Ancient Bronze Mirrors Unearthed at Sakurai Chausuyama Burial Mound Shed Light on Japan's Enigmatic Past

In a remarkable archaeological discovery, more than 100 ancient bronze mirrors have been unearthed at the Sakurai Chausuyama burial mound in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, Japan. This incredible find provides valuable insights into Japan's history and raises questions about the power structures and connections with other ancient civilizations in the region. Let's delve deeper into this exciting discovery and what it means for our understanding of Japan's past.

The Sakurai Chausuyama Kofun

The Sakurai Chausuyama Kofun, also known as the Tobi Chausuyama-kofun Tumulus, is a colossal keyhole-shaped mound constructed during the early Kofun period, which spanned from 250 AD to 552 AD. This tumulus, measuring 207 meters in length, is categorized as an Ekagami-shiki tumulus, characterized by its hand-mirror-shaped front square part. Situated on the left bank of the Hasegawa River in Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture, this site holds significant historical importance and is designated as a "historic site" by the central government.

A Glimpse into Royal Power

The scale of the findings at the Sakurai Chausuyama burial mound suggests that the individual buried here wielded immense power and potentially had royal status. Archaeologists examining the mirrors have discovered a variety of mirror types, including what are known as "Himiko's mirrors." These mirrors feature a triangular rim and intricate depictions of gods and animals.

Mirror fragments discovered at the Sakurai Chausuyama burial mound are shown on top of an image of a triangular-rimmed mirror with gods and animals discovered from another tumulus on Sept. 7 at the Archaeological Institute of Kashihara, Nara Prefecture. When the mirrors are superimposed, it is clear that the artifacts are identical in shape and pattern. Photo: Kenji Shimizu

Himiko, a Queen of Mystery

Himiko, the namesake of these mirrors, is a semi-legendary figure from early third-century Japan. Although absent from Japanese historical records, she briefly appears in Chinese historical texts. Himiko was renowned as a shaman queen who ruled the Yamatai-koku kingdom. However, the exact location of Yamatai remains disputed among scholars.

The Mirrors' Historical Significance

The mirrors discovered at the Sakurai Chausuyama burial mound include some that were made using the same mold as the Sankakubuchi Shinjukyo mirrors. These mirrors bear inscriptions of Seishi Gannen, representing the first year of the Seishi era, which corresponds to 240 in the Wei-dynasty China's calendar. It is believed that Himiko received 100 mirrors from the Wei dynasty during that year, as recorded in historical texts.

The Power of Central Kingdoms

The recent excavation has provided invaluable information about the central power structures of ancient Japan. Shinya Fukunaga, an archaeology expert from Osaka University, commented that this discovery could significantly alter our understanding of the political structure of the Yamato State.

Photo: Heritage of Japan

A Record-Breaking Discovery

During the course of various excavations at the Sakurai Chausuyama burial mound, a total of 385 fragments of bronze mirrors have been uncovered. In 2010, a study attributed the finds to 81 bronze mirrors, surpassing the previous record of 40 mirrors found at the Hirabaru archaeological site in Itoshima, Fukuoka Prefecture. However, a recent re-examination of the fragments has led researchers to conclude that at least 103 bronze mirrors were discovered, setting a new record for Japan.

The discovery of more than 100 ancient bronze mirrors at the Sakurai Chausuyama burial mound is a momentous event in Japanese archaeology. These mirrors offer a glimpse into the enigmatic world of Himiko and her kingdom, challenging conventional historical narratives and shedding light on the intricate connections between ancient Japan and other civilizations. As researchers continue to unravel the mysteries surrounding this incredible find, our understanding of Japan's rich and complex history is certain to evolve.

Tracing the Roots of the Ainu People: Insights from Genetics and Linguistics

---

BY THE ARCHAEOLOGIST EDITOR GROUP

---

The Ainu are among the oldest and most recognizable of Japan's native populations. There is much debate among archaeologists, linguists, and other scholars about the Ainu people's origin and history, despite the fact that they have lived in Japan for thousands of years.

The Ainu likely originated in what is now Manchuria or the Amur River basin in northern Asia. Migration of the Ainu to Hokkaido and the rest of Japan probably occurred between 12,000 and 13,000 years ago, during the late Pleistocene epoch when sea levels were lower and land bridges connected northern Asia and Japan.

The Ainu may have descended from the Jomon, an ancient Japanese culture that flourished between 14,000 and 300 BCE. The Jomon culture is well known for its distinctive pottery, which often features intricate patterns and designs.

According to proponents of the Jomon theory, the Ainu share many physical and cultural characteristics with the Jomon people, including their pottery, their reliance on fishing and hunting, and their distinctive physical features, such as thick hair and a tendency toward epicanthic eye folds.

But not every academic believes the Jomon theory. The Ainu may have descended from the Okhotsk culture, a nomadic people who lived in what is now the Russian Far East between c. 500 b.c.e. and c. 1200 a.d. The Okhotsk culture was well-known for its use of iron tools and its hunting of marine mammals like seals and walruses.

Okhotsk theory proponents use linguistic and genetic evidence to buttress their argument. The Ainu language is related to other northern Asian languages, including those spoken by natives in the Russian Far East, but only on a distant genetic level. Ainu and Okhotsk populations in northern Asia share some genetic markers, according to genetic studies.

The Ainu have played a significant role in Japanese history and culture, regardless of the controversy surrounding their genesis. The indigenous Ainu people of Japan established a distinct culture and way of life in the centuries following their arrival. They lived off the land and sea, subsisting on hunting, fishing, and gathering, and developed a profound spiritual tradition based on a recognition of the inherent value of all forms of life.

The Ainu also created their own unique fashions and architectural styles, as well as elaborate wood carvings, embroidery, and beadwork. The Ainu were especially admired for the complexity and symbolism of their textiles.

The Ainu people have endured many hardships over the centuries, despite their rich cultural heritage. The Japanese government colonized Hokkaido in the late 19th century and actively pursued the assimilation of the indigenous Ainu people. The Japanese government outlawed numerous aspects of Ainu culture, including their language, religion, and traditional clothing. Furthermore, many Ainu were compelled to take on Japanese given names and surnames.

In the decades that followed, the Ainu were the target of widespread prejudice and discrimination in Japan. Many Ainu were prevented from receiving healthcare, an education, and other fundamental necessities. After WWII, the Japanese government acknowledged the Ainu as an indigenous people and began taking measures to correct past wrongs.

The Ainu people still have a long way to go before they can rest easy. The Ainu language is endangered because it is not Japanese and is instead related to the languages spoken by natives in Russia and other parts of northern Asia. Attempts are being made to revive and preserve the Ainu language for future generations, as many younger Ainu no longer speak it.

The Ainu people of Japan and the rest of the world have seen a surge in interest in their culture and history in recent years. There has been a resurgence of interest in traditional Ainu textiles and artwork, spurred in part by the opening of museums and cultural centers in Hokkaido and elsewhere in Japan.

The mysteries of Ainu history and culture have been partially solved thanks to archaeological investigations. Ainu pottery, stone tools, and other artifacts, as well as their material culture as a whole, have been uncovered through archaeological excavations.

Despite this, there is still a lot about the Ainu and their history that we don't know. There may be more to learn about the origin and history of this fascinating and resilient indigenous group if archaeologists, geneticists, and linguists dig deeper into their past.

To sum up, the Ainu are an endearing and vital part of Japan's past and present. The Ainu have persisted through many hardships to preserve their unique culture and play a significant role in modern Japan. While archaeological investigations have shed light on previously unknown aspects of Ainu history and culture, much more remains to be discovered about this intriguing and resilient indigenous people.

The Ainu: History of the Indigenous people of Japan

---

BY THE ARCHAEOLOGIST EDITOR GROUP

---

The Ainu: A Journey Through the History of Japan's Indigenous People

Deep within the intricate tapestry of Japan's history lies a lesser-known but deeply significant thread: the story of the Ainu. As Japan's indigenous inhabitants, the Ainu possess a rich cultural heritage, unique traditions, and a tumultuous history that has shaped their relationship with the broader Japanese narrative.

Origins of the Ainu

The Ainu are believed to have inhabited the Japanese archipelago long before the emergence of the Yamato Japanese, the ethnic majority in Japan today. Historically, they occupied the northern regions, mainly present-day Hokkaido, as well as parts of the Russian Far East, such as the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin.

Their physical appearance, characterized by lighter skin, wavy hair, and a distinct facial structure, sets them apart from their Japanese counterparts. This has led researchers to posit different theories regarding their ancestry, with some suggesting links to Caucasian or Siberian groups.

Culture and Spirituality

Central to Ainu culture is the reverence for nature and the spirits, known as *kamuy. These spirits reside in animals, plants, and natural phenomena. The bear, for example, holds a special place in Ainu spirituality and is celebrated through the 'bear sending' ritual, or *Iomante. This ceremony involves raising a bear cub in an Ainu village and then sending its spirit back to the divine world through a ritualistic offering.

Their traditional attire, the attus, woven from the inner bark of the indigenous ito- (Japanese False Nettle) tree, showcases intricate embroidery and patterns that signify different familial lineages and regions.

Historical Struggles

The Ainu's relationship with the ethnic Japanese has been fraught with challenges. Beginning in the 13th century, trade relationships between the Ainu and the Japanese were established. However, as Japan expanded northward during the subsequent centuries, these relations became increasingly imbalanced.

By the Meiji period (1868–1922), the Japanese government had initiated policies aimed at assimilating the Ainu, driven by a vision of a homogenous national identity. The Ainu were prohibited from practicing their customs or speaking their language, and even their traditional hunting and fishing activities were restricted. This period marked a significant loss of Ainu cultural heritage.

Recognition and Revival

It wasn't until the late 20th and early 21st centuries that efforts to recognize and revive Ainu culture gained momentum. In 1997, the Ainu Culture Promotion Act was enacted to preserve and promote Ainu heritage. More significantly, in 2008, the Japanese government officially recognized the Ainu as the indigenous people of Japan.

Today, there's a palpable effort to rekindle Ainu traditions. Institutions like the Ainu Museum in Shiraoi, Hokkaido, and cultural parks offer insights into their traditional ways of life. Efforts are also being made to revive the Ainu language, although it remains critically endangered.

The journey of the Ainu, from ancient inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago to a marginalized community and then to a recognized and celebrated part of Japanese culture, mirrors the complexities inherent in the histories of indigenous communities worldwide. As the modern world grapples with questions of identity and cultural preservation, the Ainu stand as a testament to resilience, endurance, and the indomitable spirit of a people deeply connected to their land and heritage.

The Kijimuna: Guardian of Nature and Community in Okinawan Folklore

BY THE ARCHAEOLOGIST EDITOR GROUP

The Kijimuna is a mythical creature that is said to inhabit the forests of Okinawa, Japan. It is often depicted as a mischievous, child-like creature with bright red hair and skin. Although the Kijimuna is a popular part of Okinawan folklore, there is still much mystery surrounding this mythical creature.

One of the most intriguing aspects of the Kijimuna is its origins. Some believe that the Kijimuna are a part of the Ryukyu culture, which existed in Okinawa prior to the arrival of the Japanese. Others believe that the Kijimuna may have originated from other cultures that were present in the area, such as the Chinese or the Ainu of northern Japan.

Another mystery surrounding the Kijimuna is its behavior. While the Kijimuna is often described as a playful creature that enjoys singing, dancing, and playing pranks on humans, there are also stories of the Kijimuna being dangerous and malevolent. Some legends say that the Kijimuna will lead travelers astray in the forest, while others suggest that the Kijimuna will harm those who disrespect the natural world.

Despite the mystery surrounding the Kijimuna, there are several common themes that are present in many of the stories and legends associated with this mythical creature. One of these themes is the importance of respecting nature. In many of the stories, the Kijimuna is angered by humans who are careless or disrespectful towards the environment. This theme reflects the strong connection between the people of Okinawa and the natural world around them.

Another common theme in Kijimuna folklore is the importance of community. In many of the stories, the Kijimuna is depicted as a social creature that enjoys the company of others. Some legends even suggest that the Kijimuna will help humans who show kindness and compassion towards others.

In addition to its role in folklore, the Kijimuna has also become a popular symbol in Okinawan culture. It is often used as a mascot for sports teams, and its image can be found on a variety of products, including clothing and souvenirs. Despite its popularity, however, there is still much that is unknown about this mythical creature.

One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the Kijimuna is its connection to other mythical creatures from around the world. Some researchers have suggested that the Kijimuna may be related to creatures such as the Irish leprechaun or the Scottish brownie. These creatures are also depicted as mischievous, child-like beings that are said to inhabit the natural world.

Another mystery surrounding the Kijimuna is its role in modern culture. While the Kijimuna is a popular symbol in Okinawan culture, there are concerns that the true meaning and significance of this mythical creature may be lost over time. Some worry that the Kijimuna may become nothing more than a commercialized symbol with little connection to its roots in Okinawan folklore.

Despite the mystery surrounding the Kijimuna, this mythical creature remains an important part of Okinawan culture. Its role in folklore and its connection to the natural world reflect the values and beliefs of the people of Okinawa. As long as the Kijimuna continues to capture the imagination of Okinawans and visitors alike, its mysteries will continue to be explored and celebrated.

Kijimuna: The Red-Haired Mythical Guardians of Okinawa

In this captivating documentary, we journey to the heart of Okinawa to uncover the lore of the Kijimuna, mystical creatures deeply woven into the fabric of local folklore. These mythical beings, often depicted as small, red-haired woodland spirits, are seen as both guardians of nature and symbols of community values.

We delve into the rich tapestry of Okinawan folklore, where the Kijimuna hold a place of prominence. From their abode in the Banyan trees to their playful, sometimes mischievous interactions with humans, every tale adds a unique layer to the Kijimuna's character.

This film explores how the Kijimuna encapsulate the Okinawan respect for nature and the environment. Their tales often serve as parables, reminding us of the importance of co-existing harmoniously with the natural world.

We also shed light on how the Kijimuna reinforce community bonds and cultural norms within Okinawan society. Through heartwarming narratives and traditions, we see how the Kijimuna have become endearing cultural symbols that continue to unite generations.

Whether you're a folklore enthusiast, a cultural explorer, or simply someone fascinated by the mythical, "The Kijimuna: Guardian of Nature and Community in Okinawan Folklore" promises to be an enchanting journey. Join us as we dive deep into the folklore of Okinawa.

The Legendary Duel between Sasaki Kojiro and Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵, 1584–1645) is also known by his other names, Shinmen Takezō or Miyamoto Bennosuke, or his Buddhist name Niten Dōraku. He was an expert swordsman and rōnin who was known for his many duels even when he was very young. Miyamoto Musashi was the author of The Book of Five Rings, about tactics, strategy, and swordfighting philosophies that are still used today. He also founded the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū or Niten-ryū style popular for its two-sword techniques.

Sasaki Kojiro, known as ‘Demon of the Western Provinces’ was a master swordman who was born in Fukui prefecture. He earned this nickname because of his skill with the nodachi, since nodachi swords were often depicted as something that a demon would use. Legend says that Kojiro was a very flamboyant man. He quite often wore the clothes of a Kabuki actor which made him stand out, though a man of Kojiro’s skill level didn’t necessarily have to worry about what people thought of his attire.

He was also known as Ganryu, a name shared with the sword style he eventually came up with. Ganryu means ‘large rock style’, and involves the use of the nodachi. He was known for a particular technique called Tsubame Gaeshi, which translates to “the turning swallows cut”. Swallows move very fast and erratically, and they can also change directions very quickly which is where the name of this technique came from. The speed that he went from his first swing to the next was extremely fast, which is quite surprising considering he wielded a very long sword.

Some of his duels before fighting against Miyamoto Musashi include one in which he fought against three different men armed with swords, while the only thing he was wielding was a Tessen, or war fan with outer spokes made of plates of iron. Without a sword, he defeated every one of them with his fan, which showed he was a skilled warrior with more than just a sword. Then again, it also shows his skill with swords since you have to know what you’re fighting against. There’s another legend in which he defeats his own uncle, and then of course the one in which he fights Musashi. Unfortunately that’s the only duel that we really know the details of.

Sasaki Kojirō  and Miyamoto Musashi were involved in one of Japan’s historic duels in 1612. The two swordsmen were bitter rivals at the time. There are several accounts on the story that led to the actual duel; the one considered the most accurate goes like this.

Miyamoto Musashi, wishing to put an end to the notion of who is really the best swordsman, requested Lord Hosokawa Tadaoki (a respected samurai), through his trusted vassal Nagaoka Sado Okinaga, to arrange a duel between the two swordsmen. The duel took place on 13th April 1612, in the remote island of Ganryujima of Funashima, off the coast of the Bizen Province. As part of a strategy to throw off Kojirō ‘s inner state of being, Musashi arrived three hours late.

When he finally arrived, the officials of the duel as well as Sasaki Kojiro were extremely irritated; Kojiro was full of rage. On drawing his katana, he threw his scabbard aside, prompting Musashi to further enrage him by commenting, “If you have no more use for your sheath, you are already dead.”

The duel began with both men on guard as a show of respect for the other’s skill with their own style and technique. In the end, though, there could be only one winner. Musashi had provoked Kojirō to make the first attack. Miyamoto quickly countered and succeeded in breaking Kojirō’s left ribs and puncturing his lungs, eventually killing him. Because of this event, Musashi attained spiritual awakening and renounced ever doing lethal duels in the future.

The History of Writing; Tracing the Development of expressing Language by Systems of Markings

---

by dimosthenis vasiloudis

---

Protowriting, ideographic systems, or early mnemonic symbols came before more advanced writing systems in the evolution of writing in human societies (symbols or letters that make remembering them easier).

A subsequent development is true writing, in which the content of a spoken language is encoded so that another reader may reasonably reconstruct the identical utterance written down. It differs from proto-writing, which frequently forgoes recording grammatical words and affixes, making it harder or even impossible to reassemble the precise meaning intended by the writer unless a substantial amount of context is already known in advance.

Writing innovations

The idea that writing originated in a single civilization and was called "monogenesis" persisted for a long time. According to academics, all writing originated in Mesopotamia's ancient Sumer and spread around the world as a result of cultural diffusion. This argument holds that traders or merchants traveling between geographical locations passed on the idea of representing language by written signs, though perhaps not necessarily the specifics of how such a system operated.

The finding of ancient Mesoamerican scripts, far from Middle Eastern sources, demonstrated, however, that writing had been created more than once. In at least four ancient civilizations, including Mesopotamia (between 3400 and 3100 BCE), Egypt (about 3250 BCE), China (1200 BCE), and lowland portions of southern Mexico and Guatemala, writing may have independently originated (by 500 BCE).

Some academics have suggested that ancient Egypt "The earliest authentic examples of Egyptian writing differ from Mesopotamian writing in both structure and style, indicating that they must have emerged independently. Although there is still a chance that Mesopotamian "stimulus dispersion" occurred, the influence could not have extended beyond the dissemination of an idea."

Because there is no evidence of communication between ancient China and the Near Eastern literate civilizations, as well as because Mesopotamian and Chinese approaches to phonetic representation differ, it is thought that ancient Chinese characters are independent creations.

The Vinča symbols.

The Rongorongo script of Easter Island, the Vina symbols from about 5500 BCE, and the Indus script of the Bronze Age Indus Valley civilization are all controversial. Since none have been translated, it is unclear if they all represent real writing, protowriting, or something entirely different.

The earliest coherent texts date from around 2600 BCE, and Sumerian archaic (pre-cuneiform) writing and Egyptian hieroglyphs are usually regarded as the earliest authentic writing systems. Both developed out of their ancestors' proto-literate symbol systems between 3400 and 3100 BCE. The Proto-Elamite script belongs to roughly the same time frame.

writing methods

Writing systems are distinct from symbolic communication systems. For most writing systems, reading a text requires some knowledge of the spoken language that goes along with it. In contrast, it's not always necessary to have a prior understanding of a spoken language to use symbolic systems like information signs, paintings, maps, and mathematics. Every human group has its own language, which is thought by many to be a natural and essential aspect of mankind.

Writing system development has been intermittent, uneven, and delayed, and old oral communication systems have only been partially replaced. Writing systems generally develop more slowly after they are formed than their spoken counterparts and frequently preserve traits and idioms that have been lost to the spoken language.

Three writing standards are thought to apply to all writing systems. First, writing must be comprehensive; it must have a meaning or purpose, and it must make a point or be able to convey that message. Second, whether they are physical or digital, all writing systems must include some kind of symbol that can be created on a surface. In order to facilitate communication, the writing system's symbols must resemble spoken words or speech.

The greatest advantage of writing is that it gives society a way to regularly and thoroughly preserve information—something that the spoken word could not previously do as successfully. Writing enables communities to communicate knowledge, transmit information, and

stages of development

Sumer

An ancient civilization of southern Mesopotamia, is believed to be the place where written language was first invented around 3200 BCE.

Beginning with the Neolithic pottery phase, when clay tokens were used to keep track of particular quantities of animals or other goods, writing first appeared. These tokens were initially imprinted on the exterior of spherical clay envelopes, which were later used to keep them. Afterwards, flat tablets were gradually introduced in place of the tokens, and signs were recorded using a stylus. Towards the end of the fourth millennium BCE, Uruk was where actual writing was first discovered. Other areas of the Near East quickly followed.

The earliest recorded account of the development of writing is found in a poem from ancient Mesopotamia:

The Lord of Kulaba patted some clay and wrote on it like a tablet because the messenger's mouth was heavy and he couldn't repeat the message. It has never been possible to write on clay before.

Enmerkar and the King of Aratta, a Sumerian epic written around 1800 BCE

Although there is agreement among scholars as to the difference between prehistory and the history of early writing, there is disagreement as to when proto-writing became "real writing." The criteria are somewhat arbitrary. In the broadest sense, writing is a way of keeping track of information. It is made up of graphemes, which in turn can be made up of glyphs.

Many centuries of shattered inscriptions typically follow the advent of writing in a particular region. The presence of coherent texts in a culture's writing system is how historians determine a culture's "historicity".

Standard reconstruction of the development of writing. There is a possibility that the Egyptian script was invented independently from the Mesopotamian script.

A conventional "proto-writing to true writing" system follows a general series of developmental stages:

Picture writing system: glyphs (simplified pictures) directly represent objects and concepts. In connection with this, the following substages may be distinguished:

• Mnemonic: glyphs primarily as a reminder.

• Pictographic: glyphs directly represent an object or a concept such as (A) chronological, (B) notices, (C) communications, (D) totems, titles, and names, (E) religious, (F) customs, (G) historical, and (H) biographical.

• Ideographic: graphemes are abstract symbols that directly represent an idea or concept.

Pre-cuneiform tags, with drawing of goat or sheep and number (probably "10"): "Ten goats", Al-Hasakah, 3300–3100 BCE, Uruk culture.

Transitional system: graphemes refer not only to the object or idea that it represents but to its name as well.

• Phonetic system: graphemes refer to sounds or spoken symbols, and the form of the grapheme is not related to its meanings. This resolves itself into the following substages:

• Verbal: grapheme (logogram) represents a whole word.

• Syllabic: grapheme represents a syllable.

• Alphabetic: grapheme represents an elementary sound.

Designs on some of the labels or token from Abydos, carbon-dated to circa 3400–3200 BC and among the earliest form of writing in Egypt. They are remarkably similar to contemporary clay tags from Uruk, Mesopotamia.

The best known picture writing system of ideographic or early mnemonic symbols are:

• Jiahu symbols, carved on tortoise shells in Jiahu, c. 6600 BCE

• Vinča symbols (Tărtăria tablets), c. 5300 BCE[24]

• Early Indus script, c. 3100 BCE

In the Old World, true writing systems developed from neolithic writing in the Early Bronze Age (4th millennium BC).

Locations and timeframes

Comparative evolution

from pictograms to abstract shapes, in Mesopotamian cuneiforms, Egyptian hieroglyphs and Chinese characters

Proto-writing

The first writing systems of the Early Bronze Age were not a sudden invention. Rather, they were a development based on earlier traditions of symbol systems that cannot be classified as proper writing, but have many of the characteristics of writing. These systems may be described as "proto-writing". They used ideographic or early mnemonic symbols to convey information, but it probably directly contained no natural language. These systems emerged in the early Neolithic period, as early as the 7th millennium BC, and include:

• The Jiahu symbols found carved in tortoise shells in 24 Neolithic graves excavated at Jiahu, Henan province, northern China, with radiocarbon dates from the 7th millennium BCE. Most archaeologists consider these not directly linked to the earliest true writing.

• Vinča symbols, sometimes called the "Danube script", are a set of symbols found on Neolithic era (6th to 5th millennia BCE) artifacts from the Vinča culture of Central Europe and Southeast Europe.

• The Dispilio Tablet of the late 6th millennium may also be an example of proto-writing.

• The Indus script, which from 3500 BCE to 1900 BCE was used for extremely short inscriptions.

The Dispilio Tablet

The Dispilio tablet is a wooden tablet bearing inscribed markings, unearthed during George Hourmouziadis's excavations of Dispilio in Greece, and carbon 14-dated to 5202 (± 123) BC.

It was discovered in 1993 in a Neolithic lakeshore settlement that occupied an artificial island near the modern village of Dispilio on Lake Kastoria in Kastoria, Western Macedonia, Greece.

Even after the Neolithic, a number of societies used proto-writing as a transitional form before adopting formal writing. Such a mechanism might have existed in the quipu of the Incas (15th century CE), often known as "talking knots". Another example is the pictographs created by Uyaquk before the Central Alaskan Yup'ik language developed the Yugtun syllabary around 1900.

Ancient writing

The Bronze Age saw the development of writing in a wide range of cultures. Indus script, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Cretan hieroglyphs, Chinese logographs, Sumerian cuneiform writing, and the Olmec script of Mesoamerica are a few examples. Around 1600 BCE, the Chinese script most likely evolved apart from the Middle Eastern scripts. It is also generally accepted that the pre-Columbian Mesoamerican writing systems, which include the Olmec and Maya scripts, had separate origins. In 2000 BCE, it is believed that the first real alphabetic writing was created for Hebrew laborers in the Sinai by assigning Semitic values to mostly Egyptian hieratic characters (see History of the alphabet and Proto-Sinaitic alphabet).

Ethiopia's Geez writing system is regarded as Semitic. With roots in the Meroitic Sudanese ideogram system, it is most likely of semi-independent origin. The majority of alphabets used today are either direct descendants of this one invention, many through the Phoenician alphabet, or were designed in direct response to it. The early Old Italic alphabet and Plautus (c. 750–250 BCE) were separated by around 500 years in Italy, while the Elder Futhark inscriptions and early works like the Abrogans (c. 200–750 CE) are separated by a similar amount of time in the case of the Germanic peoples.

Cuneiform writing

The first Sumerian script was derived from a system of clay tokens used to denote different types of goods. This had developed into a system of keeping accounts by the end of the fourth millennium BC, utilizing a stylus with a circular form that was impressed into soft clay at various angles to record numbers. A pointed stylus was used to gradually add pictographic lettering on this to show what was being counted. Writing using a wedge-shaped stylus (hence the name "cuneiform") began to include phonetic features by the 29th century BCE and gradually replaced writing with a round stylus and a sharp stylus by about 2700–2500 BCE.

Cuneiform first started to represent Sumerian syllables around 2600 BCE. Ultimately, cuneiform writing evolved into a general-purpose system for writing numerals, syllables, and logograms. This alphabet was adapted to the Akkadian language starting in the 26th century BCE, and from there to others like Hurrian and Hittite. This writing system resembles Old Persian and Ugaritic scripts in appearance.

Hieroglyphics from Egypt

Literacy was concentrated among a well-educated elite of scribes, who played a crucial role in upholding the Egyptian empire through writing. To become scribes in the employ of temple, royal (pharaonic), and military authority, one had to come from a certain background.

According to Geoffrey Sampson, the general concept of expressing words from a language in writing was likely transmitted to Egypt via Sumerian Mesopotamia. Egyptian hieroglyphs "came into being a little after Sumerian script, and, possibly [were], invented under the influence of the latter." Despite the significance of early Egypt-Mesopotamia links, "no definitive judgment has been established as to the genesis of hieroglyphics in ancient Egypt" due to the lack of direct evidence. However, it is stated and agreed upon that "a very compelling argument can also be made for the independent development of writing in Egypt" and that "the evidence for such direct influence remains fragile."

Egyptian writing does suddenly appear at that time, but Mesopotamia has an evolutionary history of sign usage in tokens dating back to around 8000 BCE. Since the 1990s, discoveries of glyphs at Abydos, dated to between 3400 and 3200 BCE, may challenge the conventional idea that the Mesopotamian symbol system predates the Egyptian one. These glyphs were discovered in tomb U-J at Abydos; they were written on ivory and most likely served as labels for other items discovered there.

Even though he acknowledged that Egypt's geographic location made it a receptacle for many influences, Egyptian scholar Gamal Mokhtar maintained that the inventory of hieroglyphic symbols originated from "fauna and flora used in the signs [which] are essentially African" and that in regards to writing, "we have seen that a purely Nilotic, therefore African origin not only is not excluded, but probably reflects the reality."

Elamite writing

The unintelligible Proto-Elamite writing first appears around 3100 BCE. Around the latter third millennium, it is thought to have evolved into Linear Elamite, which was later supplanted by Elamite Cuneiform, which was adapted from Akkadian.

Indus script

Most inscriptions containing these symbols are extremely short, making it difficult to judge whether or not these symbols constituted a writing system used to record the as yet unidentified language(s) of the Indus Valley civilisation.

The Indus script has been assigned to markings and symbols discovered at numerous Indus Valley civilization sites due to the hypothesis that they were used to transcribe the Harappan language. It is disputed whether the script, which was in use from roughly 3500 to 1900 BCE, is a Bronze Age writing script (logographic-syllabic) or merely proto-writing symbols. According to analysis, it was written in boustrophedon or from right to left.

early SEMITIC ALPHABETS

Around 1800 BCE in Ancient Egypt, the first "abjads," which mapped individual symbols to individual phonemes but not necessarily each phoneme to a symbol, appeared as a representation of the language created there by Semitic workers. However, by that time, alphabetic principles had only a remote chance of being ingrained into Egyptian hieroglyphs for upwards of a millennium.

Did the Proto-Canaanite alphabet take its symbols independently of the hieroglyphs?

It is only until the end of the Bronze Age that the Proto-Sinaitic script separates into the Proto-Canaanite alphabet (c. 1400 BCE), Byblos syllabary, and the South Arabian alphabet (c. 1200 BCE). These early abjads remained of minor significance for several decades. The untranslated Byblos syllabary most likely had some influence on the Proto-Canaanite, which in turn provided inspiration for the Ugaritic alphabet (c. 1300 BCE).

Anatolian hieroglyphs

The Hieroglyphic Luwian language was written down using Anatolian hieroglyphs, a native hieroglyphic script found in western Anatolia. Around the fourteenth century BCE, it initially appeared on royal seals of the Luwians.

Chinese characters

The corpus of inscriptions on oracle bones and brass from the late Shang dynasty is the earliest authenticated example of the Chinese script that has been found so far. The oldest of these is believed to date from about 1200 BCE.

There have been recent finds of tortoise-shell carvings from around 6000 BCE, such as Jiahu Script and Banpo Script, but it is debatable whether or not the carvings are complex enough to be considered writing. 3,172 cliff carvings from the period between 6000 and 5000 BCE have been found near Damaidi in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. They contain 8,453 different characters, including images of the sun, moon, stars, gods, and scenes of grazing or hunting.

Replica

of ancient Chinese script on an oracle turtle shell

These pictographs are thought to resemble the first Chinese characters that have been confirmed to be written. Writing in China would predate Mesopotamian cuneiform, traditionally recognized as the first manifestation of writing, by about 2,000 years if it were to be considered a written language. However, it is more likely that the inscriptions represent a type of proto-writing, comparable to the modern European Vinca script.

Early Greek and Cretan scripts

Cretan relics include hieroglyphic writing (early-to-mid-2nd millennium BCE, MM I to MM III, overlapping with Linear A from MM IIA at the earliest). The Mycenaean Greek writing system, Linear B, has been decoded, but Linear A has not yet been. The three overlapping, but distinct, writing systems can be categorized according to their chronological order and geographic distribution as follows:

• Cretan Hieroglyphic / Crete (eastward from the Knossos-Phaistos axis) / c. 2100−1700 BCE

• Linear A / Crete (except extreme southwest), Aegean Islands (Kea, Kythera, Melos, Thera), Greek mainland (Laconia) and west Minor Asia (Miletus and maybe Troy) / c. 1800−1450 BCE

• Linear B / Crete (Knossos), and mainland (Pylos, Mycenae, Thebes, Tiryns) / c. 1450−1200 BCE

The archaeological finds with signs of pre-alphabetic scripts in the Aegean

(Up) The finds with signs of Linear B script reach about 6,000 and constitute the majority of the pre-alphabetic written monuments of the Aegean.

(Middle) About 1,400 are the finds which imprint Linear A and make up a 11% of all pre-alphabetic inscriptions.

(Down) Cretan hieroglyphics occupies 2% of the available finds with only 400 finds.

Illustration: Dimosthenis Vasiloudis

Mesoamerica

The Cascajal Block, a stone slab with 3,000-year-old writing that predates the first Zapotec writing from around 500 BCE, was found in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is an example of the oldest script in the Western Hemisphere.

Stela 12 and 13

from the southern end of Building L, in the Zapotec city of Monte Albán, Outside of Oaxaca, Mexico.

The Maya script is one of numerous pre-Columbian scripts found in Mesoamerica, and it appears to have been the most well-developed and extensively deciphered. The earliest clearly identifiable Maya inscriptions date to the third century BCE, and writing continued to be used until just before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century BCE. A combination of logograms and syllabic symbols, utilized in Maya writing, is somewhat reminiscent of current Japanese writing.

IRON AGE WRITING

The Proto-Canaanite alphabet, which was used into the Iron Age, is all that the Phoenician alphabet is (conventionally taken from a cut-off date of 1050 BCE). The Greek and Aramaic alphabets were derived from this alphabet. They eventually gave rise to the writing systems that are currently used everywhere from Western Asia to Africa and Europe. The Greek alphabet, on the other hand, was the first to use specific symbols to represent vowel sounds.

By Matt Baker

In the first centuries of the Common Era, the Greek and Latin alphabets gave rise to a number of European scripts, including the Runes, Gothic, and Cyrillic alphabets, while the Aramaic alphabet developed into the Hebrew, Arabic, and Syriac abjads, the latter of which spread as far as Mongolian script. The Ge'ez abugida originated from the South Arabian alphabet. According to some academics, the Indian Brahmic family also descended from the Aramaic alphabet.

GRAKLIANI HILL WRITING

At Georgia's Grakliani Hill, behind a fallen altar from a temple dedicated to a fertility goddess from the seventh century BCE, an obscure script was uncovered in 2015. Grakliani's other temples' inscriptions, which depict animals, people, or decorative features, are different from these ones. Although its letters are rumored to be connected to ancient Greek and Aramaic, the script has no similarities to any known alphabet. In contrast, the earliest Armenian and Georgian letters come from the fifth century CE, right after the respective nations converted to Christianity. The inscription looks to be the oldest local alphabet ever uncovered in the entire Caucasus region. An portion of the inscription measuring 31 by 3 inches had been unearthed by September 2015.

Grakliani script on the basement of altar of goddess of fertility (XI-X c. BC)

Vakhtang Licheli, director of the State University's Institute of Archaeology, claims that "The writings on the temple's two altars have been kept in remarkably good condition. While the pedestal of the second altar is entirely covered with writings, the first altar has few clay letters carved into it." Unpaid students made the discovery. Inscriptions from Grakliani Hill were sent to Miami Laboratory in 2016 for beta analytic radiocarbon dating, which revealed that they were created between c. 1005 and c. 950 BCE.

WRITING IN THE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD

When the Greeks adopted the Phoenician script for use with their own language in the early eighth century BCE, the history of the Greek alphabet officially began. The Greek and Phoenician alphabets share a lot of similarities in terms of their characters, and both alphabets nowadays are written in the same order. The Phoenician system's adapter(s) added three letters to the conclusion of the series, known as the "supplementals." The Greek alphabet evolved into a number of different forms.

Early Greek alphabet on pottery in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens

One was utilized in southern Italy and west of Athens and is known as Western Greek or Chalcidian. The other variant, known as Eastern Greek, was spoken by the Athenians and in modern-day Turkey before spreading over the rest of the Greek-speaking world. The Greeks initially elected to write like the Phoenicians, from right to left, but subsequently switched to left to right. The lines would then alternately read from left to right, then from right to left, and so on. On occasion, though, the writer would begin the next line where the preceding one ended. Up until the sixth century, this style of writing, called "boustrophedon," mirrored the course of an ox-drawn plough.

Italic scripts and Latin

Cippus Perusinus

Etruscan writing near Perugia, Italy, the precursor of the Latin alphabet

All of the contemporary European scripts have their roots in Greek. The Latin alphabet, named after the Latins, a central Italian people who came to rule Europe with the emergence of Rome, is the most widely used descendant of the Greek script. Around the fifth century BCE, the Etruscan civilization, which employed a multitude of Italic scripts descended from the western Greeks, taught the Romans how to write. The other Old Italic scripts have not survived in very large quantities due to the cultural hegemony of the Roman state, and the Etruscan language is largely extinct.

WRITING DURING THE MIDDLE AGES

Roman rule in Western Europe fell apart, and the Persian Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire became the main centers of literary development. Latin, which was never a major literary language, lost prominence quickly (except within the Roman Catholic Church). Greek and Persian were the two main literary languages, but Syriac and Coptic were also significant.

Arabic quickly became a significant literary language in the area as a result of the development of Islam in the 7th century. Greek's status as a scholarly language soon lost ground to Arabic and Persian. The Turkish and Persian languages now use Arabic script as their principal writing system. The development of the cursive scripts for Greek, the Slavic languages, Latin, and other languages was also greatly inspired by this script.

The Hindu-Arabic numeral system was also extended throughout Europe thanks to the Arabic language. The modern Spanish city of Cordoba had emerged as one of the world's leading intellectual hubs by the start of the second millennium and was home to the largest library at the time. Its location at the meeting point of the Islamic and Western Christian worlds encouraged intellectual growth and written exchange between the two cultures.

THE MODERN ERA AND THE RENAISSANCE

By the 14th century, Western Europe had experienced a renaissance, which had temporarily increased the significance of Greek while slowly restoring Latin's status as an important literary language. In Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, a comparable but smaller emergence took place. As the Islamic Golden Era came to an end, Arabic and Persian also started to slowly lose ground. In order to codify the phonologies of the various languages, the Latin alphabet underwent several alterations as a result of the rebirth of literary development in Western Europe.

Writing has undergone steady change throughout history, in large part because of the emergence of new technologies. Technology advancements such as the printing press, computer, mobile phone, and pen have all changed how and what is written as well as the medium in which it is generated. Characters can now be generated with a button press rather than a hand motion, especially with the development of digital technology like the computer and the smartphone.

Ancient Times Tables Written on Wood Found in Western Japan

Kyoto, July 27 (Jiji Press)--The Kyoto Prefecture Research Center for Archaeological Properties has announced the discovery of a strip of wood from the eighth century with 35 individual multiplications written on it.

The wood strip, unearthed at the Tsuruo archeological site in the city of Kyotango, Kyoto Prefecture, western Japan, is 219 millimeters long, 49 millimeters wide and 6 millimeters thick.

As the site had a public office at the time, the research center believes that civil servants who worked there used the strip of wood to speed up tax collection work.

The front of the strip shows the eight and nine times tables written in ink, while the back side has the five to seven times tables. The center determined that the wood strip was from the Nara period from pottery found nearby.

Around 80 strips of wood dating back to ancient to medieval times with multiplication tables written on them have been found in Japan so far.

Explore an 80-year-old Japanese Submarine Wreck in Virtual Reality!

Incredible virtual dive offers unprecedented access to a WWII warship that sank off the coast of Darwin in 1942

It has been 80 years since the first Japanese warship was sunk by the Australian navy during World War Two.

The I-124 had been on a secret mission laying mines off the coast of Darwin when it suffered irreparable damage from dozens of depth charges detonated by the HMAS Deloraine.

All 80 crew members died in the dramatic battle on January 20, 1942, just one month before the Japanese bombing of Darwin, and the wreck has lain on the sea bed ever since.

Exploring the site as a member of the public is impossible because of its protected status and shared heritage between Australia and Japan — until now that is.

That's because a new virtual reality experience is offering unprecedented access to the World War Two submarine, enabling people to use YouTube to 'dive' down and get a closer look.

All they need is a VR headset, smartphone or tablet and I-124's remains can be explored in extraordinary detail thanks to maritime archaeologists.

In anticipation of the 80th anniversary, the Northern Territory Government Heritage Branch undertook a joint project with the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) from the AIMS research vessel Solander to map the wreck using state-of-the-art remote sensing equipment in October 2021.

Dr John McCarthy, a maritime archaeologist at Flinders University, was then commissioned to create a virtual dive experience to show how this data is being used to understand and monitor this site, one of Australia's most important wrecks.

'Drawing on our data, and historic ship plans and photographs, we've created a virtual dive experience in which the video takes the viewer through the data gathering process, and then takes you down into the deep, to experience the wreck firsthand,' said Dr McCarthy.

'The archaeological survey shows that the wreck is in good condition, but with some signs of degradation of the outer hull that require further investigation.

'Our aim was to create a realistic virtual experience with an accurate digital reconstruction of the submarine given the historical significance of the wreck in Australia and Japan.'

The wreck can be found 40 miles (65km) off the coast of Darwin Harbour.

It is considered a highly significant site of shared heritage between Australia and Japan, with former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attending a 2018 memorial service in Darwin honouring the Japanese soldiers who died.

Dr McCarthy said developments in virtual technology are making it possible to finally explore wrecks and submerged landscapes previously hidden to the wider public.

The I-124 was built by the Kawasaki Corporation in Kobe, Japan in 1926 and launched a year later on December 12, 1927.

She carried an armament that included 12 torpedoes, one naval gun and 42 naval mines.

Having first entered service during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, I-124 was later used for three patrols during World War Two.

The first saw the submarine lay mines off Manilla Bay in the Philippines in December 1941.

A second followed before I-124 was lost on her third patrol while laying mines off the coast of Darwin in northern Australia.

An unsuccessful attack on a US oil tanker in the region by a sister submarine prompted the Australian navy to send three corvettes to the scene between Darwin and Bathurst Island.

First there was HMAS Deloraine. I-124 fired a torpedo at the warship, which prompted the Australian navy to retaliate by detonating dozens of depth charges in a sustained attack.

This led to I-124 suffering irreparable damage and sinking to the sea bed in January 1942. 

All 80 crew members were killed in the battle. 

During World War Two, Japan was Australia's most ferocious enemy, dropping bombs on Darwin during 64 air raids between February 1942 and November 1943 that killed 252 Allied soldiers and civilians. 

On February 19, 1942, 188 Japanese planes attacked Darwin in two air raids, killing 235 people, wounding 400 and drawing Australia into the war.

It was the largest and most destructive single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia and led to the worst death toll in the nation's history.

Thirty aircraft were destroyed, 11 ships were sunk, and many civil and military facilities were also heavily damaged.

Nearly 2000 women and children had already been evacuated before the bombings started, but there was widespread panic and about half of Darwin's remaining civilian population fled in the immediate aftermath.

The raids were planned and led by the commander responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor ten weeks earlier, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.

One Japanese plane crash-landed on Melville Island to Darwin's north, and its pilot was captured by a local Aboriginal man. He was the first prisoner of war taken on Australian soil.

The assaults on northern Australia continued for the next two years, with more than 200 raids from Exmouth in the west to Townsville in Queensland.

The 'virtual dive experience' is available in both English and Japanese on YouTube here.

Japan: A Ceramic Jar With Thousands of Bronze Coins Unearthed at a Samurai’s Residence

In a town just north of Tokyo, a ceramic jar filled with thousands of bronze coins has been unearthed at the site of a fifteenth-century samurai’s residence in 2018

(Courtesy Saitama Cultural Deposits Research Corporation)

According to archaeologist Yoshiyuki Takise of the Saitama Cultural Deposits Research Corporation, the coins, which were cast in China, may have been an offering to the deity of the earth, or may simply have been buried for safekeeping.

Markings on a wooden tablet found on the rim of the jar indicate it could contain as many as 260,000 coins, a number that Takise says far exceeds what one would expect to find in circulation in what was then a rural area.

Ohara-tei (Site of Old Samurai Residence)

Samurai (侍) were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the 12th century to their abolition in the 1870s. They were the well-paid retainers of the daimyo (the great feudal landholders). They had high prestige and special privileges such as wearing two swords. They cultivated the bushido codes of martial virtues, indifference to pain, and unflinching loyalty, engaging in many local battles. During the peaceful Edo era (1603 to 1868) they became the stewards and chamberlains of the daimyo estates, gaining managerial experience and education. In the 1870s samurai families comprised 5% of the population. The Meiji Revolution ended their feudal roles, and they moved into professional and entrepreneurial roles. Their memory and weaponry remain prominent in Japanese popular culture.

By ERIC A. POWELL

Left to right: ceramic jar, jar with coins, and wooden tablet. (Courtesy Saitama Cultural Deposits Research Corporation)

Sculpture Eye-crafting Techniques: The Piercing Gazes that brought life to sculptures

Ιnlaid eyes are found in sculpture in many periods, from ancient times till Middle Ages. The history behind these wonderful innovations is great and dates back centuries.

Historically, several cultures have come up with some very ingenious solutions for how to bring more life to the eyes of their sculptures. Ancient Greeks would assemble eyes from copper, glass and/or shell, and anchor them from the inside of a hollow bronze head. Ancient Greek bronzesmiths had a variety of techniques at their disposal to enhance the appearance of their creations. Due to their often fragmentary state of preservation, the modern observer tends to think of early Greek bronzes as monochromatic, but it is clear that the practice of inlaying other materials into bronze started early in ancient Greece.

Inlays appear in a broad variety of bronze object types from weapons and armor to vessels and jewelry to relief-decorated objects and figural sculpture. Many of the finest early Greek bronzes were embellished with inlays that enlivened the sculptural forms and may have added symbolic or even magical qualities. Eyes were often given particular prominence with inlays. Of special interest is a new technical analysis of a Late Geometric statuette of a man and a centaur (Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. 17.190.2072) in which the eyes of the man were inlaid with silver to contrast with the eyes of the centaur, which appear to have an iron-rich inlay. Although the evidence is frequently incomplete, it is clear that a wide variety of colorful inlays such as gold, silver, iron, bone, ivory, and amber were utilized, and other materials, such as stone and shell, were certainly used as well.

Another great sculpture with eyes tha magnetize everyone who looks at them is Iniochos (Charioteer of Delphi). It has its own room in the museum of Delphi, and a quick glance is not enough to see it. You have to look at it closely from all sides and admire the multitude of details on its body and its bronze tunic. The eyes of Iniochos look alive, and perhaps no other statue gives this unique feeling. White enamel was used for the eyeballs to make them look exactly like a natural human eye. For the iris, brown semi-precious stone was used, while the pupils of the eyes are black. The eyelashes were made of small copper wires, while its lips were made of thin reddish copper plates.

Detail of the Iniochos statue's head, showing the inlaid eyes.

The Egyptians combined materials of alabaster, rock crystal & copper, and inserted them from the outside of the face to bring vitality to their sculptures and busts. There are early examples of Egyptian statues in which the inlaid eyes are either blue or grey in colour. Some epictions of deities such as Horus showed them with eyes that had a blue pupil. A range of materials are known to have been used depending on the desired effect and perhaps the situation, location and purpose for which the eye, and its artifact, were created to represent. Those eyes, for example, include the use of materials such as limestone, quartz, rock crystal, obsidian, bone and ivory, copper alloys, resin, plaster, animal glue and pigments. What is surprising is the recognition of what exquisite craft skill and technology are implied by the use of such crystal for the eyes of these statues.

Ancient Egyptian inlaid eye: (top) view of the eye from below; (bottom) x-radiograph of the eye from the same position, showing some of the technical features.

The sculpture of the Seated Scribe or Squatting Scribe is one of these famous works of ancient Egyptian art. It represents a figure of a seated scribe at work. The sculpture was discovered at Saqqara and dated to the period of the Old Kingdom, from either the 5th Dynasty, c. 2450–2325 BCE or the 4th Dynasty, 2620–2500 BCE. It is now in the Louvre Museum in Paris. It is a painted limestone statue, the eyes inlaid with rock crystal, magnesite (magnesium carbonate), copper-arsenic alloy, and nipples made of wood.

Detail of inlaid eye belonging to the "Seated Scribe”.

The Chinese would position small obsidian beads in the center of the eyes, (a technique which was sometimes also seen in Japan during the Asuka and Nara periods (combined 538-974). In the late Heian period (974-1185), however, a new process for infusing a startlingly realistic quality into the eyes of sculpture elevated Japanese Buddhist statuary to new heights.

In the early periods of Japanese art history, eyes were simply carved into the wood (and then painted). This way of depicting a sculpted eye is called chougan (彫眼), and examples of this can be seen in many temples throughout Japan. However, when visiting a temple with carvings that have crystal eyes, it is impossible to ignore the intimacy of the statuary’s pensive gaze or piercing glare. This style of eye-crafting is called gyokugan (玉眼).

Left: Twenty-Eight Attendants (Basu Sennin) Sanjusangendo. Right: photo by David Bilbrey, Sculptor and Art History hound.

In 1151, an Amida Triad in the Chougakuji was the first in Japan to employ gyokugan. The technology behind this craft can simply and casually be described as an eyeball sandwich. The būshi of the Chougakuji’s Amida group carved rock crystal into a lens, painted the inside with a pupil & iris, backed it with paper, and then inserted it into an uchiguri (hollowed-out) head. The result was revolutionary. Made more famous by the Kei school about 30 years later, this technique became the sculpting standard which further set Japanese butsuzo apart from what was happening with the rest of the world.