One Cave Site, Designated by the State in 1983
Hibakoiwa Cave (火箱岩洞窟, Hibakoiwa Dokutsu) lies at Tokizawa, Takahata Town, Higashiokitama District, Yamagata Prefecture, and was designated by the state on 26 April 1983. Its category is that of historic sites.
The field for a managing body stands empty.
The town records it partway up the eastern slope of a hill, at 340 metres above sea level.
An Upper Cave and a Lower, with the Finds Unevenly Placed
Of the two caves, one has yielded much more than the other.
The town records an upper cave and a lower one, with most of the finds coming from the lower.
There are two; what came out of them is uneven. The two were used differently.
At Futatsuzuka Kofun, one mound holds 3 stone chambers and all of them yielded finds. There the number is the point.
At the Yoshibe kiln, 13 kilns stand on 2 levels, divided by stage of work.
Here there are 2 caves and the finds fall mostly to one. The record states the imbalance and does not account for it.
No Commentary in the National Database
The national record carries no commentary on the site.
Its page gives the name, the reading, the category, the location and the date of designation. The commentary field is empty.
The field for a managing body is empty as well. The site is designated, and the body of the record is not there.
Hinata Cave, also in this town and designated on 17 February 1977, carries a long commentary: the cave sites nearby, and the finds layer by layer.
For Jikoin Garden and Ojikakei, no entry exists in that database at all: no heading was raised.
Here the heading stands and holds nothing. The municipal record has to serve.
Three Excavations, and Pottery of the Earliest Jomon
What the pottery bears tells when the site was used.
The town records 3 excavations from 1961 onward, which brought up sherds bearing fine raised lines and sherds bearing nail-like impressions, along with stone drills, spear points and scrapers.
Both manners of marking belong to the pottery of the earliest phase of the Jomon period.
A stone drill bores; a spear point arms a shaft; a scraper takes material away.
At the Bingo provincial seat, the finds showed what kind of establishment stood there: they mark its standing.
Here the marks on the pottery fix the time. These are things from the beginning of the Jomon period.
Visiting
The site lies at Tokizawa, Takahata Town, Higashiokitama District, Yamagata Prefecture. Enquiries go to the town's board of education.
It is partway up the eastern slope of a hill, at 340 metres above sea level.
It was designated on 26 April 1983. In the same town, Hinata Cave was designated in 1977, and two further caves are designated as well.
The record for Hinata Cave notes cave sites at 14 points nearby, and calls such a concentration of them unmatched elsewhere.
This is an open-air site in the hills, and whether and how it may be visited follows the arrangements of the local authority. Check before travelling.
Q&A
- When was the cave designated?
- On 26 April 1983, by the state, as a historic site.
- Where is it?
- At Tokizawa in Takahata Town, partway up the eastern slope of a hill at 340 metres above sea level.
- How many caves are there?
- Two, an upper and a lower. Most of the finds came from the lower one.
- What has been found there?
- Sherds bearing fine raised lines and nail-like impressions, with stone drills, spear points and scrapers, from three excavations from 1961 onward.
- Is there a commentary in the national database?
- No. That field is empty on its page. This article rests on the record kept by the town.
Basic Information
| Name | Hibakoiwa Cave (火箱岩洞窟, Hibakoiwa Dokutsu); the town writes the last part in a mixed script |
|---|---|
| Location | Tokizawa, Takahata Town, Higashiokitama District, Yamagata Prefecture |
| Designation | Historic site; designated as an archaeological site rather than as a building or a work of art |
| Year Designated | 1983 (26 April), designated |
| Quantity | 1 cave site, comprising an upper cave and a lower one |
| Dimensions | No measurements of the caves are recorded. The site lies partway up the eastern slope of a hill, at 340 metres above sea level |
| Owner | The field for a managing body stands empty in the record |
| Public Access | An open-air site in the hills; visiting follows the arrangements of the local authority |
References
- Takahata Town, board of education: the cave
- https://www.town.takahata.yamagata.jp/soshiki/14/1007.html
- Cultural Heritage Online: Hibakoiwa Cave
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/215869
- Cultural Heritage Online: Hinata Cave
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/204773
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/
Last verified: 2026.09.19