Comparing and contrasting Jomon and Yayoi. History Essay

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Yayoi and Kofun Periods of Japanese Prehistory
Cultural practices in Japan have changed over time as people go through different phases in life. Different periods have had different effects on the way of life of the Japanese, and the Yayoi and Kofun periods are no different in this sense. Whereas both periods have informed the culture in Japan, the Kofun period shows superiority over the Yayoi period because in most cases, it was a development of the Yayoi period and as such, it was more advanced regarding social, political and agricultural advancement.
Evidence of religious rituals indicates that the people in the Yayoi and Kofun periods had adopted certain rituals, especially when it came to honoring the dead. In both periods, different items were used as ritual objects. Ritual objects used in the Yayoi period were referred to as dotaku while those used in the Kofun period were referred to as magatama (Friday, p.192; p.194). However, the evidence of religious rituals in the Kofun period indicates that religious rituals were distinct because they were more developed than those of the Yayoi people. For instance, religious rituals for the dead were used as a mark of status and rank. It is noted that “From the perspective of ancient religion…Further development of an elite ruling class representing its religious and political authority through large mounded tombs” (Friday, p.193). As such, religious rituals were used by the Kofun people as a symbol of expression for the ruling elite, and as noted by Friday, the number of resources, whether human or financial, used in the construction of a tomb reflected the status of the individual.
Further, archaeological evidence indicates that the Kofun people included objects in the tombs. These objects were said to be connected to the ruling authority and the gods. The objects included pots and figurines, which have been said to have been left there for use in the afterlife of the dead (Friday, p. 194). The Kofun people believed that it was important to separate the dead from the living and as such, their burial mounds had significant meaning about the said belief. There were feasts for the dead and during the feasts, a ritual was performed to separate the living from the dead. It is said that “ the back part of the burial mounds were the domain of the dead and the front part the domain of the living” (Friday, p. 194) indicating that separation was a very significant part of their rituals. Although the rituals and beliefs were part of the political centralization during the Kofun period (Silberman, p.156), there was also a religious significance to these rituals. This is because people in this period viewed the tombs as sacred places where the dead connected with the gods. Another distinction in the Kofun and Yayoi periods is regarding burying a body. The Kofun were more advanced because they buried the dead in large tombs “surrounded by a moat, ” (Earhart 27) to bury the dead while the Yayoi buried them in jars.
People in both groups had adopted symbols of social status to ensure that the different social classes were separated and easily recognized. In this way, they were similar,...