Introduction

This chapter describes how the website has organized its presentation of the archaeological sites where Kazuchika Komai conducted excavations, including the excavation-specific outlines (arranged more or less in the investigation steps’ chronological order) and related photographs. The archaeological sites’ names respect the originals taken from Komai’s research reports, which we compared with the names listed on the Cultural Properties cards held by the the Hokkaido Government Board of Education; these cards identify well-known archaeological finds containing buried cultural property. Each section of the chapter covers one of Komai’s sites and includes its card name, registration number, and National Historic Site name as of 2021.

The content describing Komai’s research was based on the descriptions in Komai (1959) and Komai (1973). Major references other than Komai’s work are listed at the end of each archaeological site’s description. For detailed information about the locations, refer to the map of the archaeological sites on the Hokkaido Government Board of Education’s website: https://www2.wagmap.jp/hokkai_bunka/Portal.

(1) Mikasayama (Osyoro) Stone Circle

Komai described this archaeological site as stone circles at “Mikasayama” in his literary works (Komai 1959: 74). The site is located at the foot of a hill called Mikasayama in Osyoro, Otaru City (formerly Shioya Village), at an altitude of approximately 25 m, from a gentle slope to a level surface. The card name “Osyoro Stone Circle” (Registration No. D-01-2).

The first report on this site was written by Sozaburo Watase in 1886 (Watase 1886) and was later mentioned by N.G.Munro (Munro 1908). This stone circle is famous in Hokkaido’s archaeological history. Komai first visited this archaeological site in 1947 and published a plan for stone alignment in Komai (1959).

The stone circle is composed of standing stones approximately 1 m high arranged in an oval shape approximately 30 m from north to south and 22 m from east to west. Extending about 3 m from the base of each standing stone are small stone pavers. There are also some standing stones on the southeastern side of the stone alignment, scattered and lined up in pairs. According to Komai’s report, there were some standing stones present when he investigated the site, including the southeastern standing stones. There were no artifacts within the stone circle. However, considering the features and artifacts excavated in the general survey around the site and the relationship with the surrounding the Osyoro Doba Site, this site is most likely from the middle of the late Jomon period.

This archaeological site was designated as a National Historic Site in 1961. The designated name is the “Osyoro Stone Circle.”

References: Hatakeyama 1959; Hokkaido Buried Cultural Property Center ed. 1989; Otaru City Board of Education ed. 1999; Otaru City Board of Education ed. 2001.⁽¹⁾

(2) Jichin’yama Stone Circle

This archaeological site is located on the top of a hill, approximately 50 m high, called “Jichin’yama” in Osyoro, Otaru City (formerly Shioya Village). The card name is the “Jichin’yama Stone Circle” (Registration No. D-01-3). This stone circle is composed of 12 standing stones approximately 1 m high arranged in an oval shape whose long axis tilts northwest and measures approximately 10 m in the major axis and 8 m in the minor axis.

Komai investigated this site in 1949 and excavated the stacked stones on the southeast side of the inner side of the standing stones and the burial pit beneath the stones. The burial pit measured approximately 2 m square. There were no artifacts at the site. After his investigation, Komai reconstructed the stacked stones and burial pit to their previous state.

Although we do not know when this site was constructed, based on its form and current research, the stone circle is likely from the late Jomon period. Artifacts from the middle of the late Jomon period and the middle of the final Jomon period have been excavated from the distribution survey around this site, suggesting that the circle was also built then.

This archaeological site was designated as a historic site by the Hokkaido Government in 1950, the year after Komai’s excavation. Its current designated name is the “Jichin’yama Stone Circle.”

References: Otaru City Board of Education ed. 1999; Otaru City Board of Education ed. 2001.

(3) Nishizakiyama Stone Circle (Nishizakiyama [Area 1], Nishizakiyama Nishi [Area 2], Nishizakiyama Minami [Area 3])

This archaeological site is located on the ridge of Nishizakiyama at an altitude of approximately 50–100 m, located on the boundary between Sakae Machi, Yoichi Town, and Ranshima, Otaru City (formerly Shioya Village). The card names are the “Nishizakiyama Stone Circle” in Yoichi Town (Registration No. D-19-4) and the “Nishizakiyama Stone Circle Site” in Otaru City (Registration No. D-19-4). The range of the site extends about 130 m from north to south, and the features are concentrated in seven places (Areas 1–4 and Areas 5a, 5b, and 5c).

Komai first investigated this site from 1950 to 1953, excavating the areas later called Areas 1, 2, and 3. The details are described later. The Yoichi Town Board of Education then carried out excavations at this site in 1963 (Mineyama and Kubo 1965). In their investigation, they identified the areas Komai had previously excavated (Areas 1-3); they reconstructed Area 2 and maintained Area 3. They also reported excavating additional stone circles and stone alignments not reported in Komai’s excavation, in both Area 2 and Area 3.

In 1968 and 1972, Toshio Oba and Kazuo Shigematsu investigated an area they called Area 4 and excavated five stone circles (Oba and Shigematsu called “組石遺構”) (Oba and Shigematsu 1977). In 1997, the Hokkaido Government Board of Education, the Otaru City Board of Education, and the Yoichi Town Board of Education also carried out a survey to confirm the range of this site and found additional stone alignments in locations they called Areas 5a, 5b, and 5c (Tasai 1999). Furthermore, the Hokkaido Buried Cultural Property Center carried out a measuring survey in 1988 and 2000. The various surveys revealed the current condition of this site, especially Area 1 (Hokkaido Buried Cultural Property Center 1990) and Areas 2–4 (Hokkaido Buried Cultural Property Center 2001).

The stone circles in Area 1 were designated as historic sites by the Hokkaido Government in 1951, the year after Komai’s excavation. The site’s current designated name is the “Nishizakiyama Stone Circle.”

The outline of Komai’s investigation is described below. Based on the feature’s form and current research, the stone circles Komai excavated were from the late Jomon period.

Nishizakiyama Stone Circle (Area 1)

Komai found this site at the top of Nishizakiyama. The stone alignments found in the range measured approximately 17 m at the major axis and 11 m at the minor axis. The site featured seven densely arranged small stone circles in the southern part of the range above (stone circle No. 1 to No. 7), with smaller stones placed in a circle 1–2 m in diameter within each larger stone circle. There were stacked stones inside those smaller circles and a pit under the stacked stones in each circle. Although Komai found no artifacts in the pit, he believed that all of these pits were tombs. He found pottery from the mid-latter Jomon period between the stacked stones.

Nishizakiyama Nishi Stone Circle (Area 2)

Komai described this site as being located on “the back side of Nishizaliyama, which is a plateau to the west beyond a small swamp” from Area 1 (Komai 1959: 65) or “the west of Nishizakiyama.” During Komai’s excavations in 1951 and 1952, he found three stone circles (stone circles No. 1 to No. 3).⁽²⁾ All three stone circles had a standing stone at the center, with round stones paved radially from each standing stone’s base. Although there was a tomb-like pit under stone circle No. 1, there were no pits under the standing stones of No. 2 or No. 3. Komai found no artifacts in his investigation.

The Yoichi Town Board of Education reported that in 1963, they found a stone circle and two structures of stacked stones on the northern part of No. 1 to No. 3, after Komai’s investigation. However, this probably needs to be reconsidered.⁽³⁾

Nishizakiyama Minami Stone Circle (Area 3)

Komai found this site “in the forest on the southern side of the standing stone of the Nishizakiyama Nishi Stone Circle” (Komai 1959: 70) or “on the top pf the hill with a shell mound on 1 km west of Nishizakiyama” (Komai 1973: 41). During Komai’s excavations in 1952 and 1953, he found three stone circles (stone circles No. 1 to No. 3), each of which had a standing stone. In addition, there were some angular stones on the eastern side of No. 1. Round stones were paved radially from the base of the standing stones in No. 2 and No. 3. There were no pits under the three standing stones. In this excavation, although Komai found several stones with lines from the stacked stones of No. 3, he found no artifacts.

The Yoichi Town Board of Education reported having found five stone circles (listed as No. 3, No. 4, No. 6, No. 10, and No. 7 (this is called “No.7” in Mineyama and Kubo [1965]), traces of two stone circles (P1, P3), three stone alignments, and a pit. The author of the excavation report did not compare the new findings with those of Komai, but it seems likely that three of the stone circles were Komai’s No. 1 to No. 3, with Komai’s No. 1 being named No. 3 by the Yoichi Town Board of Education, Komai’s No. 2 renamed as No. 6, and Komai’s No. 3 renamed as No. 10.

The Hokkaido Buried Cultural Property Center investigated two stone alignments called “Area 3, Group 2” and “Area 3, Group 3” in 1988 and 2000, next to Komai’s “Area 3, Group 1” excavations. None of the investigations found any no artifacts to offer clues for dating this archaeological site.

References: Mineyama and Kubo 1965; Oba and Shigematsu 1977; Hokkaido Buried Cultural Property Center ed. 1999; Tasai et al. 1999; Hokkaido Buried Cultural Property Center ed. 2001.

(4) Keisatsu Urayama Site

This archaeological site covers an area from the top to the eastern slope of the hill west of Yoichi Police Station, on the left bank of the mouth of the Yoichi River at Asahi-machi, Yoichi Town, at an altitude of approximately 50–30 m. The card name the “Keisatsu Urayama Site” (Registration No. D-19-37).

Komai carried out a general survey at this site in 1952 and reported finding the remains of a standing stone approximately 1 m high. He said that he did not determine whether there was a pit under the standing stone. Although the date of this stone circle is unknown, the Hokkaido Government Board of Education’s website on Hokkaido’s archaeological sites reports that artifacts from the early to final Jomon period have been found there.

(5) Hokuei (Soga) Stone Circle

According to Komai (1959: 50), this archaeological site is located on “the hill of Hokuei” in Karifuto Town at an altitude of approximately 230 m, on the right bank of the Takinosawa River, a branch of the Siribetsu River at Soga, Niseko Town (formerly Karifuto Town).⁽⁴⁾ The card name is the “Soga Stone Circle” (Registration No. D-06-4).

Komai visited this archaeological site in 1950 and, when he excavated it in 1951, he found and excavated four stone circles (No. 1 to No. 4). Three of the four stone circles (No. 4 had been destroyed) were round or oval and approximately 1.5–2 m in diameter. The standing stones were surrounded by smaller standing stones or low stones and stacked stones. There were pits—possibly burial pits—under the stacked stones of all four stone circles. Komai found jade beads at the bottom of pits No. 2 to No. 4 and pottery from the Late Jomon period under the stacked stones of No. 3. Based on the artifacts and feature’s form, these stone circles are probably from the Late Jomon period.

Reference: Karifuto Town Board of Education ed. 1957.

(6) Takidai Stone Circle (Soga Takidai Site)

This hillside archaeological site, “Stone Circle of Taidai” (Komai 1959: 55), is located on “Kami Takidai” (Komai 1959: 50) in Karifuto Town, at an altitude of approximately 185 m, on the right bank of the Higashinosawa River, a branch of the Siribetsu River at Soga, Niseko Town (formerly Karifuto Town).⁽⁵⁾ The card name is the “Soga Takidai Site” (Registration No. D-06-5).

Although Komai found only one remaining stone circle at this site when he started his investigation, reports indicate that there were once several stone circles here. Komai (1959) wrote that the stone circle he investigated had been excavated by Tsunekichi Kono in the early Shōwa period, but no artifacts had been found at that time. The details of Kono’s excavation are unknown.⁽⁶⁾

When Komai excavated the site in 1951, he found a stone circle with an oval shape measuring approximately 2.8 m at the major axis. There were several standing stones in the stone circle and stacked stones inside the standing stones. There was a pit, likely a burial pit, under the stacked stones, and Komai found jade beads at the bottom of the pit. The artifacts and the feature’s form suggest that this stone circle was built in the late Jomon period.

(7) Kamui Kotan Stone Circle (Kamui Kotan 5 Site)

This archaeological site is located on a level surface at an altitude of approximately 213 m, halfway up Mt. Kamui’s north face in Kamui Kotan, Kamui Town, Asahikawa City (formerly Kamui Village). The card name is the “Kamui Kotan 5 Site” (Registration No. F-01-53).

The first excavation was carried out in 1952 by Kono and Mori (Kono and Mori 1952), who found 12 stone circles and excavated the biggest one (stone circle No. 1, Kono and Mori called “1号石籬”). This square feature measured about 3 m per side and comprised standing stones along the circumference with stacked stones. Although there was a square pit under the stacked stones, no artifacts were found inside the pit.

Soon after Kono and Mori’s investigation, Komai visited this site in October and photographed stone circle No. 1 (1号石籬). However, he did not excavate the site.

In 1989, the Asahikawa City Board of Education conducted a measuring survey (Asahikawa City Board of Education ed. 1990) and found a group of ten stone alignments on the flat surfaces with the approximately 300 m² area of this site: Group Ⅰ to Group Ⅹ included the feature, which is equivalent to stone circle No. 1 (1号石籬) (Group Ⅰ). Each stone alignment had a different arrangement; for instance, some of them had plate standing stones arranged in an ellipse or a square, others had round stones arranged radially, and so on. The stone circles at this site were composed of stone alignments approximately 1–5 m in diameter. In addition, although there have been no excavations under the stone alignments to date, the center stone is sinking, suggesting the presence of burial pits.

Based on pottery found in the measuring survey and the feature’s form, these stone circles are likely from the late Jomon period.

References: Kono and Mori 1952; Asahikawa City Board of Education ed. 1990

(8)　Otoe Stone Circle

This hilltop archaeological site is located on top of Mt. Inami overlooking the Ishikari River at an elevation of 113–117 m. The card name is the “Stone Circle of Otoe” (Registration No. E-10-8).

Giichi Takabatake first reported this archaeological site in 1894 (Takahata 1894). Ryuzo Torii also mentioned this site in his work (Torii 1919). This stone circle is famous in the history of Hokkaido archaeology as the Osyoro Stone Circle. Masami Abe later illustrated 15 stone circles in his 1918 report (Abe 1918). He tried to excavate four to five of the 15 stone circles, made of small- and medium-sized stones; however, he found no artifacts.

Komai carried out an investigation in the “North Area” in 1952, 1953, and 1955 and the “South Area” in 1956. The “North Area” was already known as the area of stone circles in previous investigations and reports. Komai found ten stone circles in his investigation.⁽⁷⁾ When Komai excavated stone circles No. 2, No. 3, No. 5, No. 7, No. 9, and No. 10, he found the pits he presumed to be tombs under all six. He also found jade beads found at the bottom of pits No. 3, No. 5, No. 9, and No. 10. Based on these artifacts, these stone circles are from the late Jomon period. Incidentally, although Komai believed that No. 1, No. 2, No. 5, and No. 8 had been excavated before his investigation, it is not clear whether Masami Abe had excavated them or not.

In 1956, Komai found the “South Area” on the south of the “North Area,” surrounded completely by banks. The range is approximately 40 m from east to west and 50 m from north to south. Komai set three trenches inside the banks for his site investigation and excavated three burial pits (No. 11, No. 12, and No. 13). Although he found traces of stacked stones in all three burial pits, he found no standing stones. He did find stone paving at the bottoms of the burial pits and many artifacts, including 23 jade beads, 13 stone arrowheads, and a vermilion lacquer bow in burial pit of No. 11. Based on these artifacts, the “South Area” is from the late Jomon period. Some scholars believe that the “South Area” feature is a rampart tomb because of the banks (Fukagawa City Board of Education ed. 2017).

The entire archaeological site, including the “North Area” and the “South Area,” was designated a National Historic Site in 1956, soon after Komai finished his investigation. The designated name is the “Otoe Stone Circle.”

References: Takabatake 1894; Abe 1918; Fukagawa City History Compiling ed. 1997; Hokkaido Buried Cultural Property Center ed. 1988; Fukagawa City Board of Education ed. 2017.