User:Bamse/List of National Treasures (archaeological materials)

intro

 * describe Japanese  Paleolithic, jomon  period (with literal meaning of "jomon", yayoi and kofun period

types by date

 * jomon: pottery and dogu
 * yayoi: dotaku bells, bronze swords, bronze mirrors, (gold seal)
 * kofun: weapons, jewellery, armour, horse ornaments/harnesses, mirrors, ceramic  utensils, haniwa,  (stuff from kofuns)
 * asuka and Nara: epitaphs, urns, pots/vases, reliquary sets/ritual objects, coins,  (buddha footprint), (buddhist stuff from ritual sights such as temple  foundations)
 * heian: sutra containers (stuff from sutra mounds)
 * nanboku-cho: sekido (one only)



Final
The term "National Treasure" has been used in Japan to denote cultural properties since 1897. The definition and the criteria have changed since the inception of the term. These archaeological materials adhere to the current definition, and have been designated national treasures since the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties came into force on  June 9, 1951. The items are selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology based on their "especially high historical or artistic value". This list presents 44 materials or sets of materials, including those from ancient to feudal Japan, from about 4500 BC to 1361, although the number of items is higher, because, groups of related objects have sometimes been joined to form single entries. Most of the items have been excavated from tombs, kofun, sutra mounds or other archaeological sites. The materials are housed in museums (26), temples (9), shrines (8) and a university (1) in 24 cities of Japan. Most entries (6) are located in the Tokyo National Museum.

The arrival of the first humans marks the beginning of the Japanese Paleolithic. It is generally believed that this settlement did not happen before 38,000 BC, though some sources claim a starting date of 50,000 BC. Archaeological artifacts from the paleolithic era consist almost exclusively of stone tools of various type pointing to a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. From about 14,000 to 8000 BC, the society gradually transforms to one that is characterized by the use of pottery for storage, cooking, bone burial and possibly ceremonial purposes. People still subsist on hunting, fishing and gathering but show some degree of sedentariness. Plain pottery sherds in the oldest archaeological sites constitute some of the world's oldest pottery. These are followed by linear-relief, punctated and nail-impressed pottery types. The first cord-marked pottery appears around 8000 BC. It was made by pressing twisted cords into the clay or by rolling cord-wrapped sticks across the clay. Its Japanese name, Jōmon (縄文) is used to refer to the whole period from about 10,500 to 300 BC of Japanese prehistory which is characterized by the use of pottery. Pottery techniques reach their apogee during the Middle Jōmon period with the fire-flame pottery created by sculpting and carving coils of clay applied to the rim of vessels creating a rugged appearance. A set of 57 items of this type of pottery dating to around 4500 BC have been designated as the oldest National Treasure. Archaeologists consider that such pottery had a symbolic meaning or was used in ceremonies. Small human and animal clay figurines known as dogū first appeared during the earliest Jōmon period but increased dramatically in the middle Jōmon. Many of these depict women with exaggerated breasts and enlarged buttocks considered to be a fertility symbol. Three dogū from 3000 to 1000 BC have been designated as National Treasures. The ensueing Yayoi period is characterized by great technological advances such as wet-rice agriculture or bronze and iron casting which were introduced from the mainland. Iron knives and axes followed by bronze swords, spears and mirrors arrived in Japan from Korea and China. Later all of these were produced locally. The chief artistic remains apart from Yayoi pottery are bronze weapons such as swords and halberds and dōtaku ritual bells. These bells were often found in groups on a hillside buried together with weapons. They are from 0.2 to 1.2 m tall and often decorated with geometric designs such as horizontal bands, flowing water patterns or spirals. Few bells feature the earliest Japanese depiction of people and animals. In addition ornamental jewels were found. Excavated weapons are very flat and thin suggesting a symbolic use. Because of rust few iron objects remain from this time.

While mound burials in square and later round enclosure were common already in the Yayoi period, the appearance of large scale keyhole-shaped mound tombs, thought to mark imperial burials, around 250–300 AD define the starting date of the Kofun period. There are about 30,000 of these mound tombs or kofun. Typical burial goods include mirrors, beads, Korean Sue ware, weapons and later horse gear. One of the most famous tombs whose content of warrior-related items has been designated as National Treasure, is the late 6th century Fujinoki Tomb. Interestingly, mirrors, swords and curved jewels, which also constitute the Imperial Regalia of Japan, appear as early as the middle Yayoi period and are abundant in Kofun period tombs. Characteristic of most kofun are haniwa clay terra cotta figures whose origin and purpose is not known. One haniwa of an armoured man has been designated as National Treasure. One of the earliest mention of Japan or Wa is on a National Treasure gold seal from the 1st century.

Buddhism arrived in Japan in the mid–6th century, and was  officially adopted in the wake of the Battle of Shigisen in 587, after which Buddhist temples   began to be constructed. The new religion and associated customs fundamentally transformed the Japanese society and strongly influenced the arts. Funerary traditions such as cremation and the practice of placing epitaphs in graves were imported from China and Korea. Following the treatment of Buddhist relics, the cremated remains in a glass container were wrapped in a cloth and placed in an outer container. Epitaphs were particularly popular from the latter half of the 7th to the end of the 8th century. They recorded the lives of the deceased on silver or bronze rectangular strips. Besides four epitaphs, a number of cinerary urns and reliquaries containing bones have been designated as National Treasures. Other archaeological National Treasures from the Buddhist era include ritual items that have been buried in the temple foundations of the Golden Halls of Tōdai-ji and Kōfuku-ji in Nara. According to an ancient Buddhist prophecy, the world would enter a dark period in 1051. During the late Heian period the faith in the saving powers of Maitreya or Miroku, the Buddha to be, became widespread. Believers buried scriptures and images in order to gain merit and to prepare for the coming Buddha. This practise, which continued into the Kamakura period, consisted of transcribing sutras according to strict ritual protocols, placing them in protective reliquary containers and burying them in the earth of sacred mountains, shrines or temples where they would await the future Buddha. The oldest known sutra mound is that of Fujiwara no Michinaga from 1007 on Mount Kinpu, who buried one lotus sutra and five other sutras that he had written in 998. Its sutra container has been designated as National Treasure.


 * prehistory: paleolithicum, jomon and early yayoi (only info from archaeology); protohistory: middle and late yayoi, kofun; japan's written history starts around 700 AD (covers previous two centuries)


 * paleol
 * first human occupation
 * linked to mainland until about 20,000 years ago
 * ends with appearance of pottery technology (13,000 to 10,000)
 * start is controversial (from 50,000 to not-before-35,000), lack of evidence for early occupation
 * most generally accepted start date is not-before-38,000
 * findings:
 * various types of stone tools: from pebble and flake tools via backed tools and microlithic to Bifacial Projectile Point
 * burned cobbles (for cooking or detoxifying of edible plants)
 * stone implements such as: pointed knives, blade flakes, scrapers, knife blades, hand axes, etc
 * little known about behavior/people: likely hunter-gatherers, maybe living in pit dwellings
 * transition to jomon is gradual from 8000 to 14000:
 * from small amounts of plain pottery over linear-relief pottery
 * first true jomon period characterized by: punctate-marked pottery, nail-impressed pottery and cord-marked pottery; but pottery still scarce
 * true, typical jomon: from ca. 11,500 Yoriitomon Pottery in kanto region; radical increase in quantity of pottery finds and first appearance of shellmounds


 * jomon pottery
 * starts with first appearance of pottery (but gradual transition)
 * strong local variations of sub-period/time/pottery types
 * Plain Pottery in the oldest sites; followed by Linear-relief Pottery; followed by and the Punctated, Nail-impressed, Impressed-cord, and Rolled-cord pottery types
 * hunting-fishing-gathering culture (no farming, little cultivation only!) (rather not nomadic but signs of settled lives, villages of pit dwellings)
 * oldest finds are potsherd from about 10,000 BC (age comparable to those on continent)
 * pottery becomes common around 7500-8000 BC (earlier than on continent)
 * 10,500-300 BC
 * jomon = "cord markings" (=technique of decoration)
 * settled existence of jomon people allowed to develop ceramic technology (even before agriculture)
 * some of the oldest pottery (sherds) in the world
 * in middle jomon: incised lines and applied coils of clay (in addition to rope markings)
 * molded rather than painted ornament
 * used for storage, cooking and bone burial; some of most elaborate pots might have served ceremonial function
 * rugged flamboyance of middle jomon pottery was replaced by trim shapes and modest linear decoration in late jomon
 * "fire-flame" pottery of middle jomon represents apogee of truly remarkable artistic tradition
 * middle jomon known for abundance of fire-flame pottery
 * most common form of jomon pottery is "deep bowl" (appeared at beginning of jomon period and remained most dominant form throughout the rest of the jomon period), round and pointed bottoms in initial jomon, flat bottoms became norm during and after early jomon, towards end of early jomon shallow bowls appeared


 * first cord-marked pottery at end of incipient jomon (ca. 8000 BC), it has a flat base and thick rim (early pottery had rounded or pointed bases)
 * "cord-impressed pottery, usually with conical             or pointy bases at this time.  The decorations were created on the pottery          by twisting cord and pressing it into the clay, or rolling cord-wrapped sticks          across the clay (yoriitomon design)"
 * seasonally occupied houses in early jomon
 * middle jomon considered to be pinnacle of jomon culture
 * "pottery            made during the Middle Jomon is quite elaborate.  Due to the             elaborate designs, numerous authors have argued that a symbolic meaning             or ritual use was attached to the pottery.  Many types have             applique and molded features added as decorative elements.  Some             decorative elements are made by carving or sculpting the clay.              While care went into making the pots, the clay fabric is quite coarse             and contains numerous aplastic inclusions and temper."


 * dogu
 * clay figurines first appear in earliest jomon but number increased noticeably in middle jomon: animal-like faces, upright bodies with enlarged breasts and exaggerated buttocks
 * dogu = human figurines nearly all of which represent women
 * exaggerated breasts and distended bellies indicate pregnancy
 * placed within stone enclosures or on top of stone piles->set apart->maybe objects of worship
 * possibly female deities who managed procreation of earth and of human beings
 * not objects of worship but used ritually for the improvement of animal, human or plant life
 * function unknown but believed to be a fertility symbol
 * fired at low temperatures->crumbly surfaces; many painted red


 * yayoi period
 * increased interaction with china and korea, immigration from korea->dramatic social and technological transformations
 * pit dwellings, but larger villages and fortifications
 * wet-rice agriculture (provided foundation for development), bronze casting, loom weaving, pottery (less sculptural than jomon pottery)
 * agriculture and bronze and iron casting introduced from continent (china and korea) via kyushu (spreading up to chubu region) (bronze and iron appeared at about the same time unlike elsewhere)
 * "chief artistic remains" (apart from yayoi vessels: bronze weapons (swords and halberds) and dotaku
 * shape of weapons very flat and thin (->symbolic use and not combat)
 * skillfully wrought jewels came into use as ornaments (->NT)
 * rice growing and iron at beginning of yayoi period
 * imported Chinese bronze mirrors (->NT)
 * rice introduced (details unknown), first metal objects (iron knives and axes) introduced from korea; bronze objects introduced later (mainly ritual: first mirrors (few), swords and spears from korea then mirrors (many) from han china); all of these eventually produced in japan
 * during yayoi period change from culture of peasant farmers to chiefdoms to confederations of chiefdoms (e.g. yamataikoku)->foundation for japanese nation; increase of population (supported by rice farming)
 * main artifacts: pottery, iron-bladed wooden tools, stone adzes, reaping sickles, iron knives
 * advancements: pottery fired at higher temp. than jomon pottery, no decoration (vessels were for practical use), pottery wheels, use of metal objects, rice as a food source and wet-rice agriculture, raised-floor structures (primarily for food storage), primitive weaving of textiles
 * iron from beginning ( tools such as axes, sickles and hoes used for agriculture, felling of trees etc, but also of weapons including arrowheads, knives, and swords); few artifacts because of rust
 * bronze slightly later than iron (weapons such as spears, halberds, and swords, as well as mirrors and small taku)
 * division of labor->class structure
 * burials under low mounds in enclosures surrounded by a ditch (moat) were common everywhere in Yayoi Japan.  Most enclosures were square, but many late ones were round; developed into kofun


 * dotaku
 * based on han chinese bells but ceremonial objects (not musical instruments)
 * geometric designs and (on few bells) earliest japanese depictions of people and animals (=pictorial art)
 * often deposited in graves
 * from 0.2 to 1.2 m high; decorated with story panels (rarely), horizontal bands, flowing water pattern, rows or spirals; raised band forms handle on top; very thin (->not suitable as mus. instrument)
 * possibly connected to fertility cult
 * found in northern kyushu, southern honshu and shikoku; most from kyoto-nara-osaka region
 * often found in groups buried in a hillside along with imported weapons
 * dotaku were local innovation produced locally


 * KOFUN PERIOD
 * full development of early Japanese state, close contact with continent (especially with korean kingdoms), Japan's protohistoric period (no significant extant contemporary records, but many extant records from the time just after the kofun period which are based on older lost contemporary documents or on oral histories circulating at the time)
 * start of period (250-300 AD) is the date of the first keyhole-shaped mound tombs (mounds on burials already in yayoi period; those continued through kofun period) thought to mark imperial mounds
 * virtually no chinese influence, strong korean influence: korean kingdoms fought with Wa (Japan) and among each other in alliance with Wa
 * kofun period is protohistory: first korean sources, then chinese writings and 8th century nara period japanese writings
 * archaeology focuses on mound tombs; but also pottery, buildings, villages, towns, production, trade
 * There are about 30,000 kofun mound tombs in Japan. These date from the 3rd century to the 7th century.  Of these, 188 are designated as ryo, the tombs of emperors and empresses, and another 552 are designated as bo, the tombs of other members of the royal family.  There are 46 more designated as ryobo sankochi, or possibly the tombs of members of the imperial family, and 110 other types of "burials" that are treated the same way as imperial mound tombs.  These 896 tombs and "burials" are centered on the Kinki District.
 * burials in the Early and Middle Kofun mounds were place in the top of the mounds, usually in stone-lined chambers entered from the top. Some burials had coffins of various types and others have no trace of a coffin
 * Burial goods are commonly mirrors and beads (magical items) and various other things, including weapons, in the Early Kofun Period. But weapons and horse gear are the distictive burial goods in the Middle and Late Kofun Period; Sue ware of Korean origin also appears in the burials from the Middle Kofun Period on
 * sudden" appearance of continental and warrior burial goods around the middle of the 5th century suggest at least that the leader changed from a magician to a warrior,  One of the most famous tombs yielding warrior-related goods is the end 6th century Fujinoki Kofun
 * The Japanese Imperial Family is identified with three sacred objects -- the mirror, sword and curved jewel, or magatama -- the Three Imperial Regalia. When exactly these three objects became a set of symbols of the Imperial Line is not clear.  But they were already important religious symbols by the Middle Yayoi Period, and are abundant in the tombs of the Kofun Period.


 * haniwa
 * found on most kofun period mound tombs
 * origin and purpose unknown
 * earliest haniwa are large clay cylinders (remained most common type), figure haniwa appeared later and are more common in eastern japan (animals, humans of all social standings, buildings, armor, weapons, shields and other things)
 * The quantities of haniwa seem to range from a few to a few thousand on any one kofun, with cylindrical haniwa always by far the most common. The basic arrangement is one, two or three rows of cylindrical haniwa set around the flanks of the mound.  A few figure haniwa were sometimes included among these.  But most figure haniwa apparently were set in square or rectangular enclosures made of cylindrical haniwa and several figure haniwa.  These enclosures appear to have been located both on top of the mound and near the bottom, or nearby but outside the mound area itself.  The rows of cylindrical haniwa minimally served to reduce erosion of the mound.  What other purpose they might have served is not known.  The enclosurse with figure haniwa seem to represent various aspects of the funeral rites or of beliefs about life after death.


 * epitaphs
 * From the latter part of the 7th century through the end of the 8th century, it was a common practice, in imitation of Chinese custom, to place epitaphs (boshi) inside of tombs. These epitaphs consisted largely of chronological r~sum~s of the lives of the de-creased, recorded on silver or bronze strips of metal, rectangular tiles. cinerary urns, and the like.
 * The custom of cremation was transmitted to Japan along with Buddhism and eventually came to include the Chinese and Korean practice of placing an epitaph in the grave. ... The practice of placing cremated remains in a glass container wrapped in cloth and placed in an outer container is based on the treatment of Buddhist relics.


 * sutra mound
 * "use of sutras for devotional purposes": sutra mound (=buried sutra, usually in metal containers)


 * all about mappo
 * all about techniques (materials, how, which sutra,...)
 * geographical distr
 * concerns

statistics
China: 2 Japan: 3