*From this point on, all dates in this chapter are CEunless
otherwise stated.DOTAKUAmong the most intrigu-
ing objects Yayoi artisans produced
were dotaku,or bells. They resemble
Han Chinese bell forms, but the Yayoi
did not use dotaku as musical instru-
ments. The bells were treasured cere-
monial bronzes and the Japanese often
deposited them in graves. Cast in clay
molds, these bronzes generally fea-
tured raised geometric decoration pre-
sented in bands or blocks. On some of
the hundreds of surviving dotaku, in-
cluding the example illustrated here
(FIG. 8-3), the ornament consists of
simple line drawings of people and animals. Scholars have reached no
consensus on the meaning of these images. In any case, the dotaku
engravings are the earliest extant examples of pictorial art in Japan.Kofun Period
Historians named the succeeding Kofun period (ca. 300–552)* after
the enormous earthen burial mounds, or tumuli,that had begun to
appear in the third century (ko means “old”;fun means “tomb”). The
tumuli recall the earlier Jomon practice of placing the dead on
sacred mountains. The mounds grew dramatically in number and
scale in the fourth century.
TOMB OF NINTOKUThe largest tumulus (FIG. 8-4) in Japan
is at Sakai and is usually identified as the tomb of Emperor Nintoku,
although many scholars think the tumulus postdates his death in- The central mound, which takes the “keyhole”
form standard for tumuli during the Kofun period,
is approximately 1,600 feet long and rises to a
height of 90 feet. Surrounded by three moats, the
entire site covers 458 acres. Numerous objects were
placed with the coffin in a stone-walled burial
chamber near the summit of the mound to assist in
the deceased’s transition to the next life. For exalted
individuals like Emperor Nintoku, objects buried
included important symbolic items and imperial
regalia—mirrors, swords, and comma-shaped jew-
els. Numerous bronze mirrors came from China,
but the form of the tombs themselves and many of
the burial goods suggest even closer connections
with Korea. For example, the comma-shaped jewels
are quite similar to those found on Korean Silla
crowns (FIG. 7-27), whose simpler gilt bronze coun-
terparts lay in the Japanese tombs.
8-3Dotaku with incised
figural motifs, from Kagawa
Prefecture, Japan, late Yayoi
period, 100–300 ce.Bronze,
1 47 – 8 high. Tokyo National
Museum, Tokyo.
Yayoi dotaku were based
on Han Chinese bells, but
they were ceremonial
objects, not musical instru-
ments. They feature geo-
metric decoration and the
earliest Japanese images
of people and animals.8-4Tomb of Emperor Nintoku, Sakai, Osaka
Prefecture, Japan, Kofun period, late fourth to early
fifth century.
The largest Kofun tumulus, attributed to Emperor
Nintoku, has a keyhole shape and three surrounding
moats. About 20,000 clay haniwa (FIG. 8-5) were
originally displayed on the giant earthen mound.Japan Before Buddhism 2091 in.