Shimoyakebe Ruins Hakkennomori
The ruins mainly date from the Jomon period to the Nara and Heian periods, and a total of 392 excavated items such as lacquerware and waterside wooden facilities have been designated as national important cultural assets.
Currently, part of the ruins has been buried and preserved, and it has been maintained as the Shimoyakebe Ruins Part “Shimoyakebe Ruins Hakkennomori” and selected as one of the 100 best historical parks in Japan.
The excavated items from the ruins are displayed separately at the Higashimurayama Furusato History Museum and its branch the Hachikokuyama Taiken no Sato, and are also loaned out to museums nationwide.
When it was discovered by chance during the reconstruction of metropolitan housing, the original housing program was changed in order to leave this valuable asset to future children, and it was decided that the most important spot of the ruins, about 3,000 square meters, would be “buried and preserved” underground in the state they had been found in.
A “Society to promote the Shimoyakebe Ruins Hakkennomori” was formed in order to develop the place as a “Growing Ruins Square,” and the current “Hakkennomori” came into existence in 2004 (Heisei 16).
Even now, every May, we hold fire-starter, acorn-crushing, and other experiences as a Jomon event "birthday party" to commemorate the opening of the park.
In addition, citizens and junior high school students carry out weeding and cleaning work every month, and activities to protect and promote the valuable ruins still continue.
