Matsudo City
Matsudo City Museum holds special exhibition “Unusual Earthenware: Mysterious Pots from the Jomon Period”
Why was “unusual pottery” made, and we don’t know what it was used for? ……
[Image 1: https://prtimes.jp/i/15010/495/resize/d15010-495-82defe944308af3fb669-0.jpg&s3=15010-495-7897807f5fbae776b7eb8fbe99d5bc0b-1274×1790.jpg] The earthenware of the Jomon period was basically a tool for cooking, but in the late Jomon period, many earthenware vessels appeared that had strange shapes and it was unclear what they were used for. They are called “unusual pottery,” and depending on the type, they can be found throughout eastern Japan. Why were irregularly shaped pottery created and why did they spread? This exhibition depicts the interregional relationships between people during the Jomon period through irregularly shaped pottery from across eastern Japan. ●Period: September 14th (Saturday) to November 4th (Monday/Holiday), 2020 ●Closed on Mondays; if Monday is a public holiday, the museum will be open and closed the next day.
●Opening hours: 9:30 to 17:00 (admission until 16:30)
●Venue: Matsudo City Museum Special Exhibition Room (671 Sendabori, Matsudo City)
●Admission fee: [Special exhibition] General 310 yen, high
school/university student 150 yen
[Permanent exhibition common admission ticket] General 520 yen, high school/university student 250 yen
*Free for junior high school students and under
*On November 3rd (Culture Day), both special and permanent exhibitions are free. ●Exhibition composition (170 items on display)
Chapter 1 “The emergence and transition of irregularly shaped pottery” When did irregularly shaped pottery appear, what form did it take, and how did it change shape? We will trace the changes in earthenware with oddly shaped stands (keidai tsukidoki) and fishing hand earthenware (tsuritedoki), which are often found in the Kanto region.
[Image 2: https://prtimes.jp/i/15010/495/resize/d15010-495-3ee7d179f09bf729a4ad-1.jpg&s3=15010-495-f740fb9fa7b8a4b3d05001a240768118-672×503.jpg] Earthenware with irregularly shaped stand W17.0 x D16.0 x H17.4cm Gionhara shell midden (Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture) Owned by Ichihara City Board of Education
Chapter 2 “Diffusion of oddly shaped pottery”
Around the same time that oddly shaped pottery was made in the Kanto region, similar oddly shaped pottery was also made in Hokkaido and Tohoku. This shows that the rules for making pottery were widely shared.
[Image 3: https://prtimes.jp/i/15010/495/resize/d15010-495-9b6f2f059bf893082ea2-2.jpg&s3=15010-495-bcda8bbd8fc0388955a92b1c4aad7f17-2756×2067.jpg] Incense burner-shaped earthenware, W9.0 x D9.0 x H14.2cm, Nagakura I Ruins (Karumai Town, Iwate Prefecture), owned by the Karumai Town Board of Education, designated cultural property by Iwate Prefecture Chapter 3 “Cross-border spout earthenware”
Around the same time that irregularly shaped earthenware was being made, spouted earthenware, shaped like a teapot with a spout, was also being made. Many types of pottery with similar shapes were made, and just like irregularly shaped pottery, it spread across regions.
[Image 4: https://prtimes.jp/i/15010/495/resize/d15010-495-874c329c9cc84bcb52b7-3.jpg&s3=15010-495-4f1b17781137ef3d2b0967a8add2188d-672×504.jpg] Spout earthenware W12.3 x D15.3 x H11.6cm Kawame A Ruins (Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture) Collection of Iwate Prefectural Board of Education
Chapter 4 “Interregional relationships seen from the perspective of earthenware” It’s not just special pottery that is similar. Similar patterns can be added to ordinary shaped pottery. This shows that the people of the late Jomon period were deeply involved across regions.
[Image 5: https://prtimes.jp/i/15010/495/resize/d15010-495-7cba4b764e195b3a8cbb-4.jpg&s3=15010-495-933feb43cd33643b9f4b50424b888feb-672×503.jpg] Shallow bowl-shaped earthenware, W19.8 x D19.8 x H8.5cm, Yamamoto (1) Ruins (Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture), owned by Aomori Prefectural Buried Cultural Properties Research Center
3D models of some of the materials scheduled for exhibition will be available until the end of the exhibition period.
https://sketchfab.com/Matsudo_Museum
●Related projects
[Special exhibition commemorative symposium]
“Transformation of late Jomon society as seen from irregularly shaped pottery and spouted pottery” (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) “Integrated bioarchaeological research on prehistoric human history in the Japanese archipelago – Reiwa archeology reform -” Co-sponsored) -Application required-
Date and time: Saturday, October 5, 2020, 10:00-16:00
Venue: Mori no Hall 21 Reception Hall
Panelists: Mr. Kosaku Nakamura (National Museum of Japanese History), Mr. Takuma Yoshioka (Saitama City Board of Education), Mr. Masahiro Fukunaga (Kyushu University Museum), Mr. Yukina Watanabe (Kyoto University Graduate School), Hirotsune Nishimura (Matsudo City Museum), General comment: Kanako Akita (Tokai University)
Capacity: 190 people (first-come, first-served basis)
[Curatorial Lecture]
“Unusual pottery from the late Jomon period” (co-sponsored by the Museum Friends Association) -Application required-
Date and time: October 26th (Sat) 13:00-15:00
Venue: Matsudo City Museum Auditorium
Lecturer: Hirotsune Nishimura, curator of our museum
Capacity: 75 people (in case of large number of applications, lottery will be held)
[Gallery talk]
Date and time: 9/14 (Sat), 29 (Sun), 10/26 (Sat), 11/4 (Mon/Holiday) 11:00-12:00 each, 9/14 (Sat), 29 (Sun), 10/ 20 (Sun) and 11/4 (Mon/Holiday) 13:30-14:30 each
Venue: Matsudo City Museum Special Exhibition Room
How to participate: No advance application required. Please gather at the lobby in front of the exhibition room at the start time. *Special exhibition admission ticket required
Information on how to apply for the exhibition commemorative symposium and lecture will be posted on the museum’s website, SNS, and public information bulletin board. In addition, various events are planned on weekends during the exhibition period. Please check the Matsudo City Museum website for details.
[Contact information regarding this matter]
Lifelong Learning Department, Cultural Properties Preservation and Utilization Division, Museum (closed on Mondays)
671 Sendabori, Matsudo City, 270-2252
Person in charge: Curator Nishimura Kato
☎047-384-8272 FAX047-384-8194
This article has been partially generated with the assistance of AI.