2011 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

A Study of Gender Structure in the Kofun Period as Reflected in the Human-shaped Haniwa Figurines

Research Project

Project/Area Number	21720287
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Archaeology
Research Institution	Okayama University
Principal Investigator	MITSUMOTO Jun 岡山大学, 埋蔵文化財調査研究センター, 助教 (30325071)
Project Period (FY)	2009 – 2011
Keywords	考古学 / 古墳時代 / 埴輪 / ジェンダー / クィア / 身体表現
Research Abstract	This research clarifies the gender structure of the Kofun period through an analysis of the human-shaped haniwa figurines of the fifth to sixth centuries A. D. Haniwa is a general term that refers to ceramic funerary sculptures on mounted tombs(kofun) of the Kofun period. This research(1) gathers data on the human-shaped haniwa figurines of eastern and western Japan ;(2) makes detailed observations of their bodily representations ;(3) presents studies of the gendered process by analyzing the bodily attributes of the haniwa figurines excavated from each tumulus ; and(4) studies the gender structure of the Kofun period through a comparative analysis of these case studies. As a result, this research brings to light a feature of the gendered process in the Kofun period : The competitive gendered processes of heteronormativity and anti-heteronormativity generated the bodily representations of the human-shaped haniwa figurines. Additionally, this research advances the theory and practice of a queer archaeological approach in Japanese archaeology.