The Different Consuming Strategies between Political Center and Port City: A Case Study of the Distribution of Yue Celadon Types in Eighth- to Eleventh-Century Japan

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Archaeology of Trade and Exchange" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In ancient Japan, the trade of Chinese ceramics started in the eighth century. The most popular ceramics among Japanese consumers was Yue celadon. Since Yue celadon is found with a small number and limited spatial distribution of fine and coarse wares, this type of ceramics is usually considered by researchers as a luxury good that only reflected the political structures. Although the ancient Japanese government had priority to access trade ceramics, it could not monopolize the market. A free market for Yue celadon still existed. Thus, besides the influence of the political realm, it is also important to analyze the consumer preferences and how they reflect cultural and social structure. In this paper, I argue that we can understand the ancient Japanese consumption of celadon ceramics more thoroughly by analyzing their function and art style, which previous scholarship fails to consider. This paper then uses a typology based on ceramics shapes linked with function and art style to illuminate both consumer preferences and various consumption strategies of the political center (Heian-kyō) and a port city (Dazaifu) in ancient Japan. It also explains the effectiveness of this research method in revealing the consumption patterns of ancient Japan.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Archaeology of Trade and Exchange   •
• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 30944