The Kashihara Archaeological Institute is one of the most distinguished centres for archaeological research in Japan. It was with a great sense of anticipation that I followed Okabayashi-san and Yoshimura Kazuaki, Chief Curator, into their conservation lab to be met by conservator (one of four in the museum) Okuyama Masayoshi. The reason for my visit was to see two of the remarkable finds recently unearthed at the Tomio Maruyama burial mound. Before me, on a long table, was a case containing one of them: a sword that drew international attention for being the longest known from Japan. When seen in person, the reason for its renown becomes immediately clear; the length of the sword is simply astonishing. Its handle alone is about 34cm long, making it a similar size to any normal sword. When the length of the actual blade is factored in as well, we doubted that a single person would have been able to wield it for ceremonial purposes, let alone combat. At present, the weapon is still undergoing painstaking lab-based excavation and conservation, but the remnants of a lacquered wooden sheath around the pommel were much better preserved than I had expected from the media reports.
Our next stop was an adjacent store room, where the second surprising find from Tomio Maruyama awaited us: a shield-shaped mirror, which has recently been cleaned and conserved. The latest 3D photographs clearly show the exquisite decoration on its back. This includes two circular dragon-like motifs, one above the other, with the central boss flanked by circles incorporating saw-tooth designs around their circumference. Certainly, all these elements can be found individually on other examples of circular mirrors, but in combination they create an exceptional overall effect. Okabayashi-san confirmed that he has never seen anything quite like it. Just like the sword, the mirror became, on discovery, the largest known in Japan. It is not just the size of these objects that makes them important, though, as their potential implications are every bit as extraordinary.
An intriguing tomb
To appreciate the significance of these finds it is useful to consider the location of Tomio Maruyama. The tomb lies to the south-west of what was to become the site of the 8th century AD capital of Japan, at Heijo – modern Nara. Tomio Maruyama is situated in an area whose significance during this key period in ancient Japan is little understood, between the better-known Saki burial mound cluster, and the renowned concentration of tombs at Mozu and Furuichi, which were constructed beyond the mountains that separate Nara from Osaka. The Mozu and Furuichi burial mound clusters were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019 and include tombs that are among the largest funerary monuments of the ancient world. Especially notable is the Daisen Tomb, which is some 485m in length and attributed to the 5th-century Emperor Nintoku (see CWA 123).
