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The ezo-ana kofun were created starting about the seventh century and lasted till the ninth century.  These kofun differed considerably from the zen-po-koen-fun in being much smaller (a few meters as opposed to a hundred meters or more) and much later in time.  In fact, most archaeologists concur that the ezo-ana kofun were created by the Ezo ancestors, the Emishi.  Even the traditional name betrays the origin. 

 

The earlier zen-po-koen-fun or "keyhole" kofun in the Tohoku are thought to have been created by ancient Japanese settlers thought to be from the Kanto, and were modeled after the ones in the Kinai region and date from as early as the fourth through sixth centuries AD.  The later ezo-ana kofun contrasted from the earlier ones in that they were produced in areas inhabited by the Emishi tribes, and were undoubtedly from the same time period when they lived in these areas.  These tombs are invaluable storehouses of information into the culture of the Emishi as they did not leave any written accounts we know of.  This is because they never achieved the specialization in their society that would call for a literary class.  They were very close to developing a class society like their ancient Japanese neighbors, but did not.  It is apparent from these tombs that they had a level of development similar to the Mandans of North America.  They made use of agriculture, but were also hunter-gatherers as well.  They had a warrior group that unlike the North American Mandans were a separate group from the farmers.  Among the Mandans, agriculture as well as gathering of nuts and berries was typically carried out by the women. Hunting was carried out by the men displaying a clear separation of labor between the sexes. 

 

The Emishi on the other hand had a separation by occupation, so they were a bit more specialized than the Mandans.  They had two classes: the farmers and the warriors, so the comparison perhaps is closer to the Merovingian Franks of Europe.   We know this because there are two types of tombs.  Those which have been found with agricultural implements and those found with military equipment.  The former tombs outnumber the latter tombs, so it seems that there were more farmers than warriors in this society.  The warrior's tombs were very small in comparison to the kofun of the ancient Japanese, indicating that this society did not produce extremes of wealth and status.  There seems to be no centralized King for example.  From these findings we know that they had developed warrior bands that were composed of more or less equal individuals much like the warrior bands that formed among the plains tribes of North America.  We can surmise with a degree of certainty that like the plains Indians the leadership was vested in either charismatic individuals or "first among equals," probably chosen due to experience and ability much like the chiefs of the Native American tribes.

 

Not all members of Emishi society built tombs.  The agricultural tombs were probably created by village chiefs while those of the military were chiefs of warrior bands.  This is markedly different from the ancient Japanese kofun which was made by a military "King", a very powerful regional ruler who stood at the apex of a hierarchical social structure. These tombs were never created for farmers.  In Emishi society by contrast "farmer chiefs" were recognized.

 

We know from these tombs that they had use of manufactured iron implements that are just as sophisticated as any produced among the ancient Japanese.  These were either produced by the Emishi, or were modified versions created from iron implements and swords that came via trade from the Japanese.  A few metal working sites have been discovered in the Tohoku.  In fact, these fine iron swords the warabite-to differed from anything manufactured in Japan or the continent.  These swords were single bladed and used for slashing from above, an ideal weapon for a horse mounted soldier.  These made there way south to the Japanese who then were influenced by its design to eventually produce the samurai sword.  Some sources have claimed that swordsmiths of Emishi descent were employed in later feudal Japan, but this is speculation that cannot be verified.  What is known is that the design was incorporated by the Japanese in the creation of the later samurai sword.

 

There were also other types of ancient Japanese swords that were prized and preserved by these chiefs which is a good marker for the trade that took place between Japanese controlled areas and the Emishi.  There were round pommeled swords, square pommeled swords and "three ring" pommeled swords.  These have been found along with what is thought to be the indigenous warabite-to.    

 

Also, from these tombs horse equipment has been recovered as well as tanko and a few keiko style iron armor.  Whole suits of armor were buried in the tombs with the dead in order to provide them with equipment in the afterlife.  From this we know the style of armor used by the Emishi.  Interestingly, they used armor that most Japanese had used during their kofun period.  Why this is so is not understood, but perhaps this is the only model that they had, and the style was easier to produce in quantity as opposed to the more flexible lamellar armor used by the Japanese after the Nara period (the eighth century) called keiko.  Tanko very much resembles the armor of Roman legions made by hammering together plates of iron, but instead of holding the flexible sections by rivets these were held together by leather or silk bands.  The inflexible sections were riveted together.  Whether these were actually produced by the Emishi is doubtful.  It is thought that they were most likely items of trade or items given in recognition to particular chiefs by the Yamato.

 

Horse equipment, some of very fine manufacture, and some of rudimentary manufacture have been found in these tombs.  Harnesses of metal, and leather goods like belts have also been recovered and thought to have been made locally.  It is not clear whether the horse equipment are trade items or made by the Emishi.  But it does confirm without a doubt that these chiefs were horse riding warriors, and that horses were highly valued.

 

From the farmer's tombs, agricultural implements have been found that show that this was a society that based itself on the growing of a number of crops, from rice to millet, barley and broom corn.  They were not solely dependent on rice cultivation like the ancient Japanese.  In fact, their diet was in many ways better than the majority of ancient Japanese because it was much more varied with a higher protein content.  Studies have been done on Jomon and Yayoi teeth, and the latter had much more frequent incidences of carries, some very severe, due to the reliance on a glutinous rice based diet.  For most farmers living under the Japanese state their diet consisted of rice with very little protein.  The Emishi diet was filled with protein and other dry grains such as barley and millet.

 

From these tombs it is also known that Emishi society was not just confined to the Tohoku but had penetrated Hokkaido as well.  there have been a number of sites in Hokkaido that date from the same time period, the eighth to ninth centuries that show the same kind of grave goods.  Not only does this show that the cultural area of the Emishi encompassed both north and south of the Tsugaru strait, but also that trade and the movement of people was unhindered between Honshu and Hokkaido at this time.  This is another piece of evidence that shows that a close relationship between the Emishi on the one hand and the later Ainu on the other existed.  They were not the same since the later Ainu were confined to Hokkaido, but there is a definite ancestral relationship with the Emishi.   It also shows that Hokkaido was not historically isolated from Honshu, particularly the Tohoku, but was at one time connected.     

 

     

Kenjiro 2008.1.16