[ NEWS ] 6th-century tomb reveals longest sword from ancient Japan
Textbook-changing discoveries were made after artifacts found in an early sixth-century tomb in the Shimauchi district here in southern Kyushu were examined, rewriting the histories.
The Ebino education board announced Oct. 24 that experts confirmed the two swords found in the underground tunnel tomb designated no. 139 in a burial site, excavated between 2014 and 2015, are both historic findings.
One is the longest sword ever excavated from ancient tombs in Japan, and another’s hilt is covered with ray skin, making it the oldest ray-decorated item found in East Asia.
The swords were placed by skeletal remains in the tomb no. 139, and both are signs of high social status.
“The swords suggest there was a powerful person in southern Kyushu, who would have directly served someone in the upper rank close to the Yamato king, and would have gone overseas in charge of foreign politics,” said Tatsuya Hashimoto, an associate professor of archaeology at Kagoshima University Museum, who collaborated in the research.
The cleaning work revealed about 142 cm of another sword with a wooden pommel is remaining.
Researchers say if reconstructed, it would be about 150 cm long in its original condition, making it the longest sword ever excavated from an ancient tomb in Japan.
On top of that, a valuable textile called “tatenishiki,” or warp-patterned brocade, was used to cover around the opening of the scabbard. Only four examples of such a luxurious textile from the same time period had previously been discovered in Japan.
This sword is considered to have been a gift from the Yamato kingdom.
Source: Copyright © 2016 The Asahi Shimbun Company