- published: 20 Dec 2014
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Gunma Prefecture (群馬県, Gunma-ken?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the northwest corner of the Kantō region on Honshu island. Its capital is Maebashi.
The remains of a Paleolithic man[citation needed] were found at Iwajuku, Gunma Prefecture, in the early 20th century and there is a public museum there.
Japan was without horses until around the fifth century CE. The ancient province of Gunma was a center of the horsebreeding and trading activities for the newly immigrated continental peoples. The arrival of horses and the remains of horse-tackle coincides with the arrival of a large migration from the mainland. From this point forward, the horse became a vital part of Japanese military maneuvers, quickly displacing the older Yayoi tradition of fighting on foot.
When Mount Haruna erupted in the late 6th century, Japan was still in the pre-historical phase (prior to the importation of the Chinese writing system during the Nara period). The Gunma Prefectural archaeology unit in 1994 was able to date the eruption through zoological anthropology at the corral sites that were buried in ash.