Hollow Dogū
The so-called "Hollow Dogū" (中空土偶, chūkō dogū) is a Japanese dogū or clay figurine of the late Jōmon period (c. 2000–1000 BC). A chance find from what was to become the Chobonaino Site in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, it is exhibited at the Hakodate Jōmon Culture Center. Alongside "Dogū with palms pressed together" from Aomori Prefecture, "Jōmon Goddess" from Yamagata Prefecture, and "Jōmon Venus" and "Masked Goddess" from Nagano Prefecture, it is one of five dogū that have been designated National Treasures. It is also the first and, to date, only National Treasure in Hokkaidō.[1][2]
Chobonaino Site
The dogū was unearthed on the east coast of the Oshima Peninsula in 1975, by a housewife digging up potatoes.[3] To provide contextual information, a trench was opened and a jade pendant and fragments of a lacquered hairpin were found, evidence of a late Jōmon pit burial. In 2005, more detailed investigations were carried out over a wider area, uncovering further grave pits, refuse pits, lithics, ceramics, and a stone circle. On a terrace above Chobonaino, excavation of the late Jōmon Makō B Site (磨光Ｂ遺跡) has uncovered a series of contemporary pit dwellings.[3]
Description
The figurine measures 41.5 cm (16.3 in) in height and 20.1 cm (7.9 in) in width, and weighs 1,745 g (61.6 oz).[4] Approximately a quarter the size of a human adult, it is the largest of its kind.[3] Other than its missing arms and a hole either side of the top of the head, the dogū is very well preserved.[3]
A male figure with a stippled beard that runs from ear to ear and covers the chin and neck, the face is tilted slightly upwards and to the left. The small protuberance on the top of the head may be a chignon.[3] The single, continuous eyebrow, nose, and ears are defined by appliqué strips of clay. Beneath the mouth, two ribbed lines mark the transition from beard to smooth skin, while the beard is bounded below by a neck ring. Further ribbed strips of clay were applied to the back of the head, perhaps a fabric head-covering, upper chest and back, a cutoff top leaving his midriff bare, and legs, which are covered with a trouser-like garment, divided into horizontal fields, with flamboyant cord-impressed patterning. His knees are slightly bent, the lower legs formed by added tubes of clay.[3]
Recent history
Discovered in August 1975, the figurine was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1979.[5] Since there was no suitable facility for display in the town of Minamikayabe (南茅部町), now merged into Hakodate, where the dogū was discovered, the figurine was kept in a paulownia box nested within a safety deposit box in the vault of Minamikayabe Town Hall for thirty years, before more recent valorization. Suggestions were gathered for a nickname, Kakkū (「茅空」) being chosen, a portmanteau combining the 茅 of Minamikayabe with the 空 of hollow, the winning submission awarded a year's supply of ma-konbu.[6] Designated a National Treasure in 2007, the following year the figurine was specially exhibited at the 34th G8 summit, in a display case at the front of the hotel in Tōyako that provided the venue.[5][7] Subsequent exhibitions in which the figurine has featured include The Power of Dogu, at the British Museum in 2009,[3] Dogū, a Cosmos, at the Miho Museum in 2012,[8] and Jomon: 10,000 Years of Prehistoric Art in Japan, at Tokyo National Museum in 2018.[9] Hollow Dogū is now housed in room four of the Hakodate Jōmon Culture Center.[10]
See also
- List of National Treasures of Japan (archaeological materials)
- Dogū with palms pressed together
- Jōmon Venus
- Historic Sites of Hokkaidō
References
- ^ "Database of National Cultural Properties (search terms: 土偶, 国宝)". 国指定文化財等 データベース. Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
- ^ "National Treasures of Japan". Tokyo National Museum. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g Kaner, Simon, ed. (2009). The Power of Dogu: Ceramic Figures from Ancient Japan. The British Museum Press. pp. 60–9, 88. ISBN 978-0714124643.
- ^ 著保内野遺跡 [Chobonaino Site] (in Japanese). Hakodate City. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
- ^ a b 土偶／北海道函館市著保内野遺跡出土 [Dogū Excavated from the Chobonaino Site, Hakodate City, Hokkaido] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
- ^ Abe Chiharu (阿部千春). トピックス：中空土偶 [Hollow Clay Figurine (Chuku-Dogu)]. Akarenga (in Japanese). Hokkaido Prefecture. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
- ^ Abe Chiharu (阿部千春). "Hollow Clay Figurine (Chuku-Dogu)". Akarenga. Hokkaido Prefecture. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
- ^ Miho Museum, ed. (2012). 土偶・コスモス [Dogū, a Cosmos] (in Japanese and English). Hatori Press. ISBN 978-4904702376.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ Tokyo National Museum; NHK; The Asahi Shimbun, eds. (2018). 縄文―1万年の美の鼓動 [Jomon: 10,000 Years of Prehistoric Art in Japan] (in Japanese). NHK, The Asahi Shimbun.
- ^ 施設のご案内 [Guide to the Facility] (in Japanese). Hakodate Jōmon Culture Center. Retrieved 17 September 2019.