Artifacts Excavated from Grave Pits at the Tokoro River Mouth Site, Hokkaido

Grave Goods from a Cemetery on the Sea of Okhotsk

The Artifacts Excavated from Grave Pits at the Tokoro River Mouth Site, Hokkaido (北海道常呂川河口遺跡墓坑出土品) is 1,805 grave goods of the Final Jomon to Epi-Jomon periods from the Tokoro River Mouth Site in Tokoro-cho, Kitami City, Hokkaido, which in 2023 were designated an Important Cultural Property.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records them as archaeological materials, one set, owned by Kitami City and kept at the Tokoro Archaeological Sites Forest.

Kitami City notes that they are the only national Important Cultural Property in the city.

The Finds

According to the Agency, they come from a communal cemetery on a slight rise near the mouth of the Tokoro River, which flows into the Sea of Okhotsk. Excavation before river straightening works revealed many grave pits and a wealth of varied grave goods.

The goods are mainly pottery, stone tools and ornaments. Some pots have striking, highly decorated forms; the stone tools include many arrowheads placed in the graves, along with spherical and rod-shaped lumps of obsidian. Amber beads are exceptionally numerous, ranging from irregular pieces shaped by the raw material to flat, disc-like beads with a central hole.

What to Look For

Kitami City explains that the goods come from graves of about 2,900 to 1,600 years ago and include jade beads and necklaces of amber from Sakhalin. Some graves are especially rich compared with other sites of the time in Hokkaido, suggesting people powerful enough to acquire such goods.

The Agency values them as showing the culture of eastern Hokkaido from the Jomon to Epi-Jomon periods and the burial rites and grave goods of the time.

Visiting the Artifacts Excavated from Grave Pits at the Tokoro River Mouth Site, Hokkaido

Kitami City says representative pieces are displayed at the Tokoro Archaeological Sites Museum in the Tokoro Archaeological Sites Forest; check the city's visitor information.