Yayoi period, Japan · c. 300 BC - 250 AD

Yayoi Japan: rice, bronze and Queen Himiko

Rice farming, bronze and iron crossed the sea from the Korean peninsula and changed Japan. Moated villages grew into small kingdoms, and Chinese records tell of a queen named Himiko. Students combine archaeology and Chinese sources to explore early Japan.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, 400 BC to AD 239
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Rice farming, bronze and iron crossed the sea from the Korean peninsula and changed Japan. Moated villages grew into small kingdoms, and Chinese records tell of a queen named Himiko. Students combine archaeology and Chinese sources to explore early Japan.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate the spread of Yayoi rice farming in Japan on the map.
  • Describe how rice farming, bronze and iron changed life in Yayoi Japan.
  • Use Chinese written sources and archaeology to learn about Queen Himiko, and discuss their limits.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

400 BC

Jomon and Yayoi

Open the map in 400 BC. Find the Yayoi area and the Late Jomon culture in Japan. Which of the two lies closer to the Korean peninsula?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 100

Rice moves east

Jump to AD 100. How far has the Yayoi area spread? Which island in the far north is still home to hunter-gatherers?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 239

Ask about Himiko

Type "Who was Queen Himiko?" in Ask the atlas. Where do historians think her land of Yamatai lay, and why do they disagree?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Rice farming needs flooded fields, canals and teamwork. How might it change a society of hunters and gatherers?
  2. Many Yayoi villages were surrounded by ditches and watchtowers. What does that tell us about life at the time?
  3. Our only written sources about Himiko are Chinese. What might a Chinese writer get wrong about Japan?
  4. Himiko was chosen to end years of war. Why might people choose a religious leader in a crisis?
  5. Historians still argue whether Yamatai lay in Kyushu or near Nara. Why might this matter to people in Japan today?
4

Game round

9 min

Rule History has no early Japanese ruler. Play Cleopatra VII and compare her with Queen Himiko, who ruled about 270 years later. After the round, discuss: how did each woman use religion and powerful foreign friends to stay in power?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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