Iron and Bronze make it to the archipelago. In this episode we’ll talk about the arrival of bronze and iron and what that means for the islands, as well as what it means for our understanding of them.

Shell bracelets

Before bronze, shell bracelets were imported all the way from the Ryukyu islands and used as status symbols for the elites for hundreds of years. From the Yoshinogari site.

Bronze shell bracelet

Combining two prestige goods into one, this takes the traditional shell bracelets, once imported from the Ryukyu islands far to the south, and it casts it in bronze from the mainland. From the Tokyo National Museum.

Liaoning dagger

Liaoning daggers—also known as pipa or lute shaped daggers for their broad blade—were some of the first bronze items known on the Korean peninsula, primarily up in the area attributed to the Gojoseon. Bronze did not travel down the peninsula until the later slender dagger bronze culture. From the Gyenogju National Museum.

Bronze dagger

This bronze dagger demonstrates the slender profile that was the hallmark of the “slender dagger” bronze culture, as compared to the broad Liaoning style daggers. From the Yoshinogari site.

Bronze dagger (replica)

This is a replica of a bronze dagger found in a pot burial at Yoshinogari. Its distinctive, wide pommel is also found in peninsular versions, showing the connections between the islands and the mainland material bronze culture. In this reconstruction you can see the golden gleam of the bronze, reminding us of what it would have been like, new.. From the Yoshinogari site.

Bronze dagger

This bronze dagger with a wide pommel was found in a burial at the Yoshinogari site. Here you see what it looks like dug out of the ground, but see the next photo for a view of what it might have looked like when it was new. From the Yoshinogari site.

Korean bronze dagger (replica)

This Korean bronze dagger with a wide pommel looks remarkably similar to the one found at Yoshinogari in Japan. Its silver color, compared to the golden color of the Yoshinogari replica demonstrates how different alloys of bronze can look different. These different alloys can also help determine where the item was made, even if the form copies another regional shape. From the Seoul National Museum.

Stone weapons and tools

Even when bronze and iron were available, many people were still working with and creating stone weapons and tools. In some cases these polished stone tools took the shape of the imported bronze and iron objects. From the Matsumoto City Museum

Bronze arrowheads

Bronze arrowheads still on the sprue from when they were made. Bronze arrowheads were one of the early, practical applications of bronze, though one does wonder if they were significantly better than bone, wood, or stone for their intended purpose. These show that they were being made on the archipelago. From the Tokyo National Museum

Bronze mold

Even without the ability to create bronze and iron from the raw ore, people in the archipelago could still create molds and melt down metal ingots or broken or undesirable objects to create something new. From the Yoshinogari site.

Dagger-axe

This shows the attachment of the ge, or dagger axe, to a haft. These were likely on much larger shafts, and are often mislabeled in English as “halberds”, which they don’t really resemble at all.

Wood and lacuqer armor (replica)

Lacquered wooden plates found at a Yayoi site and dated to the 3rd century BCE suggest an armor somewhat like this. Notice that he is still using stone age tools, though similar in shape to the bronze dagger-axe. Similar armors exist on the mainland, and this early armor may have drawn inspiration from those styles. From the National Museum of Japanese History in Sakura.

Qin armor

A terracotta warrior from the tomb of Qin Shihuangdi showing Qin era armor. Qin and early Han armor appear to have some similarities to fragments found in Japan, possibly representing continental influence. From the National Museum of History in Sakura.

Wooden armor (replica)

Woorden armor based on fragments found at a later Yayoi site. This was a very elaborate cuirass, with detailed carving and lacquer and two “wings” on the back. It is unclear just what purpose these rear projections had beyond decoration. From the National Museum of HIstory in Sakura.

Bronze shield ornament

These bronze spirals appear to be indigenous to the Japanese archipelago and are thought to have been ornaments on shields. From the Tokyo National Museum.

Shield (replica)

Replica of a tall Yayoi shield, based on evidence from the Yoshinogari site. Notice the use of the bronze shield ornament.

Later Han Bronze Mirror

The Later, or Eastern, Han dynasty continued to make mirrors that made their way to the islands. The Han and later Wei dynasty mirrors are used to help understand some of the connections and interactions between the various Yayoi groups.

Bronze mirror

A well preserved bronze mirror from the Yoshinogari site. Han dynasty mirrors were highly prized in the islands as elite prestige goods. From the Yoshinogari site.

Japanese mirrors

While mirrors from the mainland were most highly prized, local mirrors were also made, along with other bronze items. From the Yoshinogari site.

Dotaku (Detail)

This is a dotaku, or bronze bell. Early bells were small and functional. Over time they became larger, and those large bells appear to be created for ceremonial purposes. They often include incised pictures that are assumed to show daily life on the islands. From the Tokyo National Museum.

Dotaku (replica)

These two replica dotaku show how it looks coming out of the ground, but also how it would have looked brand new. You can see how the golden color shines through. From the Yoshinogari site.

Iron sickle blades

Iron was closely connected with agricultural activities, and unlike bronze it would have been used by all members of the society. These iron sickle blades show just that kind of utilitarianism. From the Yoshinogari site.

Spade blades

There wasn’t enough iron to waste it on the entire spade, so only the very edge was covered. This was a style in use on the Korean peninsula and in the archipelago, and would remain largely unchanged for millennia. The shape, or “kuwagata”, lent its name to a very distinctive crest, or maedate, used on many samurai helmets in later periods. Here you can see that distinctive shape. From the Seoul National Museum.

Iron sword fragment

Iron swords and other weapons and tools were brought over, possibly in quantities equal to or greater than bronze, but most of them were recycled or rusted away, leaving only fragments like this. From the Yoshinogari site.

Iron sword

Small iron sword/dagger, encrusted with rust. From Yoshinogari site.

Iron weapons

Examples of a few iron weapons found in Japan during the Yayoi period. From the Tokyo National Museum.

References

2019, March Miyamoto, Kazuo; “The Spread of rice agriculture during the Yayoi Period: From the Shandong Peninsula to the Japanese Archipelago via the Korean Peninsula”, The Japanese Journal of Archaeology, http://www.jjarchaeology.jp/
2015 Barnes, Gina L.; Achaeology of East Asia: The Rise of Civilization in China, Korea and Japan
2015 Kim, Bumcheol; “Socioeconomic Development in the Bronze Age: Archaeological Understanding of the Transition from the Early to Middle Bronze Age, South Korea” https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/55550/07_AP_54.1kim.pdf
2013 Mizoguchi, K.; The Archaeology of Japan: From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. (Cambridge World Archaeology). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO97811390342651996
2007 Rhee, S., Aikens, C., Choi, S., & Ro, H.; “Korean Contributions to Agriculture, Technology, and State Formation in Japan: Archaeology and History of an Epochal Thousand Years, 400 B.C.–A.D. 600”. Asian Perspectives, 46(2), 404-459. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/42928724
2007 Shōda Shinya, “A Comment on the Yayoi Period Dating Controversy”, Bulletin of the Society for East Asian Archaeology, Vol 1 (2007) https://seaa-web.org/sites/default/files/publications/bseaa-1/BSEAA1-Shoda.pdf
2005 Hong, W.; “Yayoi Wave, Kofun Wave, and Timing: The Formation of the Japanese People and Japanese Language.” Korean Studies 29, 1-29. doi:10.1353/ks.2006.0007.
1997 Imamura, Keiji; Prehistoric Japan: New perspectives on insular East Asia. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00085215