Dogū from the Wanishi Site

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Dogū from the Wanishi Site
MaterialClay
Height19.2 cm
Width14.1 cm
Createdc. 700 BC
Discovered1918
Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan
Present locationTokyo, Japan

The dogū (土偶) from the Wanishi Site is a Japanese dogū or clay figurine of the Final Jōmon period (c. 1000–400 BC).[1] Excavated in Muroran, Hokkaido, and now part of the collection of the Tokyo National Museum, it has been designated an Important Cultural Property.[2]

Wanishi Site[edit]

The dogū was recovered intact in 1918 from the Wanishi Site (輪西遺跡) in what was then the village of Wanishi (輪西村), today's city of Muroran.[3] The site was part of an area used for company housing by the then Hokkaido Steel and Iron Company (北海道製鐵株式會社),[3] which was established in 1917[4] and merged with the predecessor of today's Japan Steel Works in 1919,[5] the Hokkaido Colliery & Steamship Company [ja] having begun operations at the Wanishi Iron Works (輪西製鉄場) (today's Nippon Steel Muroran Works [fr]) in 1909.[6]

Description[edit]

The hollow clay figurine has distinctively broad shoulders and hips, which are accentuated by the short arms and legs and adorned with irikumimon (入組文)[7] patterning (applied without use of the surikeshi-jōmon [ja] or "erased-cord marking" technique[7]) that has been likened to that found on the contemporary Ōbora-style ceramics (大洞式土器) of Tōhoku.[8][9] Unlike the large-eyed shakōkidogū, the eyes are small and recessed.[8][7] At the sides of the head are what may be mage [ja] or knots of hair.[9][10] The navel is prominent and there are holes at the ends of the arms and the legs as well as in the groin.[9][11] The figurine is painted red.[12]

The dogū measures 19.2 centimetres (7.6 in) in height, has a width of 14.1 centimetres (5.6 in) and a depth of 6.8 centimetres (2.7 in), and weighs some 790 grams (1 lb 12 oz).[13][14]

Gallery[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Dogu (clay figurine)". Tokyo National Museum. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  2. ^ 土偶 [Dogū] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b 第2章 室蘭市の歴史 [Chapter 2: History of Muroran City] (PDF) (in Japanese). Muroran City. p. 8. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Nippon Steel Monthly" (PDF) (in Japanese). Nippon Steel. October 2009. p. 4. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Japan Steel Works M&E Inc., Muroran Plant" (PDF). Japan Steel Works. December 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Nippon Steel Corporation Annual Report 2009: Year ended March 31, 2009" (PDF). Nippon Steel. p. 52. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Tokyo National Museum; NHK; The Asahi Shimbun, eds. (2018). 縄文―1万年の美の鼓動 [Jomon: 10,000 Years of Prehistoric Art in Japan] (in Japanese). NHK, The Asahi Shimbun. p. 261.
  8. ^ a b "Clay figurine". National Institutes for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  9. ^ a b c 土偶（輪西町出土） [Dogū (Excavated in Wanishi-chō)] (in Japanese). Hokkaido Government. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  10. ^ いぶりの文化・教育 [Iburi Culture and Education] (PDF) (in Japanese). Iburi Subprefecture. 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  11. ^ 土偶（どぐう） [Dogū] (in Japanese). Tokyo National Museum. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  12. ^ Miho Museum, ed. (2012). 土偶・コスモス [Dogū, a Cosmos] (in Japanese and English). Hatori Press. p. 108. ISBN 978-4904702376.
  13. ^ 土偶 [Dogū] (in Japanese). ColBase: Integrated Collections Database of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  14. ^ 土偶 [Dogū] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 10 November 2023.

External links[edit]

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