Yayoi period facts for kids

History of Japan

Paleolithic 35000–10000 BCE Jōmon period 10000–300 BCE Yayoi period 300 BCE–250 CE Kofun period 250–538 Asuka period 538–710 Nara period 710–794 Heian period 794–1185 Kamakura period 1185–1333 Kemmu restoration 1333–1336 Muromachi period 1333–1573 Nanboku-chō period 1336–1392 Sengoku period Azuchi-Momoyama period 1568–1603 Nanban trade Edo period 1603–1868 Late Tokugawa shogunate Meiji period 1868–1912 Meiji Restoration Taishō period 1912–1926 Japan in WWI Shōwa period 1926–1989 Japanese expansionism Occupied Japan Post-Occupation Japan Heisei period 1989-present

The Yayoi period (弥生時代, Yayoi jidai) is a time in the history of Japan which is traditionally dated 300 BC to 300 AD.

History

Early evidence of Yayoi culture is found on the island of Kyūshū. Over time, it spread to the island of Honshū.

Iron and bronze were first used in Japan at about the same time. Iron was used for tools and weapons. Bronze was used for ritual objects such as mirrors, daggers and spears.

The Yayoi tools included as axes and hoes for agriculture etc., but also weapons such as arrowheads and swords.

Yayoi people

Modern distribution of haplogroup O.

The Yayoi people (弥生人 Yayoi jin) were ancient people that migrated to the Japanese archipelago from southeastern China during the Yayoi period (300 BCE–300 CE). Modern Japanese people are direct descedants of the Yayoi and have about 97% Yayoi DNA.

The Yayoi and the modern Japanese people are closely related to other East Asian (or Mongoloid) people, such as Chinese or Vietnamese people. They belonged to the haplogroup O and spoke the proto-Japonic languages. Most scientists and linguists suggest that they originated somewhere in southeastern China and migrated from their into Japan.

• Metropolitan Museum of Art, Yayoi Culture
• Japan-guide.com, Early Japan

Images for kids

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  Yoshinogari site reconstruction

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  Northern Kyushu is the part of Japan closest to the Asian mainland.

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  A Yayoi period dōtaku bell, 3rd century AD

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  Bronze mirror excavated in Tsubai-otsukayama kofun, Yamashiro, Kyoto

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  The golden seal said to have been granted to the "King of Wo" by Emperor Guangwu of Han in 57 AD. It is inscribed King of Na of Wo in Han Dynasty (漢委奴國王)

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  Hashihaka kofun, Sakurai, Nara

See also

In Spanish: Período Yayoi para niños