Monograph No. 28
MEMOIRS OF THE NARA NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF CULTURAL PROPERTIES NUMBER Ⅲ
CONTENTS
AGRICULTURAL TOOLS OF THE TUMULUS PERIOD
‐ With Special Attention Given the “Eggplant-Shaped Plowshare with Attachable Handle” ‐
Kurosaki Tadashi 1
PATTERNS OF MUTUAL RESEMBLANCE AMONG 7TLI CENTURY BURIAL CHAMBERS
Inokuma Kanekatsu 37
BURIAL OF ARTICLES FOR THE RITUAL PURIFICATION OF BUILDINGS IN THE NARA PERIOD
Mori Ikuo 59
PATTERNS OF MUTUAL RESEMBLANCE AMONG RINGPOMMELED SWORDS
Machida Akira 75
A STUDY ON AKINAKES
Yamamoto Tadanao 111
INDEX TO PLATES
I. Agricultural tools excavated from areas 6AAW and 6AFI of Heijo Palace site
II. Agricultural tools excavated from sites at Yotsuike (Osaka prefecture), Iba (Shizuoka prefecture), and Sugo (Chiba prefecture)
III. 1) Takamatsuzuka Kofun
2) Oni-no-kawaya/Oni-no-manaita Kofun (artist's reconstruction of the original appearance)
IV. 1) Appearance of raised earth platform at base of Kawaradera pagoda
2) Appearance of raised foundation platform of pagoda at Gangoji, before excavation
V. Iron sword excavated from Kokushi site
VI. Ring-pommeled sword excavated from Miyayama Kofun
VII. Ring-pommeled sword excavated from Misakiyama Kofun
VIII. Examples of akinakes : Types(1), (2), and (3).
IX. Examples of akinakes : Types(3), (4), and (5).
X. Examples of relief carvings from Persepolis
SYNOPSIS
AGRICULTURAL TOOLS OF THE TUMULUS PERIOD
With Special Attention Given the “Eggplant-Shaped Plowshare with Attachable Handle”
by Kurosaki Tadashi
At Tumulus Period archaeological sites, which sometimes yield large quantities of wooden artifacts, it is sometimes the case that one comes across a type of manufactured wooden object that resembles in form a vertically cut cross section of an eggplant. Such wooden objects, which are invariably made of oak, are believed to be a type of plowshare, having a sharpened, bladelike forward extremity, and originally used together with an attachable handle made from a separate piece of wood. In this presentation, the author has chosen to call these artifacts nasubigata chakuhei-suki, or “eggplant-shaped plow shares with attachable handles,” and it is hoped that, in the process of giving primary attention to these finds, a reconstruction can be made of some of the detailed aspects of the agricultural tools in use during the Tumulus Period.
When one takes a look at those archaeological sites which have produced nasubigata chakuhei-suki, it is apparent that these sites cover a wide geographical area from Kyushu to Tohoku (the northern part of Honshu), and it is also apparent that the tools in question were in use over a wide time span, from the latter part of the Yayoi Period throughout the Tumulus Period. In parallel with the appearance and popularization of the nasubigata chakuhei-suki, there began to be a decrease in the prevalence of the hiroguwa, or “broad hoe,” which had previously been very much in use. This fact, in view of the functional similarity of these two varieties of agricultural tools, is indicative of the process whereby the nasubigata chakuhei-suki came to be substituted in the primary role previously held by the “broad hoe” with respect to rice paddy cultivation. In the latter half of the 5th century, U-shaped iron blades came to be affixed to the plowshare portions of nasubigata chakuhei-suki, and this trend was soon decisively established.
Taking the above observations as a point of departure, it is possible to summarize the changes which took place in agricultural tools between the Yayoi Period and the 7th century by dividing this span of time into four stages. Of these, stage (1) corresponds to the early and middle part of the Yayoi Period, when all agricultural tools were made of wood and were designed with the objective of being used only in paddy fields in areas of sufficient yet not excessive natural ground moisture. Stage (2) covers the period from the end of the middle part through the latter part of the Yayoi Period, when new types of implements utilizing iron were coming into use for purposes of opening up new agricultural lands. Stage (3) corresponds to the time from the end of the Yayoi Period through the first half of the Tumulus Period, when nasubigata chakuhei-suki make their appearance. It is thought that these wooden implements had a role in what one might call the "redevelopment" of areas of moderare naturalground moisture, and that they were probably linked with an expansion in both productivity and in the amount of land under cultivation. Also, it has been discovered that a part of the implements used for opening up new agricultural lands in this same period were made entirely of iron, a fact which is connected with progress in irrigation techniques and the trend, which was becoming ever more noteworthy, of cultivating rice fields in dry areas that required artificial irrigation. Stage (4) corresponds to the latter half of the Tumulus Period, when the nasubigata chakuhei-suki became equipped with iron blades, and iron implements for the opening up of new agricultural lands became further disseminated. One may say that the equipping of the nasubigata chakuhei-suki with iron blades is indicative not only of the introduction of iron implements for agricultural purposes, but also ushered in a new stage of development in agricultural productivity, characterized by the reaching of a certain level of perfection in the cultivation of irrigated fields that, had it not been for the development of irrigation techniques, would have remained naturally dry.
PATTERNS OF MUTUAL RESEMBLANCE AMONG 7TH CENTURY BURIAL CHAMBERS
by Inokuma Kanekatsu
In the mountain ravines near the sites of the palaces that once existed in the Asuka region (the political and social center of Japan in the 7th century), as well as along the foot of the mountains in Kawachi (present-day Osaka prefecture), are to be found concentrations of tumulus graves in which were buried persons whose lives were directly connected with the above-mentioned palaces. The burial chambers within these tumuli exhibit a great variety of different types of construction. The majority of them have in the past been desecrated by grave robbers, with the result that very few of the grave goods originally deposited within them remain. Because of these complications, patterns of mutual resemblance and historical development have not in the past been systematically established.
The present study has attempted to make a typological classification of 7th century burial chambers, and has at the same time attempted to clarify changing characteristics of burial chambers over time, by pointing out common trends in construction methods and the technologies of stonemasonry, which may be perceived even in cases of differing typologies for certain tumulus graves taken as a whole. Especially, one can make a rough overall distinction between chambers such as that of the Iwayayama Kofun in Asuka, built up from precisely cut large stones and representing a variation of the laterally entered burial chamber (yokoana-shiki sekishitsu), and chambers such as that typified by the Okameishi Kofun in Osaka prefecture, a coffin-shaped stone burial chamber, or so-called sekkan-shiki sekishitsu. In functional terms, the former type of chamber was for designed for multiple burials, while the latter type was designed for individual burials.
The latter type of burial chamber, or sekkan-shiki sekishitsu, is itself, in overall shape and appearance, built to resemble a coffin made of stone, but nevertheless preserves many of the features usually associated with a burial “chamber.” During the process of chronological change affecting the construction of the sekkan-shiki sekishitsu, the passageway leading into the burial chamber was eliminated, so that the chamber became sealed off from the outside by the earth mound built over it. In other words, there was a trend away from complexity toward simplicity. Mention must also be made of burial chambers of the so-called senzumi sekishitsu variety, typified by the Hanayama-Nishi Kofun, in which the chamber is built up of relatively elongated and shallow worked stones that give the appearance of bricks. This type of construction has certain characteristics common to both the yokoana-shiki sekishistu and the sekkan-shiki sekishitsu. All three types of burial chamber underwent changes through out the course of the 7th century, and in the 8th century, with the spread of Buddhist-influenced cremation burials, the burial chambers, as well as the tumuli covering them, came to be considered no longer necessary.
The persons interred in the burial chambers discussed in the present study are no doubt limited to individuals with high official ranks (including members of the imperial family). It is interesting to note, however, that no really fundamental changes in the dimensions of the burial chambers are in evidence, even with respect to the years around the middle of the 7th century when the so-called Taika no hakuso-rei (a law announced in 646 with the aim of decreasing the size and elaborateness of the tumulus graves of the nobility) was supposed to have been put into effect.
The coffin-shaped stone chamber of the first half of the 7th century are not unrelated to the T’ohori No. 1 Tumulus near Pyongyang, Korea, in the area of the ancient kingdom of Koguryo. In the fact that in the latter half of the century, when such burial chambers as that of the Tsukaanayama Kofun on the Nara plain, constructed of precisely cut and emplaced stones, suddenly began to be built, one can likewise suppose influence from Puyo Yosanri Tongha Tumulus in the area of the ancient Korean kingdom of Paekche.
But the precise construction characteristics of these various burial charmbers, like the new ways of constructing Buddhist temples which were also being introduced at the same time via Korea, because of repeated processes of “trial and error” and mutual influences upon each other, make it necessary to admit that in most cases it is impossible to establish direct and precise linkages between a given burial chamber in Japan and a given burial chamber on the continent. In other words, one cannot deny that the forms of construction adopted soon came to differ from the original models, clue to the rapid process of modification that took place within Japan.
BURIAL OF ARTICLES FOR THE RITUAL PURIFI CATION OF BUILDINGS IN THE NARA PERIOD
by Mori Ikuo
On the occasion of the construction of a new building, it has long been customary for some sort of ceremony to be performed. The purpose of such a ceremony is to express the hope that no “evil spirits” will come to haunt the building. Among such ceremonies are to be found rituals with names such as Jichinsai. (“ceremony for purifying a building site”) and chindan kuyo (“service for purifying a religious edifice”). These rituals have at various times involved the burial of certain articles under the buildings in question. Among such articles are sometimes to be found precious objects such as gold, silver or rock crystals, collectively called the so-called “five treasures” (goho) or “seven treasures” (shichiho) ; and sometimes there are to be found such foods as rice, barley, or beans, at times collectively referred to as the “five seed-foods” (gokoku). In the present study, it has been my purpose to provide a clearer understanding of the form that these rituals took in the past, with principal attention given to structures found within 8th century Buddhist religious estabishments.
The temples here under consideration are the Kawaradera, the Gangoji, the Daigoji, the Mutsu Kokubunniji (the official nunnery established in the 8th century in what was then the very distant Mutsu-no-kuni, or present-day Aomori prefecture), the Kofukuji, the Todaiji and the Hokkeji. The case of the gate structure at the Dazaifu Seicho (branch government office in northern Kyushu) also offers valuable data. Most of the articles for ritual purification which are associated with the various temples named above were discovered by chance and in an unplanned way, at various times in the past, while those cases in which one can clearly know the details of the excavations are relatively few. However, as the result of careful investigation, it appears that there were in general two different patterns for the burial of these ritual objects. One pattern is that associated with pagodas (sometimes also referred to as “stupas”). In these cases, during the stage of building the raised foundation platform for the pagoda in question, the ritual objects were buried within this platform, without being placed in specially made reliquaries or other containers. Typical examples are to be found in the Kawaradera and the Gangoji. The other pattern is that in which precious objects were buried in specially made containers. Examples are to be found in objects buried beneath Buddhist image halls (sometimes called “golden halls”) or beneath gate structures, at the Mutsu Kokubunniji, Kofukuji, Todaiji, and at Dazaifu. In these cases, it is thought that the buried objects were probably introduced through specially constructed cavities after the basic structural foundations had already been completed, with regard to the ways of conducting the purification rituals, detailed written records cannot be found, but judging from the above-mentioned differences in the burial states associated with these purification articles, it seems clear that the rituals them selves were probably not uniform.
With respect to ancient methods of land purification (jichin), data is scarce, and as many difficulties accompany the carrying out of studies relevant to this topic, I should prefer to leave discussion of this matter for a future occasion.
PATTERNS OF MUTUAL RESEMBLANCE AMONG RING-POMMELED SWORDS
by Machida Akira
The main purpose of this short presentation is to reveal the process whereby among the various types of ring-pommeled sword (kanto), originally designed as a weapon for actual battle use in Han dynasty China, these came to appear certain types used as purely “ceremonial Swords” (gijoto) on the part of military officials in ancient Japan and to consider the ways in which these ring-pommeled swords came to be adopted on Japanese soil. In concise terms, one may describe this adoption process approximately as follows :
In graves dating from around the 1st century, in the Yayoi Period, to the early part of the Tumulus Period in the 4th century, one sometimes encounters Han-style ring-pommeled swords imported from China. However, among such swords, one also sometimes finds a variety of ring-pommeled sword whose exterior form is modified in a typically "Japanese" way to an aikuchi-shiki pattern, with a relatively unprotruding sword-guard designed to fit smoothly against the top of a sheath. It appears that such swords were not worn about the waist in the same fashion that ring-pommeled swords were generally worn in China.
During the latter part of the 5th century, there appear, to addition to the types of round-pommeled swords designed for actual battle use, a variety decorated with gold and silver. These probably include swords which were presented as gifts, from a political motivation by the Chinese court on the occasion of granting military titles to Japanese sovereigns. Similar gifts were made by the Chinese court to Korean Kings, as attested by the ring-pommeled swords excavated from the mausoleum of Paekche’s Mungyong Wang.
After the beginning of the 6th century, plain and undecorated ring-pommeled swords disappear completely from the scene, and there is a proliferating production of swords bearing decorative designs. Most of such swords found in Japan are thought to have been produced either in Japan or in Korea, with Chinese round-pommeled swords taken as their models. During this period, military authority and political power were in Japan being concentrated in the Yamato court, and it is thought that many of these decorated swords were distributed to local political authorities by the central government as “symbols” to indicate military authority.
In the 7th century, there were in circulation large quantities of roughly made and poor quality gilt-bronze ring-pommeled swords, produced in Japan and having primary attention given to the out ward appearance only. Even though their significance as “symbols” of military authority was becoming weaker, these 7th century swords are thought to have been nevertheless used as tools which facilitated the central state’s consolidation of political power in outlying districts. During the latter half of the 7th century, when T’ang culture was being enthusiastically introduced, and especially around the time when the ritsuryo legal system was being established, the ring-pommeled swords saw an end to their historical mission, and begin to disappear from view.
A STUDY ON AKINAKES
by Yamamoto Tadanao
The akinakes has in the past been defined as a type of sword “common to the Persians and the Scythians.” However, the akinakes was in reality common only to the Scythians and the Medes (or inhabitants of the area known as Media, in what is now northwest Iran), the latter being members of the Achaemenian dynasty Persian confederation. The swords used by the Persians of that time were of a different sort. The present outline thus having taken as its point of departure the fact that the akinakes was a “Median-Scythian type” of sword, we may proceed to discuss the distinguishing characteristics and variations of its structure and outward appearance as follows.
Two overall “variants” can be generally distinguished in that the first of these has a short rod-shaped pommel (at right angles to the body of the hilt) and a section at the bottom of the hilt, corresponding to the sword-guard and sheath demarcation line, which presents the form of a series of connected double-arcs ; while the second variant has a two-pronged antenna-like handle curving upward and outward from the end of the hilt, and a sword-guard in the shape of an inverted “V”. For the purposes of this presentation, we shall overlook this type of variation, adopting the position that both variants are equally to be considered akinakes. However, in attempting a chronological and typological classification of akinakes, the results obtained indicate a classification into six “types.” Types (1) through (4) appeared in sequence, beginning sometime at the end of the 7th century B. C. or the beginning of the 6th century, undergoing changes in form until the appearance of Type (4) in the 4th century.
Evidence points to the fact that around the 5th century B. C, when Type (3) was being produced, two other types, i. e., Type (5) which is similar to Type (3), and Type (6) which developed out of Type (2), existed simultaneously and their respective spheres of geographical distribution. Moreover, it is seen that the distinguishing features of the second “variant” discussed above are especially evident in Types (5) and (6). It is thus hypothesized that the second variant appeared later than the first, and that the type of variation in question reflects a chronological difference as well as differences in geographical distribution.
In studying the decorative motifs of the Type (1) akinakes, which is considered to be chronologically the oldest, it is found that these motifs are similar to motifs seen in the art of the Urartian culture in the Transcaucusus region, and of the Ziwiye culture of what is now northwest Iran. It is thus judged that the akinakes had its origins in this region. The fact that the akinakes later spread by cultural diffusion far to the east to such regions as southern Siberia and Inner Mongolia may be attested by comparisons with bronze daggers unearthed from the Ordos region and from the area of the Tagar culture of the Minusinsk basin in Siberia. The method of diffusion was the same as in the case of scythian animal style and horse trap pings. In other words, the evidence tells us that this diffusion took place through the intermediary of the “cultural complex” operative in the Scythians’ nomadic way of life. To go even further, it is thought that some of the traditions of Scythian culture, after having passed through Inner Mongolia, reached the Korean peninsula and the western part of Japan during the Yayoi Period.
昭和51年3月31日 発行
研究論集 Ⅲ
奈良国立文化財研究所学報（第28冊）
