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Japan’s earliest inhabitants were Paleo- lithic settlers who arrived from Asia around 30,000 bce . It is not until around 13,000 bce , however, that we begin to get a clearer pic- ture of the developing civilization, a culture known as the Jomon. These were hunt- er-gatherers who pioneered techniques of agriculture, rudimentary house construc- tion, and clothes making. By 300 bce , a wave of migrants known as the Yayoi began arriving in Japan. There are competing the- ories as to whether they originated from China or Korea. The Yayoi were responsible for introducing rice to the Japanese islands. They also improved agricultural methods and discovered new ways of working with metal. With these advances came primitive forms of government, most likely run by an emerging class of landowners.

A vase from the Jomon period.

DESIGN IN THE JOMON PERIOD The pottery of the Jomon period is some of the oldest in the world. It is particularly noteworthy for the “cord markings” adorning the surfaces: lined designs that appear to have been applied with rope. Pots were all made by hand, without the aid of a wheel. A more substantial historical record of Japan began developing around ad 300, as inhabitants of the Kofun period began leaving evidence of their life behind. The word kofun (“old mounds”) refers to the large, keyhole-shaped burial mounds they constructed for their clan leaders. Items extracted from the tombs, such as weapons and armor, attest to a militarized society. Many different clans vied for power, but the Yamato clan proved to be the stron- gest. Yamato rulers established a political state with themselves as an imperial dynasty, a form of governance that continued into the Asuka period of the

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MAJOR NATIONS IN A GLOBAL WORLD: JAPAN