Early Works

The earliest art of Japan, probably dating from the 3d and 2d millennia B.C., consisted of monochrome pottery with cord-impressed designs (Jomon), also the name for the early period of Japanese art. Later Jomon (1000–300 B.C.) finds include bone earrings, blades of ivory and horn, lacquer objects, and small clay figurines. The subsequent period of the Yayoi (300 B.C.–A.D. 300) produced wheel-thrown pots and large ritual bronze bells known as dotaku. The Kofun period produced simply modeled clay figures of animals, people, houses, and boats known as haniwa, which were placed around tomb mounds.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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