Riders Across the Sea? The “Horserider Thesis“ and the Origins of Japan

This short lecture discusses current historical and archaeological evidence available to explain the origins of the Japanese people, with special attention to the so-called “horserider thesis” advanced by Egami Namio. Sources used: Ebrey, Patricia & Anne Walthall. Pre-Modern East Asia to 1800: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd ed. Boston: Wadsworth-Cengage, 2014. Edwards, Walter. “Event and Process in the Founding of Japan: The Horserider Theory in Archeological Perspective.” Journal of Japanese Studies 9:2 (Summer 1983): 265-295. Farris, William Wayne. “Ancient Japan’s Korean Connection.” Korean Studies 20 (1996): 1-22. Kirkland, J. Russell. “The “Horseriders“ in Korea: A Critical Evaluation of a Historical Theory.” Korean Studies 5 (1981): 109-128. Ledyard, Gari. “Galloping along with the Horseriders: Looking for the Founders of Japan.” Journal of Japanese Studies 1:2 (Spring 1975): 217-254. *********************** The Ohio State University’s East Asian Studies Center (EASC) and Columbus Sta