It was only for a few hours, on our way to Hakata, but we made another stop at the Yoshinogari Remains. The yoshinogari ruins site dates from the Yayoi period that lasted from the 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD. It is one of the largest archaeological remains in Japan, where more than 2000 tombs with coffins, storehouses, and watchtowers etc were found. Yayoi period were one of the first periods I learned about in history class in the Japanese school, and the possibility to see parts of it really made me excited.
博多に行くまでの途中、数時間だけでけれど、吉野ケ里遺跡にも足を運んだ。日本でも大規模な弥生時代からの集落跡で、たくさんの墳丘墓や高床住居や見つかったすごい場所。日本の教育の歴史の始めの方にでてきた弥生時代は記憶に強く残っていて、その跡が見れることを聞いたときは本当に胸がワクワクした。
What we didn't know was a major- I had quickly and wrongly assumed that the visitors could see these artifacts and remains... but in reality, it was a park with recreated houses/storehouses, with very limited display of ACTUAL artifacts. When we entered the historical park, people were dressed up in clothing from then, and had different storehouses/houses/watchtowers set up with dolls and explanations to daily life in the Yayoi period... I kept thinking that it was odd, and when I asked whether the structures were real, one of the staff blurted out the really really disappointing answer: "Nope, nothing is real....". Thankfully, the sentence finished with "...except for the tombs".
でも、痛恨なミス…吉野ヶ里の歴史公園が、遺跡や埋蔵物が見れるとこだと思い込んでしまっていたのが、実際は、公園の大半の建物やお墓の場所が再現されたものだったということ。それらしき服装をしたスタッフもたくさんいて、雰囲気はまさにテーマパーク。「これは絶対何かおかしい」と思い、どの部分が遺跡なのかスタッフさんに聞くと、やっぱりだけれど残念な答えが返ってきた。「ここは全部作り物ですよ…」でも幸い、
その答えには嬉しい続きが「…お墓のところ以外はですね。」
We went to see the tombs and the remains of pot coffins which were displayed as they were found. It threw the disappointment out of the window, and the great feeling and excitement of imagining and traveling back time filled my whole body. The people from the yayoi period used pottery to put the dead into- it looked like two huge pottery vases. They put the person in one, they put the other one as a lid. Then, it is thought that they had spiritual ceremonies. It was incredible to see the technology that existed already in 3rd century BC, and how much people cared to take care and honor the dead. Some wonderful things about humanity must be innate.
早速、弥生時代のお墓の状態を、見つけたときのまま保管・再現しているところを見に行く。得意の想像の世界と時代を旅するようなワクワク感が、すぐにからだ中に感じられて
テーマパークからの残念な気持ちはすっかり忘れてしまった。弥生時代の人は、２つの陶器の壷のようなものに、亡くなった人を入れ埋めていて、儀式のようなものをしていたのだという。紀元前３世紀という考えられないほど昔の、人々の陶器の技術にも感動をしたけれど、それよりも、その時の人間もそういった形で亡くなった人を敬っていたことのほうが胸に響いた。私が素晴らしいと思う、人間を特徴づける「人間らしさ」は、やっぱり本質的なものなのかなぁと確信した。
After seeing the villages, the houses and the lifestyle of Yayoi, we had to take the train to our last stop in Kyushu, Hakata. With our heart and soul filled with Yayoi-sm, I got this lovely photo of Sara- as a Yayoi person dancing. I hope it makes everyone smile just like it does for me!
肌で魂で頭で「弥生イズム」を感じた妹に、からだでそれを表現してもらったらこの通り！パシャパシャ弥生ダンスを撮ったあと、私たちは、九州で最後の場所、博多へ向かう電車に乗った。この写真が、私を笑顔にさせるように、みんなも笑顔になりますように！
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