Introduction of Agriculture Didn't Immediately Alter Japanese Diets

Archaeology Magazine ^ | July 24, 2025 | editors / unattributed

[SunkenCiv]

During the Neolithic Revolution, the development of agriculture led to an epic shift in the way human societies lived. As agricultural technology spread out from the Near East, traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyles diminished in favor of more sedentary farming communities. This transition was usually accompanied by a dramatic shift in diet. However, according to a statement released by the University of York, this was not necessarily the case in Japan. Agriculture, rice, and millet were introduced to the Japanese islands from the Korean Peninsula around 3,000 years ago. Research conducted by archaeologists from the University of York, the University of Cambridge, and Japan's Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties recently examined plant residues on Final Jomon and Yayoi-period pottery from sites in northern Kyushu. The surprising results indicated that local culinary traditions changed very little after the crops were introduced to the island, as fish and seafood remained the primary foods. While Japanese communities would eventually adopt rice as a major dietary staple, millet, which would become a prominent part of Korean cuisine, never took off in Japan. According to University of York archaeologist Oliver Craig, this suggests that food traditions were more deeply embedded than previously thought, and were even able to persist through major technological changes. To read about the introduction of staple grains in ancient China, go to "You Are How You Cook."

[SunkenCiv]

Yayoi pots

Fukuoka City Education Board

[SunkenCiv]

[Larry Lucido]

I figure that the introduction to McDonald’s had the biggest impact on the Japanese diet, but that’s just my own speculation.

[SunkenCiv]

By contrast, the Neolithic introduction of agriculture had an impact on Chinese diets. [pause] And at half hour intervals ever since.

[Mogger]

Economics is why rice didn't take off immediately as a staple food in Japan.

This is explained in an interesting book on futures and options trading.

The Japanese invented it to level out the price of rice throughout a year.

At harvest time, there was so much rice available to buy, the price dropped through the floor and the farmers couldn't make any money at it.

In the winter, there was very little rice left to buy, and prices were so high, people couldn't afford it.

Enter commodities futures trading.

Speculators would pay farmers to deliver rice at a later time in the year.

This would be more than the going price at harvest, less than in winter.

The speculators would take delivery later and sell the rice at a higher price than what they paid for the future delivery.

Farmers could now survive and so could consumers.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks, that makes sense.

The Roman Empire used a different grain, but came up with a different method.

https://search.brave.com/search?q=roman+empire+grain+prices

Lex Sempronia Frumentaria
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lex_Sempronia#Lex_Sempronia_frumentaria_(123_BC)

Cura Annonae
https://taxproject.org/cura-annonae/

Before that, in Egypt, the Pharaonic system probably arose as a consequence of seasonal need to collect and store enormous amounts of grain at harvest for distribution during off-seasons.