The earliest origins of the people of a country are often difficult to determine. Not only is there a lack of easily obtainable evidence but what evidence there is can be strongly contested for cultural and political grounds.

This is true of Japan as much as it is for any other country. For decades there has been conflict between Japan and Korea on just this point. The conflict was intensified by the period of Japanese colonization of Korea (1910-45), which is remembered by Koreans as being a period of extreme harshness and cruel treatment. One result has been the desire of the Koreans to prove that their civilization preceded the Japanese and is, therefore, better.

It is typical of the East Asian mentality to follow the Confucian principle that the older is better than the younger and that the latter should always pay respect to the former. This conflict has raged across the whole of history and archaeology. Every new school history textbook published in either country, for example, runs the risk of sparking a new political argument.

Despite all of this, the earliest Japanese peoples did indeed come from Korea and other countries, notably China. The indigenous Ainu people, famously known as the “Hairy Ainu,” are a form of early Caucasian people who spread across Asia from the west uncounted centuries ago. They were joined by a range of different peoples hailing from, as far as can be determined, a wide range of starting points.

Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest rice-growing people were from somewhere in Southern China and they transferred their technology overseas to the Japanese archipelago. There they joined with the other people in forming a composite culture. The lack of evidence for certain stages of cultural development demonstrates that people arrived with certain technologies already formed.

The many types of spirit-gods worshiped as part of the religion known as Shinto also suggests that more than one set of people were represented. After all, some people pay their respects to mountains and rivers, others to abstract concepts and others still to the sun goddess Amaterasu, among many others. A variety of different myths and legends relating to the birth of the Japanese people also hints at diversity.

Of course, these issues are contested not just by Koreans and Japanese but by many historians and archaeologists too. Whatever the truth is, the early Jomon culture, which emerged as a very advanced example of its type, demonstrated the ability of the combined early Japanese people to create a unique culture of their own.