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History with Conan: Japan’s Yayoi Period (Worldwide Contemporaries)

While Japan was in the Yayoi period, the Roman Empire’s power in Europe was expanding. Beginning in the 8th century BCE in a small city on the Italian peninsula, Rome had unified the country by 272 BCE. Then they conquered the surrounding nations and expanded their dominion across the Mediterranean Coast. In 27 BCE, Rome became an empire, ruled by an emperor. By 117 CE, its territory had reached its peak size. Under the strong rule of the Roman emperor, the empire was at peace, and literature, philosophy, and art flourished. When the emperor made Christianity the national religion, Christianity took root in Europe, which had a major effect on Europe’s history and culture.

Territory of the Roman Empire in 117 BCE, Rome marked in red.

Roman ruins: the Colosseum and the aqueducts. The Colosseum hosted fights within its 50 meter walls (164 feet). With a diameter of 188 meters (616 feet), it’s a giant work of architecture. The aqueducts were built to carry water from rivers and valleys in order to manage the empire’s water supply.

With illustrations and information from History Detective Conan 2: Yayoi Period (The Lonely Little Queen).

That’s all for the Yayoi period! Coming soon: Japan’s Kofun Period

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Tomorrow's post is the last one of the Yayoi period! I'll be taking a little break before we cover the Kofun period, so there won't be any hwc posts for a bit.

History with Conan: Japan’s Yayoi Period (Himiko's Grave?)

Influential people in ancient times were buried in earthen mounds called kofun. There are various types of kofun, but this time we’ll be talking about the Hashihaka Kofun in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture. The Hashihaka Kofun seen from above is shaped like a keyhole, made up of intersecting square and circular shapes. This type of kofun began to be built around the mid-third century. The Hashihaka Kofun is one of the earliest of its kind, and it’s theorized that it may be Himiko’s grave. There are two reasons for this theory: the first is that the diameter of the circular portion of this kofun is believed to match the size of Himiko’s grave as written in the Treatise on the Wa People almost exactly. The second is that it’s believed to have been made around the time Himiko died. Additionally, since there was a large moated settlement nearby at the Makimuku Site, it’s said that that settlement may have even been Yamatai’s capital! Of course, if these theories are right, then the location of Yamatai would be confirmed in the Kinki region…

The Hashihaka Kofun, with the Makimuku Site in the background. The kofun is 280 meters long (almost 920 feet) and the circular portion has a diameter of 150 meters (around 492 feet). 

Point 1: Made in Himiko’s time? It was once thought that this kofun was made after Himiko’s time, but there’s now research that suggests it could have been made in the era of her death.

Point 2: The size matches? The 150 meter diameter of the circular portion is close to what’s written in the Treatise on the Wa People, but the Treatise doesn’t specify that Himiko’s grave was a kofun of this type.

With illustrations and information from History Detective Conan 2: Yayoi Period (The Lonely Little Queen).

Next Time: Worldwide Contemporaries

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History with Conan: Japan’s Yayoi Period (Where Was Yamatai?)

The Treatise on the Wa People describes a route to Yamatai from the Korean peninsula, but if you followed that route, you’d end up in the sea to the south of Kyushu. The actual location of Yamatai has been the subject of much debate. The top theories locate it in Kyushu or the Kinki region, but no concrete evidence has yet been found.

The route to Yamatai as written in the Treatise on the Wa People:

Note: a ri (or li in Chinese) is a traditional unit of measurement equal to about half a kilometer or a third of a mile, but was not standardized at the time the way our modern units are. Each step is followed by the modern location it corresponds to.

Here’s a map of the journey from Daifeng to Yamatai. We can understand much of it based on what we do know, but after that, there are different theories about distance and direction of travel that change where the route ends. 

Ayumi: I’m lost, which is right?

Mitsuhiko: If you go straight east from Na, you end up in the Kinki region…

Genta: Kyushu is the closest to Daifeng…

The purple line on the map follows the route from Daifeng to Na. After that point, the two theories are shown. The Kyushu theory (in red, left) shows Fumi and Touma in what’s now Oita Prefecture, and Yamatai in the area of Miyazaki or Kumamoto Prefectures. The Kinki theory (in blue, right) shows Fumi in today’s Yamaguchi Prefecture, Touma in Hiroshima or Okayama Preffectures, and Yamatai in Nara or Wakayama Prefectures.

With illustrations and information from History Detective Conan 2: Yayoi Period (The Lonely Little Queen).

Next Time: Himiko's Grave?

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