Yamanashi Prefectural Archaeological Museum

Located in Kofu City, the Yamanashi Prefectural Archeological Museum hosts artifacts from Japan’s paleolithic age, ranging from modern-day pieces to those from over 30,000 years ago! Two other points you’ll want to note about the museum: it has a plentiful collection of Jomon artifacts and the tombs dating back to the Kofun period.

Upon entering the museum, you are greeted by a few displays on the era that proceeds Jomon, known as Paleolithic Japan. Through climate analysis, we know that the earth was extremely cold back then. However, as time passed the climate warmed up, leading to the cultivation of fruits, nuts, and berries. This helped shift the diet of the Jomon people away from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle that required the people to migrate with their prey, to a people who could reside in one area, surviving off the land and surrounding trees. This was especially true in the case of Yamanashi. 

Since they no longer needed to maintain a lifestyle through constant migration, it is said that the Jomon people were left with more time to dedicate towards leisure, such as crafting. As the earth got warmer and warmer, they were able to gather more and more fruits, nuts, and berries, increasing the need for storage and cooking vessels. This led to the popularity and more unique designs of the “doki” (earthenware) vases.

At the Yamanashi Prefectural Archaeological Museum, you can also view a large collection of pieces from the Yayoi period (following the Jomon period). It is suggested that the Yayoi people (mainly from modern-day Southern China and the Korean Peninsula) began migrating to the Japanese archipelago from as early as 1000-800 B.C.E. It is said that they then mixed, mingled with—and in some cases—killed off many of the Jomon people who were residing on the island. As this happened, the representative art of Japan slowly shifted from giant pots with dramatic designs to more muted, patterned pots made specifically for the harvesting of rice. More information on this change, as well as real artifacts that were excavated from this time, can be found in displays at the museum. 

A walk around the campus of the museum will take you to the mounds of the giant, ancient tombs from the Kofun period, belonging to kings who lived in this area from the 3rd to the 7th century. 

More Info

Yamanashi Prefectural Archaeological Museum website:
https://www.pref.yamanashi.jp/kouko-hak/

Address: 923 Shimosonecho, Kofu, Yamanashi
(1 minute on foot from the "Yamanashi Kenritsu Hakubutsukan” bus stop)