Some Observations on Supplementary Articles from Ancient Japanese Tombs

Abstract

Contents
Chapter 1. Meanings and Conditions of Supplementary Articles
Chapter 2. Varieties of Supplementary Articles and Observationson Them
Chapter 3. Concluding Remarks … Internal Products and Imports from Abroad
Chapter 1. Meanings and Conditions of Supplementary Articles
Considered from an archaeological standpoint, it will be seen that the burial practice with supplementary articles beside a person's body is a frequent phenomenon throughout the ancient world. A marked tendency to this was seen in the so-called Tomb Period (from the third century to the seventh century of the Christian Era) in ancient Japan.
There are some differences of opinion among archaeological scholars about supplementary articles beside a person's body as follows: (1) as a supplement to the difficulties of the life in the after-world without his or her daily necessaries while alive, or as a supplement to the act of terminating the pollution by death. Considered from the burial of“ground-buying coupon”(bai-chi-ken) (Figs. 2 and 3) with a person's body, there appears to be no doubt about his or her secondary life in the after-world, from thoughtful consideration of the family of the deceased. Accordingly, it would seem perhaps most fitting to say that there is little difference in the kinds and arrangement of the supplementary articles among ancient tombs, if any difference in their period and structure (Figs. 4-8, Pls. 1-9).
Chapter 2. Varieties of Supplementary Articles and Observations on Them
As supplementary articles contain a variety of their kind and type, I think, though there is little time to explain them minutely, I want to classify them into seven groups as follows: (1) daily necessaries (Pls. 10-15), (2) accessories to a dress (Figs. 9-11, Pls. 16-21), (3) mirrors (Fig. 12, Pls. 22-26) (4) weapons and horse-equipments (Figs. 13 and 14, Pls. 27-34), (5) tools (Pl. 35), (6) clay figures (haniwa) (Pl. 39), and (7) tomb inscriptions and inkstones (Pl. 40). From the above-mentioned examples which have been found from ancient Japanese tombs, it is generally acknowledged that some of the mirrors may have been founded in the Asiatic Continent, jade bowl at Plates 14 and 15 may have been made in the Western countries beyond China, and some of the long swords may also have been introduced from China or Korea, shown at Plates 27 and 28.
In ancient Japan, people imitated the way of manufacture and produced articles with new conception, such as mirrors which are called“imitation mirrors”(boseikyo) by archaeological scholars. In home-manufactured articles, the so-called Haji Ware (haji-no-utsuwa), Sue Ware (sue-no-utsuwa) shown at Plate 10-13, and, swords and armors shown at Plates 29-33 had been produced enormously.
Chapter 3. Concluding Remarks…Internal Products and Imports from Abroad
Such a large quantity of daily necessaries had been manufactured to supply a demand of the masses of those days, and expensive articles had been imported to supply a demand of the high-bred persons. Considered from general phenomena as a basic principle of ancient industrial society, we may truthfully say that cultural changes in the Tomb Period had been performed constantly together with Continental influences.