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<< Our Photo Pages >> Ōyu - Stone Circle in Japan in Honshū

Submitted by Aska on Friday, 30 September 2022  Page Views: 15914

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Ōyu Alternative Name: 大湯環状列石 Oyu
Country: Japan
NOTE: This site is 1.794 km away from the location you searched for.
Region: Honshū Type: Stone Circle
Nearest Town: Kazuno (Akita pref.)  Nearest Village: Towada-Ōyu 十和田
Latitude: 40.271427N  Longitude: 140.804236E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 3 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 4

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Andy B would like to visit

Enki visited on 1st Jul 2015 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4 An excellent visitor centre with good exhibits of Jomon artefacts and cultural displays sets the scene well for these two circles, although there is a distinct lack of English information. They did produce a small brochure with some bits in English when asked. Clearly a large community lived here, as there are several other structures on the site - several hut circles, aligned posts, other buildings, cist burials, stone rows and a causeway connecting the two main circles, which are located on either side of the road. Acces to the inside of the circles themselves is prohibited, but the Manza (NW) circle has a viewing platform next to the circle, and there are also thatched shelters constructed on hut foundations adjacent to the circle, which provide welcome relief from the hot sun in summer. The proximity of the huts to the circle suggest that this one played a large part in everyday community life; the Nonakado circle over the road seems less disturbed in that regard. The Nonakado site has some smaller stone remains nearby, including what might be small burial cairns and a stone row. The main axis of the two sites is aligned to midwinter sunrise and midsummer sunset; a suggestive alignment of three stones in the Nonakado circle may indicate equinox sunrise.

MAIGO have visited here

Ōyu
Ōyu submitted by Aska : The Nonakadō circle (east) (Vote or comment on this photo)
The best-known stone circle in Japan. Actually two circles including some sundial monuments, Manza circle (west, 48m in diameter) and Nonakadō circle(east, 42m in diameter), placed either side across a road. There is a good museum nearby.

Note: BBC Radio 3: Dr Susan Greaney, previously with English Heritage and now University of Exeter draws parallels between the Neolithic peoples of Britain and the ancient Jomon civilisation of Japan, both of whom used circles of stone in ritual celebrations. Follow the comments on our page to listen
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Alacahöyük
Alacahöyük submitted by davidmorgan : The Sphinx Gate. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Coba Höyük
Coba Höyük submitted by durhamnature : 1908 photo of the portico sculptures, from "Annals of Archaeology" via archive.org (Vote or comment on this photo)

Alacahöyük Hittite Dam
Alacahöyük Hittite Dam submitted by davidmorgan : The Hittite dam near Alacahöyük. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Alacahöyük
Alacahöyük submitted by davidmorgan : The Royal Tombs dating from the Early Bronze Age, about 2250 BCE. Rich grave goods were found and are now in the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations in Ankara. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Coba Höyük
Coba Höyük submitted by durhamnature : Sculptures on the portico, from "Annals of Archaeology" via archive.org Site in Turkey (Vote or comment on this photo)

Coba Höyük
Coba Höyük submitted by durhamnature : 1908 photo of the portico sculptures, from "Annals of Archaeology" via archive.org

Çatalhöyük
Çatalhöyük submitted by AlexHunger : Ankara Museum: Cerememonial Bull/Cow temple from the Neolithic settlement of Çatalhöyük, whıch is said to be the 'oldest city' on earth. The inhabitant had mastered agrıculture and cattle herdıng, the later to be found frequently ın the artwork. Many of the rooms had these skulls covered wıth plaster whıch probabbly had some sort of ceremomial purpose. The fıgure over the 3 skulls is...

Alacahöyük
Alacahöyük submitted by davidmorgan : View of the site with the Sphinx Gate on the right.

Alacahöyük
Alacahöyük submitted by davidmorgan : The Sphinx Gate. 1993.

Turkmen Karahoyuk
Turkmen Karahoyuk submitted by dodomad : A tip from a local Turkish farmer led archaeologists to this stone half-submerged in an irrigation canal. Inscriptions from the 8th century B.C. are still visible. Photo Credit: James Osborne Site in Turkey

Alacahöyük
Alacahöyük submitted by davidmorgan : Replica carvings at the entrance to Alacahöyük. Is that a Hittite motorcycle on the left?

Alacahöyük
Alacahöyük submitted by davidmorgan : The bodies were all placed in the same corner of their graves.

Kaman Kalehoyuk Archaeological Museum
Kaman Kalehoyuk Archaeological Museum submitted by davidmorgan : The entrance to the museum has two unfinished Hittite gate lions from a quarry at Savcılı.

Kaman Kalehoyuk Archaeological Museum
Kaman Kalehoyuk Archaeological Museum submitted by davidmorgan : The Hittite bull altar from Savcılı.

Cadir Hoyuk
Cadir Hoyuk submitted by davidmorgan : Excavations at Çadır Höyük.

Coba Höyük
Coba Höyük submitted by durhamnature : 1908 photo of the portico sculptures, from "Annals of Archaeology" via archive.org

Coba Höyük
Coba Höyük submitted by durhamnature

Coba Höyük
Coba Höyük submitted by durhamnature (1 comment)

Alacahöyük
Alacahöyük submitted by durhamnature : Old drawing from "History of Egypt, Chaldea, Syria, Babylonia And Assyria" by G. Maspero. Photo from archive.org

Bademagaci Hoyuk
Bademagaci Hoyuk submitted by SolarMegalith : Bademagaci Hoyuk produced evidence of settlement from the Neolithic and Bronze Age, being one of the most important prehistoric sites in this area (photo taken on July 2012).

Asikli Hoyuk
Asikli Hoyuk submitted by davidmorgan : A 10,000 year old settlement in a lovely position. Older even than Çatalhöyük.

Alacahöyük
Alacahöyük submitted by davidmorgan : The original Hattian grave goods are in the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations in Ankara.

Çatalhöyük
Çatalhöyük submitted by dodomad : Archaeological excavations in the Central Anatolian province of Konya’s Çatalhöyük, headed by Professor Ian Hadder, have unearthed a well-preserved female figurine from the Neolithic era of 8,000-8,500 B.C. Photo Credit: Çatalhöyük excavation team

Kinik Hoyuk
Kinik Hoyuk submitted by dodomad : The excavations at Kınık Höyük. More photos here Photo Credit: Kınık Höyük Archaeological Project

Alacahöyük
Alacahöyük submitted by davidmorgan : The entrance to Alacahöyük.

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 5.4km SSW 211° Takaya-date* Ancient Village or Settlement
 9.3km NNW 327° Kosaka* Stone Circle
 39.5km WSW 259° Isedōtai* Stone Circle
 41.6km SSE 159° Kamaishi* Stone Circle
 43.1km NNW 333° Seidō family Shoin building* Modern Stone Circle etc
 43.2km NNW 333° Seibi-en garden* Modern Stone Circle etc
 44.0km E 101° Goshono* Ancient Village or Settlement
 44.8km NNW 337° Myōkyō-ji temple* Modern Stone Circle etc
 47.0km NW 323° Hirosaki-jō castle San-no-Maru* Modern Stone Circle etc
 47.3km NW 323° Iwata family residence garden* Modern Stone Circle etc
 50.2km SW 223° Sakeishi (in Nekko)* Carving
 52.2km N 353° Komakino* Stone Circle
 53.5km NW 322° Zuiraku-en garden* Modern Stone Circle etc
 60.0km SSE 155° Yubunezawa* Stone Circle
 60.7km NW 322° Ōmori Katsuyama* Stone Circle
 60.7km N 351° Sannai Maruyama* Ancient Village or Settlement
 69.3km SSE 154° Mitsuishi Jinja shrine* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
 70.2km SSE 158° Shiwa-jō* Ancient Village or Settlement
 77.8km SSW 195° Kakunodate samurai residences* Modern Stone Circle etc
 78.6km NNW 330° Kamegaoka* Ancient Village or Settlement
 80.2km SSE 157° Tokutan-jō* Ancient Village or Settlement
 84.3km SSW 209° Tennichigū* Cairn
 85.2km SW 226° Akita-jō* Ancient Village or Settlement
 92.2km SSW 194° Hotta-no Saku* Ancient Village or Settlement
 97.7km S 182° Uchinosawa* Stone Circle
View more nearby sites and additional images

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"Ōyu" | Login/Create an Account | 2 News and Comments
  
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Susan Greaney and the Jomon Connection - BBC Radio 3 by Andy B on Monday, 20 April 2020
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Archaeologist Susan Greaney has spent much of her life studying the Neolithic monuments of the British isles, including Stonehenge. As part of her role at English Heritage she was invited recently to travel to Japan to see what was happening there at much the same time that the massive stones were being assembled on the high ground in Wiltshire. In this programme Susan reports from three sites in northern Japan were the ancient Jomon civilisations also turned to stones, gathered and shaped in circular formations, for what appear to have been ritual ceremonies. That, half a world away, two peoples should have sought to reflect and respond to nature in this way is astonishing and Susan's knowledge of the ancient past here inspires a new fascination for the sophistication of Japan's ancient history and the relative wealth of material, in the form of pottery and traces of domestic life, that are to be found in these old Jomon sites.

Susan Greaney draws parallels and makes connections between the Neolithic peoples of Britain and the ancient Jomon civilisation of Japan, both of whom used circles of stone in ritual celebrations.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000hgqx
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Susan Greaney and the Jomon Connection - BBC Radio 3 by Aska on Tuesday, 28 April 2020
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    It is very interesting that the significance of the convergent evolution of stone circles in Neolithic Britain and Jōmon Japan is pointed out by the British scholar. Several selected “Jōmon archaeological sites in Hokkaidō and northern Tōhoku”, including Ōyu and other stone circles, are now being prepared for the nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage, although the spanning area of them are vast like ‘neolithic sites in Scotland’, and most of them are not popular to Japanese common citizens except Sannai Maruyama residential site which barely appears in school textbooks of Japanese history.
    Here is the Official site in English.

    The most significant difference of the stone circles in both islands is the size of the constituent stones. The huge British circles should have constructed as the civil engineering projects ; designed by astronomers, elected by labourers and ordered by the rulers of the Neolithic stratified society. In the other hands, the elemental stones in Japanese circles are small, skull-size generally, which can be placed by individual labour, and not seem to imply any astronomical arrangements. A Japanese scholar (sorry, I forget his name) suspects that the Japanese circles are kinds of community space where those who could bring the stone there would become the member of Jōmon equitable commune. In the precincts of several Shinō shrines in Japan (even in Tōkyō) there placed skull-size stones called ‘chikara-ishi’ (力石, lit:power stone), they say that if you can lift them up then your dream would come true. This tradition might be the relic of the Jōmon DNA. Anyway, Komakino stone circle, near Aomori Airport, is an assembly of the unique aesthetic unit of vertical and horizontal arrangements of flat stones, it should have been constructed at once under the instruction by a brilliant designer.

    Not all the stone circles in Japan are equivalent to the British ones in their total size. There are also small circles which seem to be individual tombs, some site even called ‘stone circle’ are not circle but sundial-shape with a central pillar actually, and numerous irregular shape or amorphous stone settings have been excavated. And the stone circles in south-western Japan (Kyūshū and Shikoku islands) do not seem to belong to the Jōmon culture but to indicate the boundaries of the sacred area of the proto-Shintō religion emerged in later era. The Japanese stone circles (and stone settings) should be investigated deliberately.
    [ Reply to This ]

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