Location Ishikawa Archaeological Foundation

Yokaichijikata Site Artifact: Materials for Making Precious Stones

During the Yayoi Period, magatama comma-shaped beads and kudatama cylindrical beads were introduced as new sets of jewelry from the Korean Peninsula.
Since the middle Yayoi Period, magatama and kudatama had been actively produced within Ishikawa Prefecture (mainly in Kaga). Magatama were produced using jade obtained from around Itoigawa City, Niigata Prefecture, and kudatama were produced using green jasper and green tuff produced locally in places such as Takigahara-machi, Komatsu City.
To make kudatama, raw stones were roughly split, and then grooves were cut with a stone saw to split them more finely. The pieces were then ground and polished. A ground stone needle with a diameter of approximately 1 mm, made of andesite or agate, was also found as a tool for making holes in the kudatama. The stones used to make these jewels were obtained from Komatsu City, the Noto region, and as far away as Tokushima, Wakayama, and Nara Prefectures. In the late Yayoi period, the material of the tools changed to iron.
As the raw materials for making the precious stones were easily available within Ishikawa Prefecture, they were actively made in Kaga, becoming important trade goods that were transported to various parts of the Japanese archipelago.

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