Key terms:

• King of Na of Wa
• Himiko (Pimiko) 卑弥呼
• Yamato 大和
• Yamatai 邪馬台
• "Records of Wei" (Weizhi 魏志) from the "Records of Three Kingdoms" (Sanguo Zhi 三國志)

Overview

• Yayoi culture was based in wet-rice agriculture: permanent settlements with complex irrigation systems
• society ruled by chieftains with religious and military authority
• hundred of small kingdoms with some contact with China
• Example: Yoshinogari
  
  

Yayoi society

• Wet rice agriculture
  • more densely and permanently settled communities
    • houses are semi-sunken with thatched roofs
    • shallow hearths in center of floors
    • communities are larger and are clustered around fields and storehouses
  • increased surplus allows greater taxation
• Japan in Chinese records
  
  • Seal of King Na of Wa
  • Himiko of Yamatai
    • In the Weizhi
    • Possibly in the Kojiki?
    • Key questions:
      • Where was Yamatai?
      • What was the basis of Himiko's rule
      • Problem of live burial of intendants
      • Surge in tomb building
• Ruling elite
  • new technology allows for metal weapons
  • some literacy
  • ability to mobilize labor
  • symbols of authority
    
    • swords and spears
    • bells (dōtaku)
    • mirrors
    • burial mounds