural Property! Recognized for High Academic Value as Materials Elucidating Manufacturing Process.

Value as a "Sacred Site for Sekibo" The Shima Ruins and Shioya Kinseijinja Shrine Ruins, located in Miyagawa Town, Hida City, are rare sites that clearly preserve traces of the production of "Sekibo," representative ritual objects of the Jomon period. Using welded tuff (commonly known as Shioya stone) collected nearby as material, the process of Sekibo production from approximately 4,500 years ago (Middle Jomon) to 3,500 years ago (Late/Final Jomon) was excavated all together with unfinished items and tools (hammerstones, whetstones).

In this report, in addition to the fact that the origin of the material has been identified, its value as "standard reference material" systematically showing the process of transformation of Sekibo forms from large to small was highly praised.

Main Points of This Designation

Designated Quantity 377 items [Main Designation] 284 items: Sekibo 171, Tools 113 (Hammerstones 83, Whetstones 30) [Attached] 93 items: Flakes 24, Raw stones 11, Jomon pottery and earthenware products 53, Other stone tools 5

Complete Visualization of Sekibo Production Process Materials for each production stage such as "flaking," "striking," and "polishing" are complete, revealing the advanced processing techniques of the time, and the existence of special processes involving fire.

Evidence of Wide-ranging Cultural Exchange Jomon pottery with characteristics from Hokuriku, Shinshu, Kanto, and western Japan were excavated together. This proves that Hida has long been a crossroads of cultural exchange connecting various parts of Japan.

The Hida City Board of Education has conducted investigations over three years since Reiwa 5 (2023). The production process of Sekibo, representative ritual tools of the Jomon period, is...