Imported Mirrors of 2000 Years Ago: Yayoi Kings and Inscription Band Mirrors with Non-Standard Characters

Abstract

The importation of Han style mirrors to Japan began in the Middle Yayoi period. The greater half of these imports are known as non-standard-character inscription band mirrors, from the latter half of the Early Han period. Large numbers of these items are sometimes found in a limited number of jar burials of the northern Kyushu region. The interred figures, in possession of such preeminent grave goods, are thought to be kings who commanded their local regions. Detailed evaluations are still not established, however, of the dates of manufacture and distribution, and of the values attached to these interred mirrors, which serve as basis for such claims. Moreover, no advances have been made in research placing these materials within the larger context of Early Han mirrors on the continent.
The author made a reexamination of more than 700 non-standard-character inscription band mirrors found to date in China and Japan, dividing both the outer sectors and orthographic styles into three types each, and attempted a typology for seven types established in terms of the combination of these two elements. In addition, the value attached to mirrors of each type was assessed, and it was confirmed that the type assigned the highest value in this exercise was a large style of mirror recovered from the tombs of princes and nobles of the realm, and of governors of regional commanderies.
As the result of an overview of the non-standard-character inscription band mirrors found in Japan, based upon conditions pertaining to these items on the continent, it is possible to see a major change in both the types and distributions of these materials around the start of the present era, approximately 2000 years ago (at the end of the Middle Yayoi or the beginning of the Late Yayoi). With regard to its significance, it is thought to reflect a decline in the Late Yayoi of the influence of the Genkai coastal region, which had flourished in the Middle Yayoi, and the emergence of new forces in other parts of Western Japan at this time.