Pottery and clay figures are on display at the Isedōtai Jomon Museum. Let’s start with the "flat clay-figures" to get our imagination going.

Nearly 200 clay figures have been unearthed, but only this one, the "flat clay-figure,” was able to be completely restored. What does this figure represent?

One might look at it and see a woman with breasts and believe the clay figure represents birth and fertility. By using this figure for religious rituals, one might pray for the safe birth of a newborn or even the recovery of an illness or injury.

Someone else might look at the same figure and see a man with broad shoulders, or even a non-human spiritual being. Without insight from the Jomon people, there’s no right answer. So what do you see?

To add to the mystery of the clay figures is the fact that the fragmented pieces found underground were intentionally broken before they were buried. What kind of situation would give way to breaking clay figures and burying the broken pieces? Let’s think about that as we walk through the site.