Archaeology and History of Toraijin

Archaeology and History of Toraijin: Human, technological, and cultural flow from the Korean Peninsula to the Japanese Archipelago c. 800 BC–AD 600 explores the fundamental role in the history of the Japanese archipelago played by Toraijin – immigrants mainly from the Korean Peninsula – during this formative period. The arrival of immigrant rice-agriculturalists from the peninsula in the early first millennium BC was the first of three major waves of technological transfer between the continent and the islands. The second brought bronze and iron-working to the archipelago around the 4th century BC, and the third brought elite crafts and administrative technology as well as Confucianism and Buddhism in the 5th and 6th centuries AD.

In light of the recently uncovered archaeological data and ancient historical records, this book presents a panoramic bird’s eye view of the fourteen centuries-long Toraijin story, from c. 800~600 BC to AD 600 or thereabouts by answering the following seven questions: Where did the Toraijin come from? What was their historical and socio-cultural background? Why did they leave their homeland? Where did they settle in the Archipelago? What did they do in the Archipelago? How did the Archipelago people treat the Toraijin? What contributions did the Toraijin make to the ancient Japanese society?