Rebun Archaeological Field School

17/08/2026

17th Aug.
Scenes from the excavation at the Hamanaka 2 site, Rebun Island.

17/08/2026

The third week has started.
The experienced members and newcomers are enjoying themselves.

16/08/2026

Aug.8
The first day off of this season.
I had a 12km hike at the north eastern part of the island.
In addition to the beautiful views, you can observe rich geographical and geological features of the island.
The basalt and sedimentary rocks formations creates the nice gradations of colors.

15/08/2026

Aug.7
Dog remains were found from Towada component. Dog domestication is one of the interesting tradition had been continued since Epi-Jomon complex on this island.

10/08/2026

I層は江戸期のアイヌ文化層です。今年はこれまでに、マキリ、ラスパ（中柄）、根付と思われる牙製品が出土しています。
Iron knives and bone tools have already been excavated from the Ainu cultural layer of the Edo period (17-18th CE).

09/08/2026

Aug.5
The second day of excavation day.
Students learned the basic information of site stratigraphy, recording systems, and digging methods.

Mr. Koji Yuki and Mr. Riku Yuki joined the team and conducted Kamuinomi ritual for kamuy and us.
We learned a lot from the ritual with Ainu Indigenous knowledge and perspectives at the site.

09/08/2026

Quiz Rally at the Rebun town museum.

07/08/2026

07/08/2026

On Aug. 2, We departed from Sapporo to Rebun and had a 5 hours of bus ride and 2 hours of ferry voyage!
The island is very remote but has many precious peoples, nature, and histories.

07/08/2026

Our field school started on Aug. 1 at the Hokkaido U, Sapporo Campus.
We had an orientation and a lecture for students from different parts of the world!