National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

These artifacts were discovered in Shōwa 33 (1958) in the side of a ridge in a place commonly known as Nishiyama, which is located in the northeastern foothills of the Nara Basin. The set comprises a large sue stoneware pot that was placed over a cinerary urn containing a burial epitaph and cremated remains. The urn was buried in a small mound filled with a mixture of soil and pebbles. On the front and back of a narrow strip of beaten silver, a 36-character burial epitaph was engraved in deep cuts with a chisel. It reveals the interred remains are those of a Buddhist priest from Saidera Temple named Dōyaku (d. 714), who was the grandchild of Ōnara no Kimi Sotona (dates unknown). Dōyaku passed away on the 26th day of the 2nd month of Wadō 7 (March 16, 714 [Julian calendar]). Although nothing about Saidera Temple, Dōyaku, Ōnara, or Sotona is found in the historical record, some scholars think Saidera Temple (佐井寺) corresponds to ot her temples of the same name written with different Chinese characters, like Saidera Temple (佐比寺, 西寺) in Chōanji Town in the city of Yamato-Kōriyama, or perhaps a temple named Saidera (狭井寺) that was formerly near Sai Shrine t o the northwest of Ōmiya Shrine in Ōmiwa Town in the city of Sakurai. Ōnara no Kimi (大楢君) appears to be the name of a clan that emigrated to Japan from the Asian continent and lived between villages called Ichinomoto and Nara (楢), the latter of whi ch uses the same Chinese character as the one in the clan name Ōnara no Kimi. These villages are near where the artifacts were found and are presumably related to the area’s eponymous Nara Shrine (樽神社). The cinerary urn is a sue stoneware pot resembling a traditional medicine jar with handles on both sides. This particular shape is unique to the Nara period (710–794). The entire surface—inside and out—is painted in red pigment, with the interior retaining a particularly thick coating. The pot was fired at the Suemura kiln site in southern Osaka Prefecture.