The Sword Speaks. I Visited the 'Too Beautiful Power Device' of the Kofun Period | Nara, Kashihara Archaeological Institute Museum
Following the bronze mirrors from last time, I stepped into another corner of the exhibition room.
What was there was—a sword.
However, it is not a sword for fighting. It was a sword covered in gold, silver, and glass beads that could not cut anyone.
📸 Photo ① ── Decorative Tachi and Sword from the Fujinoki Kofun (Replica)
🔍 Claude's Explanation
Lying in the case is a replica of the decorative tachi and sword unearthed from the Fujinoki Kofun (Ikaruga Town, Nara Prefecture).
The Fujinoki Kofun is a circular tomb from the late 6th century, located just west of Horyu-ji Temple. The burial goods unearthed from the stone sarcophagus were designated as National Treasures in 2004, and this is an exhibition method of 'showing them through precise replicas because the originals cannot be displayed.'
What is a Tamamaki-no-tachi?
The large replica on the top shelf is of the "Tamamaki-no-tachi" lineage. It is a luxurious Japanese-style tachi, 136cm in length, with the entire surface decorated with silver and gilt-bronze plates and scattered with countless dark blue glass beads. In particular, the tachi placed at the top left and right of the two buried individuals were beautiful, accompanied by gilt-bronze ring-shaped ornaments and fish-shaped pendants (gyohai), with glass beads scattered on the scabbard.
What is a gyohai (fish-shaped pendant)?—An ornament made of thin gilt-bronze plates that look like a large fish split open at the back. For a long time, it was thought to be an "ornament to decorate the waist," but the excavation of the Fujinoki Kofun confirmed that it was an ornament attached to the tachi.
The moment it was determined after 1,500 years that 'Oh, this was attached to the tachi'—I think archaeology is a accumulation of such 'moments when mysteries are solved.'
What is a decorative sword (kazari-no-tsurugi)?
The shorter one on the bottom shelf is a replica of a "decorative sword." It has a round pommel and is thought to be an import from the Korean Peninsula.
The difference between a tachi and a tsurugi—
Item Tachi Tsurugi Blade Direction Single-edged (blade on one side only) Double-edged Length Long (70cm–136cm) Slightly shorter Era Kofun period to the age of the samurai Common in the Yayoi to Kofun periods
Looking at the brilliance of this replica, I cannot believe it was a "weapon." "A device that embodies authority by being worn"—that was the essence of the decorative tachi.
💭 My realization
You cannot actually fight with a tachi decorated to this extent. There was more value in "possessing" and "showing" it than in cutting.
In modern terms, it's like a limited edition Rolex? The meaning lies not in its function as a watch, but as a signal that 'I am a person who can possess this.'
However, a Rolex is worn as an accessory. A decorative sword is something you never let go of, even in death—you take it with you into the coffin.
The ancient sensibility of wanting to continue demonstrating authority even in the afterlife is, in a way, scary, and I love it.
📸 Photo ② ── Fujinoki Kofun decorative sword/blade explanatory panel (X-ray photo)
🔍 Claude's Explanation
This panel uses X-ray imaging of the actual artifacts to show which materials were used in which parts via a color map.
Looking at the legend—
Color Material 🟡 Gold (dark) Gold 🟡 Gold (light 1) Gilt bronze ① 🟡 Gold (light 2) Gilt bronze ② ⬜ Silver Silver 🟣 Purple glass bead 🔴 Red cord ⬜ White Unknown
When viewed through X-rays, the iron blade itself is a simple straight line. Surrounding it, gold, silver, and glass wrap around it in layers.
A: Ring-pommel sword (made on the Korean Peninsula) B: Bead-wrapped sword (Wa-style/Japanese-made) C: Sword (double-edged)
The fact that it's an X-ray photo is also modern and interesting. It lays bare the 'structure' of the decorations finished by craftsmen 1,500 years ago using 21st-century technology.
The actual items are National Treasures and cannot be touched, but X-rays pass through them. I felt that this 'technology to see the invisible' is somehow connected to both ancient mirrors and modern ion implantation equipment.
💭 My Insights
What you can tell from the X-ray photo isn't just the distribution of materials. You can read the design philosophy of 'where they used gold and where they used silver'.
Gold on the pommel, gilt bronze in the center of the scabbard, silver at the ends—this is a design that guides the eye with a gradient.
In engineering terms, it is the very design principle of using higher-cost materials for more important parts. Craftsmen 1,500 years ago were building with the same logic.
📸 Photo ③ ── Decorative sword explanatory panel (various ring-pommel swords)
🔍 Claude's Explanation
Reading the text on the panel—
The custom of decorating the pommel of a sword became popular especially in the 6th century. Their shapes can be classified into wedge-shaped, ring-headed, round-headed, and kabutsuchi (helmet-shaped) types. Among them, the common ring-headed and round-headed swords began to be produced within the archipelago based on imports from the Korean Peninsula. In particular, the ring-headed sword was the primary decorative sword produced throughout the 6th century.
The 6th century—this is an era that coincides exactly with the timing of the introduction of Buddhism (the 538 or 552 AD theories). Not only Buddhism but also this kind of 'design of authority' was being imported from the Korean Peninsula at the same time.
The 'Gilt-bronze Kabutsuchi Sword' in the upper right of the photo has a pommel with a round shape that looks just like a beetle's head. This is also a representative form of decorative sword from the 6th century.
The three items in the bottom row are close-ups of 'ring-headed sword pommels.' Inside the ring, a dragon (or phoenix) is depicted in openwork.
While dragons made on the Korean Peninsula are full of three-dimensionality and dynamism, the imitations produced in the archipelago show the patterns 'collapsing' in stages—the dragons stop looking like dragons.
The phenomenon where a design degrades through copies of copies of copies is something I also see in embedded development. When specifications are copied repeatedly, the original intent disappears.
💭 My realization
What I realized for the first time in this exhibition is the process by which decorative swords were 'domesticated.'
At first, they were imports from the Korean Peninsula. Next, 'domestic production based on imports.' And then, evolution into original designs (such as the tama-maki sword, a unique Wa-style).
This flow has a structure that is completely identical to the history of the semiconductor industry. Importing American technology → domestic production → independent evolution. 1,500 years ago, the 'localization' and 'Galapagosization' of technology were also progressing simultaneously.
📸 Photo 4 ── 3 Ring-headed Sword Pommels
🔍 Claude's Explanation
Three 'ring-headed sword pommels' are lined up in the case. The excavation sites are all kofun (tumuli) around Yamato—
Pommel excavation site Left (patina/copper) Abe-yama No. 4 Kofun, Koryo Town Center (gold) Ryuo-san C-3 Kofun, Tenri City Right (gold) Koshibe Kofun, Oyodo Town
All three items were excavated from the 'late 6th century.' Although the shape is the same 'ring-head,' the material and condition are completely different.
The copper product with a patina on the left and the gilt-bronze products in the center and right with gold leaf remaining—even in the same era and the same Yamato region, status was visualized through materials.
Looking at the openwork inside the ring, a pattern thought to be a dragon can be confirmed. It is widely believed that ring-headed swords were ceremonial swords distributed by the Yamato Court to influential local chieftains as symbols of official rank.
In other words, this is—**a 'license' granted by the Imperial Court.** Possessing a ring-headed sword is proof that one is 'a chieftain recognized by the Yamato Kingship'.
It is a nice detail that a small part of the pommel knob is also on display in the middle of the case. The precision of 1,500-year-old metalworking technology is condensed into this single small component.
💭 My observations
Seeing the three items lined up, the first thing I thought was—the design of same shape, different grade.
The shape is the same ring-pommel sword. But the rank changes depending on whether the material is gilt bronze or copper. In modern terms, it's like the same smartphone model, just with different storage capacities.
Standardizing the shape to incorporate them into a network of authority, and differentiating the materials to visualize the hierarchy—this is exactly the same as product line design philosophy.
📸 Photo 5 ── Iron sword with dragon motifs
🔍 Claude's commentary
The last item exuded a distinct presence.
Iron sword with dragon motifs — Excavation site: Niizawa Tomb No. 327, Kashihara City; Period: Late 6th century.
It looks like a lump of iron advanced in rust and corrosion. However—looking at the magnified photo above (taken with a loupe), you can see embossed dragon patterns here and there on the blade.
These are traces of inlay or gilding techniques. It is a sophisticated metalworking technique that expresses patterns by hammering (or applying) gold or silver wire into an iron base.
This technology was also introduced via the Korean Peninsula, and similar examples can be found in Gaya-style sword ornaments from the southern part of the peninsula.
As I look at this pattern 1,500 years later, I can recognize it as a 'dragon' just as the craftsman at the time intended.
💭 My observations
This iron sword is the most 'quietly terrifying'.
I think the shiny restored replicas are 'amazing.' But this sword, which has endured 1,500 years of corrosion and still has the faint image of a dragon remaining—
I feel something like **'the obsession of the craftsman who wanted to be remembered.'**
Not to be shown to anyone, even if it became invisible or decayed in the tomb, the dragon was there.
Summary: Decorative swords were the 'body language of authority'
What became clear through this exhibition is the triple function of decorative swords—
Function ContentPrestige GoodsAn 'authentication badge' granted by the Imperial CourtIdentificationVisualizing hierarchy through materials (gold, silver, copper)Funerary ApparatusA signal that continues to assert authority even in the afterlife
If bronze mirrors were 'disks of magic and authority,' then decorative swords were the 'body language of authority.'
Holding, showing, and never letting go even in death—the people of the Kofun period poured extraordinary obsession intophysically embodyingpower.
Inside a glass case in Kashihara 1,500 years later, it continues to assert itself quietly even now.
Nara Prefecture Kashihara Archaeological Institute Museum Location: 50-2 Unebi-cho, Kashihara City, Nara Prefecture. About a 5-minute walk from Kashihara-jingu-mae Station.
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