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29-538: The iron Inariyama burial-mound sword ( 稲荷山古墳出土鉄剣 , inariyama kofun shutsudo tekken ) or kinsakumei tekken ( 金錯銘鉄剣 ) was excavated in 1968 at the Inariyama Kofun , a megalithic tomb located in Saitama Prefecture . In 1978, X-ray analysis revealed a gold- inlaid inscription that comprises at least 115 Chinese characters . This sword was described as the discovery of the century for

58-534: A National Treasure in 1983. Due to the rich grave goods , it very likely that the buried person was a high-ranking figure who was related to the Yamato court. The most important find within the burial chamber was an iron sword with a gold-inlay inscription. Known as the Inariyama Sword , the inscription gives a date of either 471AD or 531AD and the name of the person buried in the tomb as "Wowake".The sword

87-481: A knob or loop in the center of the back so that they could be easily held in the hand, and sometimes attached to clothing. In the Tang and Song dynasties some examples were larger and more variable in shape. Other examples are so small, about 5 cm across, that they may have been mainly intended for ritual use, as "charms to ward off evil spirits". Some of the earliest examples of Chinese bronze mirrors belonged to

116-686: A long time, as well as easy to break, and initially hardly any more reflective, so that bronze mirrors remained common in many parts of the world until the 19th century. Speculum metal is a very hard high-tin bronze-type alloy, with about 30% tin rather than the typical 12–15%. It polishes well to give very good reflectivity, and was important in Early Modern telescopes and other uses. Its use in mirrors may date back more than 2000 years in China although it could also be an invention of western civilizations. There seem to be references to it by Pliny

145-413: A standing female figure, often with putti . These are called " caryatid mirrors". Folding mirrors, also called "box mirrors", from about 400 BCE, typically had relief designs on the outside of the lid, and engraved decoration on the inside. Most were still round, and lacked handles, presumably as they were meant to be held by a maid. Eros/Cupid is often shown holding up a mirror for Aphrodite/Venus. In

174-554: Is generally regarded in Japan to correspond to 471 AD, but Seeley suggests that 531 is a more likely date. The person buried in the tomb, named Wowake, was an influential warrior in the region. King Waka Takiru in the transcription is thought to be the same person as Ōhatsuse-wakatakeru-no-mikoto as mentioned in the Nihon Shoki , an alias of Emperor Yūryaku . The name Waka Takiru is also apparently mentioned on another inscribed sword,

203-572: Is held in Saitama Prefectural Museum of the Sakitama Ancient Burial Mounds ( 埼玉県立さきたま史跡の博物館 ) . The inscription also mentions a person named "Ōhatsuse-wakatakeru-no-mikoto" who is mentioned in the Nihon Shoki , as an alias of Emperor Yūryaku . It is unknown if "Wowake" was a local ruler, or was someone who had been dispatched by the Yamato kingdom to rule over this year, but from the design of

232-513: Is in classical Chinese , but includes several Japanese proper names written using Chinese characters as syllabograms. The original inscription and translation (by Murayama Shichirō and Roy Andrew Miller ) is as follows. The year is denoted as " xin-hai " (that is "Year of the Metal Pig") according to the Chinese sexagenary cycle , in which the name of the year is recycled every 60 years. It

261-676: Is shaped like a keyhole, having one square end and one circular end, when viewed from above. Proportionately, it is a one-quarter scale version of the Tomb of Emperor Nintoku in Sakai, Osaka . The Gyōda Futagoyama Kofun and the Teppōyama Kofun are also built to these same proportions, albeit on a smaller scale, and since the Inariyama Kofun was built earlier, it must have served as the template for these later burial mounds. The main axis of

290-634: The Egyptians from 2900 BCE onwards. These Egyptian mirrors are spoken of in biblical Book of Exodus (1500 BCE), and used by Moses in the construction of the Tabernacle. Bronze mirrors were produced in China from Neolithic times until Western glass mirrors were brought to China. Bronze mirrors were usually circular, with one side polished bright, to give a reflection, and the reverse side normally decorated in cast relief in early examples, later on sometimes inlaid in precious metal. They generally had

319-658: The Eta Funayama Sword . Inariyama Kofun The Inariyama Kofun has a total length of 120 meters, and is thus the second largest tumulus in the Saitama Kofun Cluster. The construction period is thought to be the latter half of the 5th century, the latter part of the Kofun period. It was the first to be built in the Saitama Kofun cluster. The tumulus is a zenpō-kōen-fun ( 前方後円墳 ) , which

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348-625: The TLV mirror . Both Han and Tang mirrors are considered to be the most technically advanced. Both the quantity and quality of finds in graves declined after the Tang dynasty, but bronze mirrors continued to remain popular up through the Song dynasty , but then gradually lost their popularity and ceased to be produced after the arrival of Western mirrors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Specific types include

377-716: The inscribed mirror , Flower Mirror and Large Flower Mirror . The Bronze Age Minoan civilization produced hand-mirrors in the 2nd millennium BCE, followed by the Myceneans . They were no doubt following the Egyptian or Near Eastern precedents. After disappearing in the Greek Dark Ages , they returned in Archaic Greece , including some mirrors on elaborate stands (already an Egyptian type), as well as hand-mirrors with handles. The stands most often featured

406-664: The 1st century CE Seneca mentioned large wall mirrors; it may have been in front of one of these that Demosthenes used to practise his speeches in the 4th century BCE. The rich had silver or silver-plated mirrors. Celtic mirrors in Britain were produced up until the Roman conquest. Two notable examples include the Birdlip and Langton Herring mirrors. In the Indus valley civilization , manufacture of bronze mirrors goes back to

435-606: The Chinese believed they stored sunlight, and so could "guide the deceased through the underworld", making them essential grave-goods . The back is often highly decorated in various techniques and styles, and may be significant for art history . Chinese styles include the Flower Mirror , TLV mirror and Inscribed mirror , while the Large Flower Mirror and Shinju-kyo are Japanese. Most ancient images show them being used by women, and figurative imagery on

464-546: The Elder . It was certainly in use by the European Middle Ages , giving better reflectivity than the usual bronze, and tarnishing more slowly. However, tin was expensive, and the composition of the alloy had to be controlled precisely. Confusingly, mirrors made of speculum metal were known at the time, and often later, as "steel mirrors", although they had no steel in them. Polished bronze mirrors were made by

493-560: The Sakitama Kofun Group, but is rarely found in other locations. Called a "Tsukuridashi", it was apparently a platform used for rituals. The burial chamber contained a wooden coffin that was surrounded by a clay wrap resting on a layer of gravel. Artifacts included iron swords, a bronze mirror , magatama , two silver rings, bronze and gold metal fittings, fragments of armor and horse harnesses. The excavated items were designated as an Important Cultural Property in 1981 and

522-619: The West with a handle, in East Asia with a knob to hold at the back, often with a loop for a cord, or silk tassel . Some were fitted with small stands, and others had a hinged protective cover. In surviving ancient examples the surface is too corroded to be reflective, but some bronze mirrors are still made. They are first-surface mirrors , where the immediate bronze surface is flat, plain and highly polished to be reflective, rather than second-surface mirrors, like modern glass mirrors, where

551-549: The age of such items to be before 1500 BC. Aranmula kannadi are still made on a small scale in Kerala , South India, using a type of speculum metal , an extra reflective alloy of copper and tin. Japanese bronze mirrors were adopted from China, and are similar in form and, initially, style. Many had red silk tassels through the knob on the back. Mirrors in Shinto have ritual uses. The c. 5th-century Suda Hachiman Shrine Mirror

580-655: The back, as in Roman mirrors, often reflects female interests. Bronze mirrors were themselves preceded by mirrors made of obsidian (volcanic glass), found across the Middle East . These remained the standard in the Americas until the arrival of Europeans. Iron pyrite was also used. Glass mirrors with superior reflectivity began to be made in the Roman Empire in the 1st century CE, but remained very expensive for

609-512: The early periods, designs were typically engraved on the back, but luxury Greco-Roman mirrors often had figurative designs in relief. Mirrors from the Iron Age have been discovered across most of Europe, generally as grave-goods. The Greeks were the earliest makers; the Etruscans imported Greek mirrors, and then began making their own, passing the practice on to their Roman conquerors. In

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638-643: The late Neolithic Qijia culture from around 2000 BCE (some use of bronze is found before the Bronze Age , when it became general for some types of objects). However, until Warring States times, bronze mirrors were not common with approximately only twenty having been discovered. During the Warring States period, mirrors became particularly popular. During the Han dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE) mirrors started to be mass-produced in standardised designs, including

667-543: The reflection comes from a backing applied to the glass. They are significantly inferior to modern mirrors in terms of the quality of the reflection, but in older societies were sufficiently impressive to have religious significance in some societies. Examples include the melong in Tibetan Buddhism and the toli in Asian Shamanism . The ancient Greeks and others used mirrors for divining , and

696-480: The study of ancient Japanese history . The sword is designated a national treasure of Japan and is on display in the Saitama Prefectural Museum of the Sakitama Ancient Burial Mounds . Japanese research suggests that the metal used in the sword was smelted from copper -bearing magnetite originating in the Jiangnan region of China , later brought to Japan, and then used to forge the sword. The inscription

725-842: The time between 2800 and 2500 BCE. Bronze mirrors are usually circular. With excavations in Adichanallur and Keeladi in Tamil Nadu , India, it is confirmed that communities lived around the Vaigai river valley in the Bronze Age . The excavations done in Adichanallur in 1899 by Alexander Rea, the then Superintendent of the Archeological Survey of India, Southern circle brought out two bronze circular items. They are bronze mirrors similar to ones found in other civilisations. Carbon dating of samples tested resulted in

754-465: The time of construction, and were dry moats, but accumulated water when the water level rose. The anterior portion of the tumulus was demolished as landfill soil during the reclamation work of the surrounding swamps in 1937. Archaeological excavations explored the burial chamber in 1968 and the surrounding moat in 1973. A portion of the inner moat was restored in 1976. The tumulus was in very poor condition and in danger of collapse until restoration work

783-465: The tumulus and its grave goods, the connection with western Japan was very strong. [REDACTED] Media related to Inariyama Kofun (Gyoda) at Wikimedia Commons Bronze mirror Bronze mirrors preceded the glass mirrors of today. This type of mirror , sometimes termed a copper mirror, has been found by archaeologists among elite assemblages from various cultures, from Etruscan Italy to Japan . Typically they are round and rather small, in

812-410: The tumulus is aligned in the direction of Mount Fuji , approximately 100 kilometers away, and which can be seen from the summit of the posterior circular portion. The mound is built in two steps, and there is no evidence that fukiishi were used. As with most other tumuli at this site, it has a double rectangular moat. The depth of the moat is estimated to be about 1.8 meters from the ground surface at

841-509: Was performed in 2003. Investigations with a ground penetrating radar in 2016 showed that there are other unexcavated chambers in the burial mound. An unusual feature of this tumulus is a protrusion extending from the western side of the tumulus, near the joint between the rectangular and circular portions. This is a feature which also appears in the Gyōda Futagoyama Kofun, Teppōyama Kofun and Shogunyama Kofun  [ ja ] in

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