Learning About Matsushima Bay

Matsushima’s History, Dating Back to the Jomon Period

Matsushima Bay’s History as Seen From Ancient Shell Mounds and Salt Production Sites

Oku-Matsushima 'Jomon Village' History Museum
Hiroki Sugawara, Director and Chief Curator

Center: Satohama Shell Mound, a National Historic Site

Jomon Period Shell Mounds and the Origins of Matsushima

Matsushima has been known as a scenic spot since ancient times, and is considered one of the 'Three Views of Japan' along with Miyajima (Hiroshima Prefecture) and Amanohashidate (Kyoto Prefecture). Matsushima’s beauty lies in its archipelago of more than 260 islands of various sizes, and its natural landscape of white rock faces and green pine forests reflected in the blue sea. Matsushima Bay’s topography, reminiscent of a miniature Japanese garden, was formed about 7,000 years ago. It dates back to the early Jomon period. After the Ice Age, the sea level rose due to global warming, and the bay has remained largely unchanged since then.

Although it is a small bay, measuring only 10 km from east to west and 8 km from north to south, the small size of the rivers flowing into the bay has dampened alluviation,* and the natural environment, including the coastline, seems to have remained largely unchanged. This can be seen from the distribution and scale of shell mounds along the coast of Matsushima Bay. With about 70 sites discovered along its coast, Matsushima Bay is known as an area with a high concentration of shell mounds from the Jomon period. Other areas with high concentrations of shell mounds include the coast of Tokyo Bay and Kasumigaura.

Some of the largest shell mounds in Japan, such as Satohama Shell Mound (Higashimatsushima), Nishinohama Shell Mound (Matsushima), and Daigigakoi Shell Mound (Shichigahama), are found where villages were established for a long period of time. Matsushima’s natural environment, which remained unchanged throughout the Jomon period, must have supported an abundant lifestyle for the Jomon people who left behind many shell mounds.

*This is the process by which running water carries and deposits sediment at the mouths and banks of rivers.

Salt Production in Matsushima Bay

Matsushima Bay is also known for its many historic sites related to salt production. Salt production was actively practiced from the late Jomon to the mid-Yayoi period, and from the late Nara to the early Heian period, especially in the first half of the 9th century.

In the Jomon period, the area boasted the largest salt production in Japan. Salt was transported across the Ou Mountains as far as villages in Yamagata. Salt was not only used locally for preservation and seasoning, but also as a product that was traded between the coastal and mountainous regions. Many stone tools made of shale from the Mogami River basin in Yamagata have been found in shell mounds along the coast of Matsushima Bay, where there were no stones to make such tools. Salt, along with large fish such as sea bass and sea bream, is thought to have been an important local product that was traded to obtain other necessities.

On the other hand, ancient salt manufacturing dates back to the period when the government of Mutsu Province was located in Tagajo. Salt manufacturing from this period has been confirmed at 140 sites in the bay. During this period, the Imperial Court promoted the policy of conquering the Emishi, and it is believed that salt production was ramped up to meet the increased demand for salt from soldiers dispatched to Mutsu and from horse breeding.

The results of pollen analysis of the soil deposited in the bay show that the vegetation around Matsushima Bay changed drastically from oak and beech forests to red pine forests after the period when salt production was most active. The trees that grew in the bay area were most likely cut down to produce firewood for salt production, and then red pine forests were suitable for the thin soil spread. The current-day scenery of pine forests that forms Matsushima’s landscape may be the result of the salt production project by the Mutsu Province government.

Ancient Salt Production Sites in Matsushima Bay

Key Points: ・In what kind of locations are many salt production sites and shell mounds found? Look at a map and try to find out what they have in common.; ・In the Jomon period, salt was made using a method called briquetage production. Try to find out what kind of method this was.

Oku-Matsushima 'Jomon Village' History Museum
Hiroki Sugawara, Director and Chief Curator

Message: It's strange to think that the people of the Jomon period, Lord Date Masamune and Matsuo Basho, could have seen this same scenery of the sea and Matsushima Bay’s islands spread out before them. Please come and learn about Matsushima Bay’s history and culture, which has been nurtured in this landscape since the Jomon period.