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ΕλληνικάINITIAL ATLAS · ORIGIN AND EXPANSION
Yayoi Map
Yayoi Atlas
Rice, metal and settlements from Kyūshū
Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.
Editorial visualisation · Contextual correspondence
Declared editorial visualisation, based on the cartography and sources of the fact sheet; it is not an exact historical frontier.
History and context
The map begins in the final Jōmon and continental contacts and allows progression through 7 phases. Documented places —Itazuke, Yoshinogari, Toro— appear only when they help to read the active period.
The expansion proceeded at different rates and coexisted with Jōmon continuities; it was not an instantaneous replacement of the entire population.
Evidence and interpretation
The coast is from Natural Earth. The layers distinguish origin, core, direct control, influence, networks, disputed territories and external domains; they are approximate curatorial envelopes, not modern borders. The faint outline preserves the previous phase to make each expansion, contraction or absorption visible. The expansion proceeded at different rates and coexisted with Jōmon continuities; it was not an instantaneous replacement of the entire population.
Catalogue facts
- Reading mode
- Origin, sequence and changing scope
- Sequence
- 7 phases · Final Jōmon and continental contacts (before c. 900 BCE) → Early wet-rice cultivation (c. tenth–eighth centuries BCE) → Regional expansion (c. eighth–third centuries BCE) → Metal, ditches and new hierarchies (c. third century BCE–first century CE) → Wa polities (first–third centuries CE) → Himiko and Yamatai (c. 180–250 CE) → Kofun transition (from the mid-third century CE)
- Nodes
- Itazuke (Early Yayoi) · Yoshinogari (c. fourth century BCE–third century CE) · Toro (first century CE)
- Range
- Initial contact zone, not a closed cultural frontier.
- Caution
- The expansion proceeded at different rates and coexisted with Jōmon continuities; it was not an instantaneous replacement of the entire population.
A closer look
About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: .
A connected north, but different
The northern limit of the route requires a historical distinction: in Hokkaidō, wet-rice agriculture characteristic of many Yayoi settlements was not then established. There, post-Jōmon traditions developed, with hunting, fishing and gathering, while exchanges continued with the regions to the south. There were also connections towards Sakhalin and the continent via the north. Therefore, a map of the period must represent related areas, not colour the entire archipelago as an identical culture. Cultural frontiers are approximate and do not equate to the borders of an ancient Japanese state.
- Museum · Hokkaido Digital Museum · Further Development of JomonAccess recorded: .
Location and territory
REGIONAL AREA
From Kyūshū towards western and eastern Japan with uneven rhythmsFrom Kyūshū towards western and eastern Japan with uneven rhythms. The footprint indicates the orientative centre of the area, not a boundary nor an exact point.TERRITORIAL ATLAS · REAL GEOGRAPHY · CHANGING EXTENT
Yayoi Atlas
Rice, metal and settlements from Kyūshū
Crops, objects and people circulate towards the archipelago before Yayoi; contact does not mean instantaneous demographic substitution.
WHAT CHANGES · OriginContinental contact corridors emerge in northern Kyūshū within landscapes still associated with the final Jōmon.
- 01 · ItazukeInitial YayoiWet rice field and early settlement in Fukuoka.
The expansion proceeded at different rates and coexisted with Jōmon continuities; it was not an instantaneous replacement of the entire population.
Documentation for every period
The map is interactive. The full chronology is also available below without using any controls.
before c. 900 BCE · Final Jōmon and continental contacts
Crops, objects and people circulate towards the archipelago before Yayoi; contact does not mean instantaneous demographic substitution.
Origin · Continental contact corridors emerge in northern Kyūshū within landscapes still associated with the final Jōmon.
- Northern Kyūshū · before c. 900 BCE
Initial contact zone, not a closed cultural frontier.
Probable
c. X–VIII centuries BCE · Initial wet rice
Fields and new ceramics appear in northern Kyūshū; absolute dates and phase name continue to be revised.
Origin · The contact sphere becomes an early core of wet rice and new material assemblages.
- Northern Kyūshū · c. X–VIII centuries BCE
Approximate early core.
Debated
c. VIII–III centuries BCE · Regional expansion
Rice paddies and Yayoi assemblages advance eastward with persisting Jōmon and uneven local rhythms.
Expansion · Wet rice fields and Yayoi practices spread from Kyūshū westward, with uneven rhythms and local persistences.
- Western Japan · c. VIII–III centuries BCE
Approximate expansion front, not uniform replacement.
Probable
c. III centuries BCE–I century CE · Metal, moats and new hierarchies
Bronze, iron and fortified villages extend westward and centreward; regional differences remain large.
Expansion · The envelope reaches the centre of the archipelago and adds fortified villages and bronze and iron networks.
- West and centre of the archipelago · c. III centuries BCE–I century CE
Broad and uneven cultural envelope.
Probable
1st–3rd centuries CE · Polities of Wa
Han and Wei sources describe numerous countries of Wa; the archipelago does not yet constitute a unitary state.
Fragmentation · The broad cultural space is described as numerous Wa countries, without common territorial authority.
- Wa countries · 1st–3rd centuries CE
Area of multiple polities and communities.
Probable
c. 180–250 CE · Himiko and Yamatai
A coalition recognises Himiko, but the location of Yamatai remains debated; an alternative halo is shown, not a secure boundary.
Fragmentation · A coalition linked to Himiko concentrates part of the mosaic, but Yamatai remains among alternative locations.
- Kinai hypothesis · 3rd century CE
One of the main proposed locations.
Debated - Kyūshū hypothesis · 3rd century CE
Incompatible alternative that must remain visible.
Debated
from mid-third century CE · Kofun transition
Large tumuli and new elites concentrate power in Kinai; Kofun/Yamato is a new phase, not simply 'imperial Yayoi'.
Absorption and expansion · The centre of power shifts to Kinai, where new elites and large tumuli articulate a successor core.
- Early Kofun core · III–IV centuries CE
Early nucleus of political concentration.
Probable
Documented places
- Itazuke · Initial Yayoi
Wet rice field and early settlement in Fukuoka.
- Yoshinogari · c. fourth century BCE–third century CE
Ditches, buildings and regional hierarchy.
- Toro · 1st century CE
Agricultural village of central Japan.
Routes and contacts
- approximate sequence and expansion
- approximate sequence and expansion
The expansion proceeded at different rates and coexisted with Jōmon continuities; it was not an instantaneous replacement of the entire population.
Sources and references
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