This episode we really start to take a look at Japan as seen in the Chinese chronicles. From early times, the Japanese archipelago has been viewed as an almost mythic place in Chinese histories, connected as it was with fantastical tales of the herb of immortality and Penglai, the mountain where the herb was said to grow, far out in the eastern sea.

We also take this time to look at some of what was going on in China and how that affected Japan. Remember, a key aspect of the position of the elites in the archipelago was based on the ability to acquire bronze and iron from the mainland. When turmoil on the mainland disrupted access to these goods it had ripple effects that would echo through the trade routes out into the archipelago, and we see its mark left in the archaeological record of the period.

Copy of the gold seal of the King of Na of Wa from the Tokyo National Museum.

Emerging from this chaos we then see our first glimpses of the early Wa states in the islands—while there is some mention of them in the early Han dynasty, it isn’t until the later Han accounts that we start to get any real details. Perhaps most incredible is the seal of the King of Na, a gold seal found on Shika Island, in modern day Fukuoka prefecture, which appears to be the item described in the Chronicles of the Later Han dynasty. That we should have such close agreement with the written histories is almost too good to be true—and to be honest, many have questioned its validity. Found in the late 18th century by happenstance while a farmer was working his fields, the story of its discovery is just as incredible as its provenance.

We also cover the account—sparse as it is—of king Suisho. Or—maybe King Suisho. There is no ruler in the Japanese histories that can be easily equated with this figure. This will be a problem for a while, as it is difficult to equate the Chinese names for the Japanese sovereigns with the Japanese names given to them. It is often further confused by the fact that we usually know the names in the Chronicles by their posthumous names—a practice that was likely imposed much later, in imitation of Chinese practice. And that even assumes that the given names we have—names like Ikumeiribikoisachi no Sumeramikoto—are, in fact, the names of the time and not a later name or title, as early Japanese names have their own special qualities that make them interesting to study.

And so, unfortunately, we’ll have to continue to live with some uncertainty for the time being, but at least a few of the clouds are parting and we are beginning to see a glimmer of what is going on. All of this will start to come together, and we’ll soon be entering into the period that is considered most reliably as historical. From there we’ll be able to dig into the Japanese chronicles and hopefully have a good platform to examine them critically as we do so.

References

Robbeets, Martine (2017). Austronesian influence and Transeurasian ancestry in Japanese, Language Dynamics and Change, 7(2), 210-251. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/22105832-00702005
Mizoguchi, Koji (2012). The archaeology of Japan: From the earliest rice farming villages to the rise of the state. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139034265
Soumaré, Massimo (2007); Japan in Five Ancient Chinese Chronicles: Wo, the Land of Yamatai, and Queen Himiko. ISBN: 978-4-902075-22-9
Kidder, J. Edward (2007); Himiko and Japan's Elusive Chiefdom of Yamatai: Archaeology, History, and Mythology. ISBN: 978-0824830359
Imamura, Keiji (1997). Prehistoric Japan: New perspectives on insular East Asia. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00085215
Barnes, Gina L. (1988); Protohistoric Yamato: Archaeology of the First Japanese State. ISBN: 978-0915703111