[Hida City, Gifu Prefecture] A Feat Unseen in 30 Years! "Stone Rods," Prayer Implements from 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 deciphering the manufacturing process.

Hida City, Gifu Prefecture (Mayor: Junya Tsuchitaku) announces that 377 items, including stone rods and Jomon pottery excavated from the Shima Ruins and the Shioya Kinseijinja Shrine Ruins located within the city, have been recommended by the Cultural Council to be designated as National Important Cultural Properties (Arts and Crafts) by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. With this designation, Hida City will have its 11th national cultural property, and its 2nd National Important Cultural Property (Arts and Crafts), following the "Items Unearthed from the Nakano-yama-goshi Ruins, Gifu Prefecture" (Heisei 8).

Value as a "Sacred Site for Stone Rods"

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 "stone rods," representative ritual objects of the Jomon period. Using tuff (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 excavated collectively along with unfinished products and tools (hammerstones and whetstones).

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

Main Points of This Designation

1. Designated Quantity

   377 items

   [Main Designation] 284 items: Stone rods 171, Tools 113 (Hammerstones 83, Whetstones 30)

   [Attached Items] 93 items: Flakes 24, Raw stone 11, Jomon pottery/clay products 53, Other stone tools 5

2. Complete Visualization of the Stone Rod Manufacturing Process

   Materials for each stage of production, such as "flaking," "pecking," and "grinding," are complete, revealing the advanced processing techniques of the time and the existence of special processes involving fire.

3. Evidence of Wide-Ranging Cultural Exchange

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

Significance of Becoming an Important Cultural Property

The Hida City Board of Education has been conducting investigations for three years starting from Reiwa 5 (2023).

The manufacturing process of stone rods, which are representative ritual tools of the Jomon period...