Fugoppe Cave

{{Short description|Rock art site in Japan}} {{Infobox historic site |name = Fugoppe Cave |native_name = フゴッペ洞窟 |native_language = Japanese |alternate_name = |image = Fugoppe-2.jpg |alt = |caption = Reconstruction of the Fugoppe Cave wall, a winged figure |map_type = Japan Hokkaido#Japan |map_alt = Location in Japan |map_caption = Fugoppe Cave |map_relief = yes |coordinates = {{coord|43|11|41|N|140|50|17|E|display=inline}} |location = Yoichi, Hokkaidō, Japan |region = Hokkaidō |type = petroglyphs |part_of = |length = |width = |area = |height = |builder = |material = |built = c.100-400 AD |abandoned = |epochs = Zoku-Jōmon period |cultures = |dependency_of = |occupants = |event = |excavations = 1951-1952 |archaeologists = |condition = |ownership = |management = |public_access = Yes |website = |notes = {{box|background=white|align=center|wide=yes|border size=3px|border color=brown|text align=center|National Historic Site of Japan}} {{maplink2|type=point|frame=yes|plain=yes|zoom=14|frame-align=center|frame-width=200|coord={{coord|43|11|41|N|140|50|17|E}}}} }}

The {{nihongo|'''Fugoppe Cave'''|フゴッペ洞窟| Fugoppe dōkutsu}} is an archaeological site in the Sakae-chō neighborhood of the town of Yoichi, Hokkaidō, Japan, with Zoku-Jōmon period (approximately 1,500 to 2,000 years ago) petroglyphs. It is one of only two known to exist among the more than 700 cave sites in the Japanese archipelago, along with the Temiya Cave in nearby Otaru.<ref name="ogawa">{{cite book |last1=Ogawa |first1=Masaru |chapter=Rock Art in Japan |editor-last1=Clottes |editor-first1=Jean |editor-last2=Smith |editor-first2=Benjamin|title=Rock Art in East Asia |date=2019 |publisher=International Council on Monuments and Sites |location=Charenton-le-Pont, France |isbn=978-2-918086-27-7 |page=32 |url=https://openarchive.icomos.org/id/eprint/2086/2/Final-version_e-book_21052019-opt.pdf#page=36 |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref> The cave was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1951.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/200866|title=フゴッペ洞窟 |work=Cultural Heritage Online|publisher=Agency for Cultural Affairs (Japan)|language=Japanese|accessdate=11 March 2025}}</ref> "Fugoppe" is the name of the former village where the cave is located.

==Overview== The Fugoppe Cave is a rock shelter on the east side of a small sandstone hill known as Mt. Maruyama, 200 meters from the coast. The cave has an entrance approximately 4 meters wide, a height of 5 meters, and a depth of 5 meters. The site was discovered by local high school students in 1950, and formal archaeological excavations were conducted in 1951 and 1953. Its west, north, and south interior walls are covered with carvings, including what appear to be boats, fish, sea creatures, four-legged animals, and people disguised with horns and wings. Other images include dotted lines, which are believed to have a magical nature. Initially, only around 200 drawings were identified, but nearly 800 have since been confirmed. The cave contains a layer of rock containing artifacts approximately seven meters thick, from which thin-handled Zoku-Jōmon period pottery, stone tools, and bone and horn tools have been excavated.<ref name="Shiseki">{{cite book |last1=Isomura |first1=Yukio |last2=Sakai |first2=Hideya |title=(国指定史跡事典) National Historic Site Encyclopedia |date=2012 |publisher=学生社 |isbn=4311750404}}{{in lang|ja}}</ref> The site has been dated to between 100 and 400 A.D., based on these artifacts and geological data.<ref name="ogawa"/> The cave itself is made of soft hyaloclastite, which is why the figures could be carved by abrasion and then polished.<ref name="ogawa"/>

Since 1972, the petroglyphs have been preserved and exhibited in a capsule-style facility and are open to the public.<ref name="ogawa"/>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Fugoppe Cave}} *[https://www.town.yoichi.hokkaido.jp/machi/syoukai/fugoppe.html Yoichi Town home page] {{in lang|ja}} *[https://www.visit-hokkaido.jp/spot/detail_10346.html Visit Hokkaido touist information site] {{in lang|ja}} *[https://www.shiribeshi.pref.hokkaido.lg.jp/ss/srk/kankou/kankou/168507.html Shiribeshi sub-prefeture official site]{{in lang|ja}}

Category:Jōmon period Category:Yoichi, Hokkaido Category:History of Hokkaido Category:Historic Sites of Japan Category:Rock art in Asia Category:Caves of Japan Category:Rock shelters in Japan