What Do Stonehenge and Japanese Stone Circles Have in Common? [View all]

A new exhibition explores the surprising parallels between British and Japanese traditions

Molly Enking
Daily Correspondent

September 30, 2022



A close-up of Stonehenge in Salisbury, England Atlantide Phototravel via Getty Images

Thousands of years ago—and thousands of miles apart—the people of what are now Britain and Japan both created elaborate stone circles set up to interact with the solstices and to house remains of the dead.

A new exhibition at Stonehenge highlights compelling parallels between English and Japanese cultures during the Neolithic and Jōmon eras. Though they never interacted with each other, the two cultures seemed to have shared a lot in common—from stone circles to elaborate pottery to rituals connected to the sun.

“Circles of Stone: Stonehenge and Prehistoric Japan,” which opens today, explores those similarities through some 80 items from the Japanese Jōmon period, many of which have never before been on view outside Japan.

“To understand the significance of Stonehenge, we have to understand what is happening elsewhere in the world in prehistory,” Susan Greaney, a historian with English Heritage and a curator for the exhibition, tells the Guardian’s Steven Morris. “Although there was obviously no contact between Japan and Britain at this time, there are surprising parallels.”

More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/parallels-between-stonehenge-and-japanese-jomon-era-stone-circles-180980869/