-Hakata: The City of International Trade-
Hakata is a city created on the shore of Hakata Bay, over the sandhill. After the Korokan, the former center of Japan’s international trade, the city took over the role and served as a core of international trade mainly with the Chinese continent and Southeast Asian countries.
In the Edo Period, Hakata City prospered as a merchant city. Many conceived that reminiscent of those Hakata’s early period were completely lost due to the urban development project conducted during and after the Meiji period.
However, the excavation research conducted prior to the city subway line construction in 1977, revealed otherwise. To elevate Hakata’s ground level, huge amount of the soil had been used from time to time in the past. The ground elevation was up to 4 meters at certain point. The soil, used in abundance to elevate the ground level preserved articles from even the ancient time, Yayoi period to be precise, in outstanding conditions.
More than 200 cases of excavation researches were conducted in Hakata area by November 2017 resulting in numerous valuable findings.
Well selected 2138 articles found from excavation researches were designated as international cultural properties. Detailed explanation of the designation is as follows;
“These objects have certain academic values showing how Japanese international trade in the ancient to medieval period had been developed and revealed the way how merchandise and production techniques were exchanged internationally. They are also valuable historical evidences which illustrate the typical lifestyle of people who resided in the harbor merchant city.“
Some of the designated artifacts were recently displayed at the National Museum of Tokyo. In this exhibition, we will be proudly displaying roughly 100 items which were formerly displayed at the National Museum, together with the detailed item descriptions.
Posted by Takamura
