Komakino Stone Circle

The outer and inner rings were constructed by first placing oval-shaped stones vertically and stacking flat stones in between them to form a fence-like structure. This method of arrangement is very rare, not just for Aomori, but for the whole of Japan and has been called the ‘Komakino-style’ of stone arrangement.

The stone circle of the Komakino Site, with a diameter of 55 meters, is a large monument whose construction required an enormous concentration of labor. The stone circle has three complete rings: the outer ring has a diameter of 35 meters; the inner ring has a diameter of 29 meters in diameter; and the center ring has a diameter of 2.5 meters. Portions of a fourth ring as well as an additional stone circle with a diameter of about 4 meters that surrounds the outer ring have also been discovered.

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The land on which the stone circle would come to be constructed was originally on a slight gradient. The Jomon people first leveled off the higher end of the slope (1) and used the soil to fill the lower end (2). Afterwards, they carried stones from the river and arranged them to form the stone circle (3).

The stones formed a three-dimensional structure due to the stone circle being built on land of differing elevations resulting from the partial leveling off and filling work. Construction of the stone circle took place over a long period of time.