Japanese Prehistoric Art

[2] The Jōmon communities consisted of hundreds or even thousands of people, who dwelt in simple houses of wood and thatch set into shallow earthen pits to provide warmth from the soil.

[3] In the Middle Jōmon period (3000-2000 BCE), simple decorations made with cord or through scratching gave way to highly elaborate designs.

These people, arriving in Japan about 350 BCE, brought their knowledge of wetland rice cultivation, the manufacture of copper weapons and bronze bells (dōtaku), and wheel-thrown, kiln-fired ceramics.

Along with introducing bronze casting and other technologies into the islands, the Yayoi people, who are generally believed to have come from the continent, brought cultural influences from the southern part of China.

Artifacts brought to the islands at this time had a powerful effect on the development of Japanese art, by presenting objects to imitate and copy, such as bronze mirror,(Shinju-kyo) from Chinese mythology.