Important Cultural PropertyMirror with design of gods and divine beasts surrounded by pictures

Save Image

image 全画面表示
  • Bronze
  • D 12.9
  • Kofun period/4th century
  • Nara National Museum
  • 727(考212)

 The Tenjinyama Tumulus is part of the Yanagimoto Tumuli located to the east of the Yamato Basin and is a 113-meter-long massive keyhole-shaped burial mound located to the west of the imperial mausoleum of Emperor Sujin. These bronze mirrors were found inside and outside of a wooden box in a pit-style stone chamber located at the center of the circle part. The box contained 41 kg of cinnabar surrounded by 20 mirrors placed with the mirror side facing upward and 3 mirrors were also placed outside the wooden box. Other items including an iron knife, an iron sword, iron arrowhead, a small knife and a hook were also found inside and outside of the box. The mirrors were placed clockwise along the wooden box from the north and 20 mirrors completed the circle. Outside of the box, 2 mirrors were placed in the north and one mirror was placed in the south. The details of the mirror types were as follows:
mirror with square patterns and design of rulers and compasses (hokaku kiku mirror): 6
mirror with design of inward-facing petals (naiko kamon mirror): 4
mirror with design of gods and divine beasts surrounded by pictures (gamontai shinju mirror): 4
mirror with design of beasts (jukei mirror): 4
mirror with design of pictures of ancient China (gazo mirror): 2
triangular-rimmed mirror with design of various gods and divine beasts (sankakubuchi henkei shinju mirror): 2
mirrors with design of humans, birds and beasts (jinbutsu chojumon mirror): 1
 The age of the Tenjinyama Tumulus is thought to date from the late fourth century. However, these mirrors found in the tumulus are an unusual combination of mirrors, which does not include any of the sankakubuchi shinju mirrors commonly found in tumulus of the early fourth century, but mainly includes houkaku kiku mirrors and naiko kamon mirrors from the Eastern Han Dynasty. Given that no buried human bodies were found in this tumulus, it may be a side burial mound (baicho) where only relics from the imperial mausoleum of Emperor Sujin were buried.

Pieces

Loading