"Japan's ancient circle where Jomon ancestors observed the heavens 3,500 years ago"
Oshoro stone circle, Otaru
Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan
On Hokkaido's coast near Otaru, the Oshoro Stone Circle stands as testimony to the spiritual lives of the Jomon people 3,500 years ago. This oval arrangement of thousands of clustered stones, aligned to cardinal points, served as cemetery, ceremonial center, and cosmic observatory. Over 400,000 artifacts recovered here speak to centuries of ritual activity at a place where heaven and earth intersected.
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Quick Facts
Location
Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan
Coordinates
43.1996, 140.8749
Last Updated
Jan 14, 2026
Learn More
Constructed circa 1500 BCE during the Late Jomon period, the circle served as cemetery, ceremonial ground, and astronomical observatory.
Origin Story
The Jomon people constructed stone circles across northern Japan as sacred spaces connecting the living world with the realm of ancestors. These were places of burial, ceremony, and cosmic observation, built over many generations as expressions of an animistic worldview in which all things possessed spirit. The Oshoro Stone Circle represents this tradition at its fullest development.
Key Figures
Neil Gordon Munro
Archaeologist
Spiritual Lineage
The Jomon people inhabited Japan for over 14,000 years before rice cultivation arrived from the continent. Their animistic spirituality, believing that all things contained spirits, influenced later Japanese religious development. The Ainu people, whose ancestral connection to the Jomon is genetically confirmed, preserved aspects of this worldview into historical times.
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