[Hida City, Gifu Prefecture] A Feat for the First Time in 30 Years! "Stone Rods," Prayer Tools of the Jomon Period Unearthed in Miyagawa Town, Hida City, and 377 Other Items Designated as National Important Cultural Properties! Recognized for their high academic value as materials for elucidating the manufacturing process.

Hida City, Gifu Prefecture (Mayor: Junya TSUKUI) announces that 377 items, including stone rods and Jomon pottery unearthed from the Shima Ruins and Shioya Kinsei Shrine Ruins located within the city, have been recommended by the Cultural Council for designation as National Important Cultural Properties (Art and Crafts) by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. With this designation, it will be the 11th nationally designated cultural property for Hida City, and the second National Important Cultural Property (Art and Crafts) following "Artifacts unearthed from the Nakano-yama-goshi Ruins in Gifu Prefecture" (Heisei 8).

Agency for Cultural Affairs Website

Value as a "Sacred Site for Stone Rods"

The Shima Ruins and Shioya Kinsei Shrine Ruins, located in Miyagawa Town, Hida City, are rare sites that clearly preserve traces of the production of "stone rods," a representative ritual artifact of the Jomon period. Using fused volcanic rock (commonly known as "Shioya Stone") collected nearby as material, the process of stone rod production from approximately 4,500 years ago (Middle Period) to 3,500 years ago (Late/Final Period) was unearthed en bloc, along with unfinished products and tools (striking stones and grinding stones).

In this recommendation, in addition to the fact that the source of the material has been identified, its value as "reference material" systematically showing the transition of stone rod forms from large to small was highly appraised.

Main Points of This Designation

・ Designated Quantity

377 items

【Main Designation】284 items: Stone rods 171, Tools 113 (Striking stones 83, Grinding stones 30)

【Attached】93 items: Flakes 24, Raw stones 11, Jomon pottery/earthenware products 53, Other stone implements 5

・ Complete Visualization of the Stone Rod Manufacturing Process

Materials for each production stage, such as "stripping," "striking," and "grinding," have been collected, revealing the advanced processing techniques of the time and the existence of special processes involving fire.

・ Evidence of Widespread Cultural Exchange

Jomon pottery with characteristics from Hokuriku, Shinshu, Kanto, and western Japan were unearthed together. This proves that Hida has long been a crossroads for cultural exchange connecting various parts of Japan.

Explanation of the Stone Rod Manufacturing Process

Significance of Becoming an Important Cultural Property

The Hida City Board of Education has been conducting investigations over a three-year period starting from Reiwa 5 (2023).

The manufacturing process of stone rods, a representative ritual tool of the Jomon period, is...