Mirrors in tombs at Nara] (fwd)

[sllee <sllee@asiawind.com>]

Hakka Friends,

The following archaeological discovery in Japan of mirrors made in the
Three Kingdoms era may be interesting and related to the dicussion on the
relationship of Hakka Chinese and Japan.

SL Lee
******************************************************************************

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 14:23:54 +0900
From: Mark Hudson <mjhudson@cc.okayama-u.ac.jp>
To: sllee@asiawind.com
Subject: Mirrors in tombs at Nara]

Dear Dr. Lee,  The following comments from the East Asian Arch list may be
of interest:

This news may interest some of the eaan subscribers.
Japanese archaeologists are very excited by the discovery of
33 bronze mirrors from Kurotsuka Kofun which is situated in
Tenri-city, Nara prefecture. 32 of the morrors are "sankakuen-
shinju-kyo, whose rim froms a triangle in cross-section and
decorated with deities and animals. This type of mirrors are
considered to be ones Queen Himiko received from the Wei
Emperor in AD239. All the sankakuen-shinju-kyo are put around
outside the coffin and only one mirror which belongs to another
type is situated inside the coffin. The Kurotsuka kofun has a
keyhole-shaped mound which is 130m in length. It is almost a
miracle that such a big tumulus has not been disturbed yet.
The excavation is conducted by Kashihara Archaeological Institute.
This discovery, which has just been reported on January 10th, surely
stimulated the "Yamataikoku" debate again not only in academics but
also among many Japanese archaeology and/or ancient history fans.


Naoko Matsumoto
Dept. of Archaeology
Kyushu University
Japan

>Dear Naoko Matsumoto,

>Thanks for your description of the exciting discovery of early bronze
>mirrors.  For those of us who are not specialists in Japanese archaeology,
>would you please take a few minutes to discuss the meanings and implications
>of the  "'Yamataikoku' debate"?  I, for one, would appreciate it.  A few
>sentences would help put the discovery into perspective..  Thank you.

>Regards,

>Jim Martin
>Richmond, VA
>804 740 0170
>hatch@richmond.infi.net


In response to Jim Martin's query, let me say -- as one who is very 
interested in this issue -- that putting it into a few sentences is a bit 
difficult, as the debate is complex and has a long history.  I recently 
examined its postwar archaeological development in the following:

   Walter Edwards, "In Pursuit of Himiko:  Postwar Archaeology and the
        Location of Yamatai," MONUMENTA NIPPONICA 51(1): 53-79, 1996.

For a quick perspective on what is at stake, let me introduce the first
paragraph of the above, and then comment briefly on the significance of 
mirrors.

       "A stubborn yet engaging problem in the history of ancient 
  Japan is provided by an early Chinese text, the WEI CHIH or the 
  History of the Kingdom of Wei, compiled in the latter part of the 
  third century AD and chronicling the period from the founding of 
  the Wei kingdom in 220 AD until its end in 265.  Considered one 
  of the most reliable of the Chinese dynastic histories, the WEI CHIH
  includes, among descriptions of various peoples living to the east 
  of the kingdom, a passage known in Japanese as the Wajinden or the 
  account of the people of 'Wa' -- the name for Japan used by the 
  Chinese until the T'ang dynasty.  The text of the Wajinden is short, 
  consisting of just under 2,000 Chinese characters, but its 
  descriptions are vivid enough to offer a convincing portrait of its 
  subject matter, the Japanese islands and their inhabitants, as they 
  were probably observed by Wei envoys in the middle of the century.  
  The Wajinden portrays third-century Japan as comprising more than 
  thirty countries, headed by one called 'Yamatai' and ruled by a 
  Queen Himiko; the image is that of a complex society with distinct 
  differences between persons of high and low status, and central 
  regulation over the distribution of goods.  Although portions of 
  the text are believed to be drawn directly from the reports of 
  envoys who journeyed to Japan, the directions given for reaching 
  Yamatai cannot be read literally.  Accordingly, the question of 
  Yamatai's location remains a mystery."  

The WEI CHIH's most accurate portions are records of the diplomatic
exchanges held with Yamatai, beginning with the visit by envoys from 
Himiko in 238 AD.  They were sent back the following year with many
gifts for the Queen, including "100 bronze mirrors."  

Given the ambiguity of the text regarding the precise location of 
Yamatai within Japan, many Japanese scholars have attempted to approach
the issue arcaheologically.  The two strongest candidates are the 
regions of northern Kyushu, where the largest concentration of Late Han
period mirrors has been unearthed, and the region centering on Nara, 
home of the ancient Japanese state of Yamato, which emerged by the 4th
century AD.  A type of mirror, called "sankakubuchi (also read 
'sankakuen') shinju_kyo_," which in a few examples bears Wei dates 
of 238 and 239, has been found distributed widely over Japan, with the
greatest concentration in Nara and the surrounding region.  It seems
beyond doubt that the distribution itself is related to the network of
political alliances that supported the early Yamato state, and it
is argued that distribution of mirrors by the central polity was a
key element in alliance building.  

Of the 33 mirrors recently discovered at the Kurozuka mound here in 
Tenri, at the heart of Yamato in Nara, 32 are of the sankakubuchi type, 
thus lending strength to the arguments of those who support Yamato as 
Yamatai, and see continuity between the foreign diplomatic exchanges
of the mid third century and the process of alliance formation within
Japan which led to widespread unification by the early fourth.  There 
is considerable controversy, however, on the status of the sankakubuchi 
mirrors themselves, as to whether or not they were actually of Chinese 
manufacture.  

For further discussion, please see the above article.  I also plan to
report on the recent discovery in an academic journal in the future.


Walter Edwards
Professor and Chair
Department of Japanese Studies
Tenri University
Tenri, Nara 632 Japan

e-mail:  ggb03107@niftyserve.or.jp