are a type of

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 a ...

that was popular in the late Han dynasty in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. They were imported from the

Yayoi period The Yayoi period (弥生時代, ''Yayoi jidai'') (c. 300 BC – 300 AD) is one of the major historical periods of the Japanese archipelago. It is generally defined as the era between the beginning of food production in Japan and the emergence o ...

to the

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

, along with imitations made by Yayoi.

History

They flourished in China in the early Han dynasty and were distributed mainly north of the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

basin. It is thought that inscribed mirrors, which have a series of inward arcs, were created by replacing the bevelled thunder pattern, and it is characterized by a flat geometric pattern.

Design

The mirrors often have no inscriptions other than four words of good fortune in a four-leaf or four-linked arc pattern on the knob. A mirror with a linked arc design in the collection of

Harvard University Art Museums The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...

was made in the 7th year of Yongping (AD 64) at a private workshop called ''Gongsun'' (公孫家)''.'' The piece was priced at 300 '' qian'' (less than the monthly salary of a low-ranking official), which suggests that it was a daily commodity. They have been excavated in various places in China, as well as in the Yayoi and Kofun periods in Japan and in the Lappan tumulus in Korea, with many examples from the early and middle

. (31 mirrors) and the (8 mirrors) were excavated from northern

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

in the early period. This mirror has a

pattern A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated l ...

consisting of eight basic arcs arranged inwardly around a knob at the center of the back of the mirror. However, rare mirrors have been found with 11, 9, 6, and 5 arcs. The linked arc pattern is compared to petals, giving rise to their name in Japan they are called "mirrors with an inner flower pattern. Variations range from palm-sized mirrors to much larger mirrors used in rituals. Mirrors with a bead pattern placed on the knob holder, and mirrors with a straight-arc border with a pattern using straight lines and circles have been found. Some of these mirrors have a variety of images formed between the arcs and the button heads.

Discoveries

A Large mirror with linked arcs with a diameter of 46.5 cm was included in a batch of artifacts excavated from the Hirabaru Square Trench Tombs in

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...

, which was designated a

National Treasure A national treasure is a structure, artifact, object or cultural work that is officially or popularly recognized as having particular value to the nation, or representing the ideals of the nation. The term has also been applied to individuals or ...

in 2006. It is the largest copper mirror excavated in Japan to date. In 2017, a mirror with linked arcs in near perfect condition with little rust was excavated at the Nakajima Ruins in Iseida,

Hakata-ku is a ward of the city of Fukuoka in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Many of Fukuoka Prefecture and Fukuoka City's principal government, commercial, retail and entertainment establishments are located in the district. Hakata-ku is also the location o ...

Fukuoka City is the sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. The area has long been considered the ...

References

Bibliography

* {{Cite book , last= 岡村秀典 , title=鏡が語る古代史 , publisher=

岩波書店 is a Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo.Louis Frédéric, ''Japan Encyclopedia'', Harvard University Press, 2005, p. 409. Iwanami Shoten was founded in 1913 by Iwanami Shigeo. Its first major publication was Natsume Sōseki's novel '' ...

, year=2017 , isbn=978-4-00-431664-0 , series=岩波新書 *

External links