History of research into haniwa production complexes of the Kofun period

Haniwa are a special type of burial objects set on the mounds of the Kofun period (3rd-7th centuries AD). The earliest haniwa, similar to burial jars on stands from the Kibi region, were found at the sites of the 3rd century A.D. in the southwestern part of Nara Prefecture. Within a short period of time, local craftsmen invented cylindrical haniwa which became widespread almost throughout the entire Japanese archipelago. This article describes key stages in research of haniwa production sites by Japanese scholars. The study of haniwa production complexes began in the 1930s with excavation of furnaces on the coast of Tokyo Bay. In the second half of the 1960s, research was carried out at production sites in the Kanto region. Furnaces and workshops for haniwa production in the Kinki region were actively excavated in the second half of the 1980s. Furnaces for producing haniwa were built on the hillsides and were of two types - underground and semi-underground. Workshops where haniwa were made, warehouses for storing materials and finished products, artisans ’ dwellings and utility buildings were located nearby. Furnaces for haniwa production have been discovered almost in all locations of large burial mounds of chiefs, but in two areas - the present-day Nara andIbaraki Prefectures - the number of production complexes was greater. The haniwa made at one of these production complexes have often been found on burial mounds in other regions of the archipelago.