“Okinoshima Island and Related Sites in the Munakata Region” Study Report II / 1 English Translation 2012 World Heritage Promotion Committee of “Okinoshima Island and Related Sites in the Munakata Region” Foreword “Okinoshima Island and Related Sites in the Munakata Region” are our heritage consisting of Okinoshima Island, where state-related rituals were held from the late 4th century to the end of the 9th century, Munakata Taisha, a Shinto shrine that developed from the rituals on Okinoshima Island, and a group of mounded tombs associated with the Munakata clan and maritime people who undertook the rituals. Worship of Okinoshima Island and rituals at Munakata Taisha have been protected and passed down by local people of the Munakata region from ancient times to the present. The group of mounded tombs also remains in a good state of conservation, giving testimony to the characteristics of the place and people at that time. While we can learn many things from this property, we have the responsibility to pass down the value of this precious property to future generations. It was in this recognition that the World Heritage Promotion Committee of “Okinoshima Island and Related Sites in the Munakata Region” was set up in January 2009 to pursue World Heritage List inscription as a means to protect and pass down the value of this property. In order to achieve World Heritage List inscription, it is necessary to define the Outstanding Universal Value of the property. A study project started in order to verify the value of this property and Study Report I was published in the fiscal year 2010. In order to facilitate the further development of research, building on the achievements of this Study Report I, seven Japanese researchers of archaeological history, cultural anthropology, traditionology, etc. were commissioned in the fiscal year 2011 to write papers with a view to shedding new light on the study of Okinoshima Island. This publication, Study Report II-1, is a compilation of those papers. This report successfully contributes to proving the value of this property and at the same time makes a great step forward with the study of this property with a special focus on Okinoshima Island. I sincerely hope that this report will stimulate interest among young researchers too and provide the opportunity for more people to recognize the value of this heritage. The Committee hopes to engage more people in the effort to have “Okinoshima Island and Related Sites in the Munakata Region” inscribed on the World Heritage List. Your understanding and support are most appreciated. March 31, 2012 OGAWA Hiroshi Chairman, World Heritage Promotion Committee of “Okinoshima Island and Related Sites in the Munakata Region” Note 1. This report is a compilation of the achievements of the research that was commissioned in the fiscal year 2011 by the World Heritage Promotion Committee of Okinoshima Island and Related Sites in the Munakata Region. 2. The Committee identified the research themes based on the recommendation by the Experts’ Committee on Okinoshima Island and Related Sites in the Munakata Region, with input from the Office for World Cultural Heritage, Monuments and Sites Division, Cultural Properties Department of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, as well as Mr. NEGITA Yoshio, Cultural Properties Chief Senior Specialist and Mr NISHI Kazuhiko, Cultural Properties Specialist. Members of the Experts’ Committee: NISHITANI Tadashi (chair) Director, Kyūshū Historical Museum SATO Makoto (vice-chair) Professor, University of Tōkyō INABA Nobuko Professor, Tsukuba University OKADA Yasuyoshi Professor, Kokushikan University KINDA Akihiro President, National Institutes for the Humanities MIWA Karoku Executive Director, Kyūshū National Museum International experts who attended the Third International Conference: Gamini WIJESURIYA Project Manager, International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property IM Hyo-jai Emeritus Professor, Seoul National University WANG Wei Director, Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Christopher YOUNG Head of World Heritage and International Policy, English Heritage 3. The names of the authors are given at the top of respective papers. 4. The sources of the illustrations, plates, and photographs are given separately. 5. Munakata Taisha cooperated for this study, including on-site visits. 6. The editing and compilation were done by the secretariat of the World Heritage Promotion Committee of Okinoshima Island and Related Sites in the Munakata Region, which was jointly set up by the World Heritage Registration Promotion Division of Fukuoka Prefecture, the World Heritage Registration Promotion Office of Munakata City, and the World Heritage Registration Promotion Section of Fukutsu City. The publication of the original report (in Japanese) and the English translation was assigned to PREC Institute Inc. Table of Contents 1. Re-examination of the Okinoshima Ritual Sites. Part II ······························ 1 ODA Fujio Emeritus Professor, Fukuoka University 2. Study on Ancient Rituals in Japan and the Rituals on Okinoshima Island – with a Focus on the Flow of Studies on the Ritual Sites and its Relations with the Ritual Sites on Okinoshima Island – ·········································· 49 SASŌ Mamoru Professor, Kokugakuin University 3. Kamimatsuri and Sacred Offerings by the Ancient Kingly Power/State Seen in Literary Records – The Historical Background of Okinoshima Rituals – ···· 75 NISHIMIYA Hideki Professor, Acichi University of Education 4. Okinoshima Island in the Time before Surveys by the Munakata Shrine Revival Association ········································································ 105 SUGIYAMA Shigetsugu Emeritus Professor, Kokugakuin University 5. Okinoshima Island from the Perspectives of Folklore Study (Traditionology) – Formation and Development of Jingi Rituals in Ancient Japan – ············· 121 SHINTANI Takanori Professor, Kokugakuin University 6. Ocean Civilization in East Asia and the World of Maritime People – Foundation of the Munakata/Okinoshima Sites – ································ 159 AKIMICHI Tomoya Emeritus Professor, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) Inter-University Research Institute Corporation, National Institutes for the Humanities, Japan 7. Establishment of Shaden in Japan and Munakata Shrine ························· 183 YAMANO Yoshiro Expert Committee Member, Fukuoka Prefecture Cultural Property Conservation Council, Doctor of Engineering Re-examination of the Okinoshima Ritual Sites. Part II ODA Fujio Emeritus Professor, Fukuoka University Abstract: This paper continues from my previous paper and re-examines the ritual sites, addressing the following four issues: (i) consideration of a reconstruction of the altar at Site No. 21 and correction of the report; (ii) presumption of the involvement of the person interred in the Katsuura-Minenohata mounded tomb in rituals at Site No. 21, based on the mirrors of the same type unearthed at the mounded tomb and Site No. 21; (iii) examination of the manners of offering the ritual objects in rituals atop rocks and rituals in the rock shade and of the process of the formation of the rectangular altar; and (iv) discussion about when and how the glass bowl with round protrusions unearthed at Site No. 8 was brought to Okinoshima Island. Keywords: ritual atop rocks, ritual in the rock shade, altar, Site No. 21, Site No. 8, Site No. 17, Site No. 6, Site No. 22, Katsuura-Minenohata mounded tomb, mirrors of the same type, deity-and-beast mirror with an image band in which the images face the same direction, glass bowl with round protrusions Introduction In the previous paper, the author summarized the outcomes of the reports of the archaeological surveys of the Okinoshima ritual sites that were conducted three times in the period from 1954 to 1971, giving a critical description from the standpoint of the present stage of research. Then, reference was made to the results of archaeological research in the Munakata region that has since been making progress up to the present in an attempt to look into the realities of local rituals in the Munakata region around the time when the state-related rituals were started on Okinoshima Island; the development of the chieftain class was discussed in a timeframe up to the appearance of the Tōgō-Takatsuka mounded tomb, a keyhole-shaped mounded tomb, in the second half of the 4th century. In other words, the previous paper was for the clarification of the local developments in prehistoric periods leading to the emergence of rituals on Okinoshima Island. In this paper, the author intends to re-examine the period after the state-related rituals started on Okinoshima Island. 1. Reconstruction of Site No. 21, associated with Rituals atop Rocks Site No. 21, which was studied in the third round of archaeological survey of Okinoshima, attracted attention as the site representing the latest limit of the stage of rituals performed atop rocks. Based on the content of votive objects, the site is dated to the mid-5th century at the latest. This site is situated atop Rock F; the discovery of which was made because the top of this towering gigantic rock, although slightly slanted, appeared almost flat and fairly spacious. It made us make up our mind: “Let’s give it a try and climb the rock”. Rock F is located on the right side, when approached from Okitsu-miya through between Rock B (also known as “Okanagura”) and Rock E behind the shrine building, at an altitude of around 85 m at the back of Rock E. The height of the rock to the top is approx. 3 m on the northern side, which is the lowest point, and approx. 5 m at the southern end. The top of the rock forms a triangular plain measuring approx. 8 m in the east side, approx. 6 m in the southwest side, and approx. 5 m in the northwest side, which translates into an area of approx. 20 m2. It slopes from southeast to northwest with a flat center. In the lowest part of the rock on the north side, there is a feature that looks like stairs of three steps, which was probably used to climb to the top, but it does not seem to have been made artificially.