Ancient Pottery Reveals Japanese Hunter-Gatherers’ Taste for Fish

In one of the largest studies of its kind, an international team of researchers conducted organic residue analysis of almost 800 ceramic vessels from 46 Jomon culture archaeological sites, dated to between 13,000 and 6,000 BC, in Japan to identify their contents. The results, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, demonstrate that pottery had a strong association with the processing of fish and other aquatic resources.

The team, headed by Dr. Alex Lucquin from the University of York, recovered diagnostic lipids from the charred surface deposits of the Jomon pottery with most of the compounds deriving from the processing of freshwater or marine organisms.

“These vessels were used by Jomon hunter-gatherers to store and process fish — initially salmon, but then a wider range including shellfish, freshwater and marine fish and mammals — as fishing intensified,” the scientists said.

“This association with fish remained stable even after the onset of climate warming, including in more southerly areas, where expanding forests provided new opportunities for hunting game and gathering plants.”

The samples analyzed are some of the earliest found and date from the end of the Late Pleistocene — a time when our ancestors were living in glacial conditions — to the post-glacial period when the climate warmed close to its current temperature and when pottery began to be produced in much greater quantity.

“Thanks to the exceptional preservation of traces of animal fat, we now know that pottery changed from a rare and special object to an every-day tool for preparing fish,” Dr. Lucquin said.

“I think that our study not only reveals the subsistence of the ancient Jomon people of Japan but also its resilience to a dramatic change in climate.”

“These findings are significant because they provide proof of the diversity of foodways and culinary innovations that developed at the end of the last Ice Age and into the modern geological era, the Holocene, when the modern environmental conditions that we are now so used to were developing,” said co-author Dr. Simon Kaner, an archaeologist at the University of East Anglia.

“Our results demonstrate that pottery had a strong association with the processing of fish, irrespective of the ecological setting,” added senior author Professor Oliver Craig, from the University of York.

“Contrary to expectations, this association remained stable even after the onset of warming, including in more southerly areas, where expanding forests provided new opportunities for hunting and gathering.”

“The results indicate that a broad array of fish was processed in the pottery after the end of the last Ice Age, corresponding to a period when hunter-gatherers began to settle in one place for longer periods and develop more intensive fishing strategies.”

“We suggest this marks a significant change in the role of pottery of hunter-gatherers, corresponding massively increased volume of production, greater variation in forms and sizes, and the onset of shellfish exploitation.”

Ancient Pottery Reveals Japanese Hunter-Gatherers’ Taste for Fish

15-million-year-old baby whale fossil reveals ancient breeding grounds

A close second look at a fossil has revealed a previously unknown breeding ground for an extinct whale, and potentially sheds light on how species respond to changing climatic conditions.

In a paper published in the journal PeerJ, Cheng-Hsiu Tsai of the National Museum of Nature and Science, in Tsukuba, Japan, reports on a careful re-examination of several fossils of an extinct baleen whale, Parietobalaena yamaokai, that existed around 15 million years ago.

The fossils had hall been collected over the past century from around Hiroshima, and were held in that city’s Hiwa Museum for Natural History.

Examining one of the exhibits, part of a skull, Tsai noticed that two of the bones had not knitted together fully, indicating that the animal must have been under six months old when it died.

The discovery, Tsai writes, indicates “a previously hidden and unknown breeding ground for the extinct baleen whale”.

She goes on to suggest that the breeding ground is the earliest ever identified in the northern memisphere, and that uncovering further evidence could shed light on ancient baleen whale behaviour.

“Identifying a possible Miocene breeding site for baleen whales in the northern

hemisphere also raises some interesting questions,” she concludes. “When, where, and which species of baleen whales initiated the annual, long migration between feeding and calving grounds?”

The answers to these questions could help to provide clues about the breeding grounds of modern day baleen whales – the locations of which are largely unknown.

This, in turn, will have direct application for conservation strategies.

sources:
https://phys.org/news/2017-08-potential-site-miocene-era-baleen.html
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170822092205.htm
https://cosmosmagazine.com

15-million-year-old baby whale fossil reveals ancient breeding grounds

Ancient Japanese Capital Discovered

Evidence of structures dating back more than 1,000 years at an archaeological site here points to the existence of a "second" capital that is known only through eighth-century chronicles.

Archaeologists say pits dug in the ground for massive wooden pillars, along with evidence of an extensive trench, offer compelling indications that the Higashi-Yuge ruins hosted Yuge-no-miya, a site shrouded in mystery.

This other capital was purportedly built at the behest of female Emperor Shotoku, who ruled from 764 to 770 during the Nara Period (710-784).

Emperor Shotoku (718-770) is known to history for favoring a Buddhist monk named Dokyo, who died in 772 having attained great power under her patronage.

Dokyo won court favor through his devoted prayers for her health after she fell seriously ill. The emperor later promoted him to the extremely influential post of “hoo,” the highest rank among Buddhist monks.

Evidence of structures dating back more than 1,000 years at an archaeological site here points to the existence of a "second" capital that is known only through eighth-century chronicles.

Archaeologists say pits dug in the ground for massive wooden pillars, along with evidence of an extensive trench, offer compelling indications that the Higashi-Yuge ruins hosted Yuge-no-miya, a site shrouded in mystery.

This other capital was purportedly built at the behest of female Emperor Shotoku, who ruled from 764 to 770 during the Nara Period (710-784).

Emperor Shotoku (718-770) is known to history for favoring a Buddhist monk named Dokyo, who died in 772 having attained great power under her patronage.

Dokyo won court favor through his devoted prayers for her health after she fell seriously ill. The emperor later promoted him to the extremely influential post of “hoo,” the highest rank among Buddhist monks.

The discovery of the sprawling complex at the Higashi-Yuge site was announced Aug. 16 by the Yao cultural property research council, which is affiliated with the Yao city government.

Masashi Kinoshita, professor emeritus of archaeology at Tokyo Gakugei University, is expecting that further excavation of the site will shed light on the second capital city.

“Few details are known of Yuge-no-miya. The recent discovery of the canal may help unravel the mystery,” he said, referring to the excavation of trenches, which experts believe were filled with water and used to transport building materials.

In February, archaeologists said they unearthed the first evidence of a huge pagoda for Yugedera temple at the Higashi-Yuge site. The temple was built by Dokyo there before his fall from grace following the death of the emperor.

Both Yuge-no-miya and Yugedera are mentioned in “Shoku Nihongi,” the imperially commissioned history text on the Nara Period, but there was no evidence to support this until recently.

A large section of the second capital got built, but the city was never finished due to Emperor Shotoku's death.

The latest excavations are being carried out 500 meters or so northeast of where the apparent pagoda foundations were unearthed.

The square-shaped pits measure between 60 centimeters and 80 cm. Experts believe that pillars 20-25 cm in diameter were sunk into the holes. The pits are lined up in the four points of the compass. That suggests Yuge-no-miya was constructed there, according to Masanobu Hirose, a member of the council.

“The site shows that there was very precise demarcation,” he said. “Yuge-no-miya, set out neatly in a grid pattern, must have sprawled to the area where archaeologists are now working.”

The trench is about 10 meters long, 16-20 meters wide and 1 meter deep.

Coupled with a 60-meter-long trench found nearby last summer, it is thought that they formed part of an artificial canal measuring some 600 or 700 meters in total length.

Archaeologists speculate that the canal was built to transport materials to build the second capital and Yugedera, or to serve as drain bypass for river works.

Kinoshita said he leans to the former theory.

“Workers need to transport building materials, such as large pillars and tiles, by water in short bursts, to efficiently construct key structures of a city based on meticulous planning,” he said. “I believe that the trenches were most likely a portion of the canal built to transport building materials for Yugedera and Yuge-no-miya."

In the finding announced in February, archaeologists said the possible foundations of the Yugedera's pagoda were found in a geological layer dating to the late Nara Period.

The foundations measure approximately 20 meters by 20 meters, which suggests the structure was at least seven stories high and rose to a height of more than 60 meters.

source

http://www.asahi.com

Ancient Japanese Capital Discovered

Live by the sword: learning the ancient Japanese art of blade-making

In a recent seminar, seven men from around the world came to Montreal to get hands-on experience with an edgy new hobby.

The seven hammered away, enduring intense heat while folding iron over itself. The end goal – a traditional Japanese sword.

According to bladesmith Allen Rozon, who organized the 10-day class, there’s been a resurgence of interest in the ancient art.

“Knife-making, sword-making, it’s experiencing a bit of a renaissance at this point,” he said. “I think that more and more people lack the opportunity to work with their hands. This is a great place to do it.”

Rozon himself learned the craft over the course of 15 years from the Japanese master who is teaching the class, Taro Asano.

“He’s literally the only Japanese swordsmith willing to travel outside of his country to teach people with traditional techniques and materials,” said Rozon.

For Asano, teaching the art isn’t just about the final product but about the journey.

Asana began learning how to make blades when he was 13 and began as an apprentice to a swordmaker when he was 20. Now, he’s developing new methods that blend Japanese forms with Western ideas.

“The finished product is very important for the student but it’s not so important for me,” he said. “The process is more important for me.”

The process is a difficult one – steel is heated to incredibly high temperatures and then fold over and over, creating super-strong layers.

It’s not a hobby for the thrifty – each student at Rozon’s course will use between three and four kilograms of steel at a cost of roughly $400 per kilogram. The course itself cost $6,000 per student.

All of Rozon’s students have some prior experience with blacksmithing. Joe Travasio travelled from Texas to take the course, the second time he’s studied under Asano.

“The work itself is difficult but the act of creation just gets you going,” said Travasio. “It makes you want to do a little bit more.”

It’s hard work, but ultimately, there’s a payoff. Each sword can be a weapon, but it’s also a work of art.

“It’s like seeing a new baby,” said Rozon. “You waited and you waited and you waited and now they’re here.”

Source

http://montreal.ctvnews.ca

Live by the sword: learning the ancient Japanese art of blade-making

Himeji Castle, Japan

Himeji-jo is the finest surviving example of early 17th-century Japanese castle architecture. It is located in Himeji City, in the Hyogo Prefecture, an area that has been an important transportation hub in West Japan since ancient times. The castle property, situated on a hill summit in the central part of the Harima Plain, covers 107 hectares and comprises eighty-two buildings. 

It is centred on the Tenshu-gun, a complex made up of the donjon, keeps and connecting structures that are part of a highly developed system of defence and ingenious protection devices dating from the beginning of the Shogun period. The castle functioned continuously as the centre of a feudal domain for almost three centuries, until 1868 when the Shogun fell and a new national government was created.

The principal complex　of these structures is a masterpiece of construction in wood, combining function with aesthetic appeal, both in its elegant appearance unified by the white plastered earthen walls – that has earned it the name Shirasagi-jo (White Heron Castle) – and in the subtlety of the relationships between the building masses and the multiple roof layers visible from almost any point in the city.

Himeji Castle (姫路城 Himeji-jō?) is a hilltop Japanese castle complex located in the city of Himeji, Hyōgo, Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 buildings with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. 

The castle is frequently known as Hakuro-jō or Shirasagi-jō ("White Egret Castle" or "White Heron Castle") because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight.

Himeji Castle dates to 1333, when Akamatsu Norimura built a fort on top of Himeyama hill. The fort was dismantled and rebuilt as Himeyama Castle in 1346, and then remodeled into Himeji Castle two centuries later. Himeji Castle was then significantly remodeled in 1581 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who added a three-story castle keep. In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu awarded the castle to Ikeda Terumasa for his help in the Battle of Sekigahara, and Ikeda completely rebuilt the castle from 1601 to 1609, expanding it into a large castle complex. Several buildings were later added to the castle complex by Honda Tadamasa from 1617 to 1618 For over 400 years, Himeji Castle has remained intact, even throughout the extensive bombing of Himeji in World War II, and natural disasters such as the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake.

Himeji Castle is the largest and most visited castle in Japan, and it was registered in 1993 as one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country. The area within the middle moat of the castle complex is a designated Special Historic Site and five structures of the castle are also designated National Treasures. Along with Matsumoto Castle and Kumamoto Castle, Himeji Castle is considered one of Japan's three premier castles. In order to preserve the castle buildings, it underwent restoration work for several years and reopened to the public on March 27, 2015. The works also removed decades of dirt and grime, restoring the formerly gray roof to its original brilliant white color.

Visit the site HERE

History

Himeji Castle's construction dates to 1333, when a fort was constructed on Himeyama hill by Akamatsu Norimura, the ruler of the ancient Harima Province. In 1346, his son Sadanori demolished this fort and built Himeyama Castle in its place. In 1545, the Kuroda clan was stationed here by order of the Kodera clan, and feudal ruler Kuroda Shigetaka remodeled the castle into Himeji Castle, completing the work in 1561. In 1580, Kuroda Yoshitaka presented the castle to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and in 1581 Hideyoshi significantly remodeled the castle, building a three-story keep with an area of about 55 m2 (590 sq ft).

A 1761 depiction of the castle complex

Following the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu granted Himeji Castle to his son-in-law, Ikeda Terumasa, as a reward for his help in battle. Ikeda demolished the three-story keep that had been created by Hideyoshi, and completely rebuilt and expanded the castle from 1601 to 1609, adding three moats and transforming it into the castle complex that is seen today. The expenditure of labor involved in this expansion is believed to have totaled 25 million man-days. Ikeda died in 1613, passing the castle to his son, who also died three years later.[4] In 1617, Honda Tadamasa and his family inherited the castle, and Honda added several buildings to the castle complex, including a special tower for his daughter-in-law, Princess Sen (千姫 Senhime?).

In the Meiji Period (1868 to 1912), many Japanese castles were destroyed. Himeji Castle was abandoned in 1871 and some of the castle corridors and gates were destroyed to make room for Japanese army barracks. The entirety of the castle complex was slated to be demolished by government policy, but it was spared by the efforts of Nakamura Shigeto, an army colonel. A stone monument honoring Nakamura was placed in the castle complex within the first gate, the Hishi Gate (菱の門 Hishinomon?). Although Himeji Castle was spared, Japanese castles had become obsolete and their preservation was costly.

When the han feudal system was abolished in 1871, Himeji Castle was put up for auction. The castle was purchased by a Himeji resident for 23 Japanese yen (about 200,000 yen or US$2,258 today). The buyer wanted to demolish the castle complex and develop the land, but the cost of destroying the castle was estimated to be too great, and it was again spared.

Himeji was heavily bombed in 1945, at the end of World War II, and although most of the surrounding area was burned to the ground, the castle survived intact. One firebomb was dropped on the top floor of the castle but failed to explode. In order to preserve the castle complex, substantial repair work was undertaken starting in 1956, with a labor expenditure of 250,000 man-days and a cost of 550 million yen. In January 1995, the city of Himeji was substantially damaged by the Great Hanshin earthquake, but Himeji Castle again survived virtually undamaged, demonstrating remarkable earthquake resistance. Even the bottle of sake placed on the altar at the top floor of the keep remained in place.

Authenticity

A series of conservation projects since 1934 have been carried out using techniques developed in Japan for conservation of wooden structures and in conformity with established principles of authenticity in terms of form/design, materials/substance, traditions/techniques and location/setting. The use of new materials is rigorously controlled, and all important proposals should be discussed and approved by the council. Buildings added to the site in the 19th or 20th centuries have been removed.

The only modern intrusion has been the insertion of the reinforced concrete foundation raft, which was justified on the grounds that the process of deformation of the structures due to the weakness of the subsoil would inevitably lead to catastrophic collapse in a region of high seismic activity. Incompatible interventions, such as doors and windows, that occurred in earlier work, have been replaced with appropriate elements when enough information was available on the form and substance of the originals.

Protection and management requirements

Since the beginning of the Japanese Modern period in 1868, the national government has protected the property in close cooperation with local governments.

Its eighty-two buildings and the site area of 107 ha are protected as National Treasures, Important Cultural Properties and a Special Historic Site under the 1950 Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. Under the law, proposed alterations to the existing state of the property are restricted, and any alteration must be approved by the national government.

Development pressure in the 143 hectare buffer zone is controlled by the 1987 Himeji City Urban Design Ordinance, the regulatory power of which was reinforced in 2008 under the 2004 Landscape Law. According to the 2004 Landscape Law, Himeji City also amended the 1988 Urban Design Master Plan and newly developed the Landscape Control Guideline in 2007. Himeji City must be notified of any proposed projects along streets with scenic views of Himeji-jo, and any proposed large-scale projects in the surroundings of Himeji-jo, in order to confirm that the proposed structures will fit in with the character of the historic environment.    

All the buildings and most of the site area are owned by the national government. Ownership of the remaining area is divided among Hyogo Prefecture, Himeji City, and private companies. Under the 1950 Law, Himeji City is appointed as the official custodial body for managing the legally protected Himeji-jo site and buildings. The city carries out its responsibilities through the Management Office for the Himeji-jo Area, and according to the 1964 City Ordinance for the Management of Himeji-jo, the 1986 Management Plan for the Himeji-jo Historic Site (final revision in 2008), and guidance by the national government. The efforts cover activities including daily maintenance, cleaning, regular inspection, traffic restriction, disaster prevention, and site arrangement and interpretation.

As fire and earthquakes are the greatest risk to the property, the buildings are equipped with automatic fire alarms, security cameras, fire hydrants, and lightning arresters. All information from　these facilities is monitored by the Himeji-jo Disaster Control Centre. With regard to earthquakes, Himeji City established an expert committee in 2006 to study, analyze, develop, and implement a necessary seismic strengthening scheme for the main donjon of Himeji-jo.

Historical recognition

Himeji Castle was registered on December 11, 1993 as one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Japan.Five structures of the castle are also designated National Treasures: The main keep (大天守 daitenshu?), northwest small keep (乾小天守 inui kotenshu?), west small keep (西小天守 nishi kotenshu?), east small keep (東小天守 higashi kotenshu?), and I, Ro, Ha, Ni-corridors and kitchen (イ, ロ, ハ, ニの渡櫓附台所1棟 i, ro, ha, ni no watariyagura tsuketari daidokoro 1 to?). The area within the middle moat of the castle complex is a designated Special Historic Site.

Along with Matsumoto Castle and Kumamoto Castle, Himeji Castle is considered one of Japan's three premier castles. It is the most visited castle in Japan, receiving over 2,860,000 visitors in 2015. Starting in April 2010, Himeji Castle underwent restoration work to preserve the castle buildings, and reopened to the public on March 27, 2015.

Design details

Himeji Castle is the largest castle in Japan. It serves as an excellent example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, containing many of the defensive and architectural features associated with Japanese castles. The curved walls of Himeji Castle are sometimes said to resemble giant fans (扇子 sensu?), but the principal materials used in the structures are stone and wood. Feudal family crests (家紋 kamon?) are installed throughout the architecture of the building, signifying the various lords that inhabited the castle throughout its history.

The Three Country Moat in the center of the castle complex

The Himeji Castle complex is located in the center of Himeji, Hyōgo on top of a hill called Himeyama, which is 45.6 m (150 ft) above sea level. The castle complex comprises a network of 83 buildings such as storehouses, gates, corridors, and turrets (櫓 yagura?). Of these 83 buildings, 74 are designated as Important Cultural Assets: 11 corridors, 16 turrets, 15 gates, and 32 earthen walls. The highest walls in the castle complex have a height of 26 m (85 ft). Joining the castle complex is Koko-en Garden (好古園 Kōkoen?), a Japanese garden created in 1992 to commemorate Himeji city's 100th anniversary.

From east to west, the Himeji Castle complex has a length of 950 to 1,600 m (3,120 to 5,250 ft), and from north to south, it has a length of 900 to 1,700 m (3,000 to 5,600 ft). The castle complex has a circumference of 4,200 m (2.6 mi).It covers an area of 233 hectares (2,330,000 m2 or 576 acres), making it roughly 50 times as large as the Tokyo Dome or 60 times as large as Koshien Stadium.

The main keep (大天守 daitenshu?) at the center of the complex is 46.4 m (152 ft) high, standing 92 m (302 ft) above sea level. Together with the main keep, three smaller subsidiary keeps (小天守 kotenshu?) form a cluster of towers. Externally, the keep appears to have five floors, because the second and third floors from the top appear to be a single floor; however, it actually has six floors and a basement. The basement of the main keep has an area of 385 m2 (4,140 sq ft), and its interior contains special facilities that are not seen in other castles, including lavatories, a drain board, and a kitchen corridor.

The main keep has two pillars, with one standing in the east and one standing in the west. The east pillar, which has a base diameter of 97 cm (38 in), was originally a single fir tree, but it has since been mostly original.The base of the west pillar is 85 by 95 cm (33 by 37 in), and it is made of Japanese cypress. During the Shōwa Restoration (1956–1964) a Japanese cypress tree with a length of 26.4 m (87 ft) was brought down from the Kiso Mountains and replaced the old pillar. The tree was broken in this process, so another tree was brought down from Mount Kasagata, and the two trees were joined on the third floor.

The first floor of the main keep has an area of 554 m2 (5,960 sq ft) and is often called the "thousand-mat room" because it has over 330 Tatami mats. The walls of the first floor have weapon racks (武具掛け bugukake?) for holding matchlocks and spears, and at one point, the castle contained as many as 280 guns and 90 spears.The second floor has an area of roughly 550 m2 (5,900 sq ft).

The third floor has an area of 440 m2 (4,700 sq ft) and the fourth floor has an area of 240 m2 (2,600 sq ft). Both the third and fourth floors have platforms situated at the north and south windows called "stone-throwing platforms" (石打棚 ishiuchidana?), where defenders could observe or throw objects at attackers. They also have small enclosed rooms called "warrior hiding places" (武者隠し mushakakushi?), where defenders could hide themselves and kill attackers by surprise as they entered the keepThe final floor, the sixth floor, has an area of only 115 m2 (1,240 sq ft). The sixth floor windows now have iron bars in place, but in the feudal period the panoramic view from the windows was unobstructed.

Defenses

Himeji Castle contains advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. Loopholes (狭間 sama?) in the shape of circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles are located throughout Himeji Castle, intended to allow defenders armed with tanegashima or archers to fire on attackers without exposing themselves. Roughly 1,000 loopholes exist in the castle buildings remaining today. Angled chutes called "stone drop windows" (石落窓 ishi-otoshi-mado?) were also set at numerous points in the castle walls, enabling stones or boiling oil to be poured on the heads of attackers passing by underneath, and white plaster was used in the castle's construction for its resistance to fire.

The castle complex included three moats, one of which—the outer moat—is now buried.Parts of the central moat and all of the inner moats survive.

The moats have an average width of 20 m (66 ft), a maximum width of 34.5 m (113 ft), and a depth of about 2.7 m (8.9 ft).[9] The Three Country Moat (三国堀 sangoku-bori?) is a 2,500 m2 (27,000 sq ft) pond which exists inside the castle; one of the purposes of this moat was to store water for use in fire prevention.

The castle complex, particularly the Waist Quarter (腰曲輪 koshikuruwa?), contains numerous warehouses that were used to store rice, salt, and water in case of a siege. 

A building known as the Salt Turret (塩櫓 shioyagura?) was used specifically to store salt, and it is estimated that it contained as many as 3,000 bags of salt when the castle complex was in use.The castle complex also contained 33 wells within the inner moat, 13 of which remain; the deepest of these has a depth of 30 m (98 ft).

One of the castle's most important defensive elements is the confusing maze of paths leading to the castle's keep.The gates, baileys, and outer walls of the complex are organized so as to confuse an approaching force, causing it to travel in a spiral pattern around the complex on its way to the keep. The castle complex originally contained 84 gates, 15 of which were named according to the Japanese syllabary (I, Ro, Ha, Ni, Ho, He, To, etc.). At present, 21 gates from the castle complex remain intact, 13 of which are named according to the Japanese syllabary.

In many cases, the castle walkways even turn back on themselves, greatly inhibiting navigation. For example, the straight distance from the Hishi Gate (菱の門 hishinomon?)to the main keep (大天守 daitenshu?) is only 130 m (430 ft), but the path itself is a much longer 325 m (1,066 ft). The passages are also steep and narrow, further inhibiting entry. This system allowed the intruders to be watched and fired upon from the keep during their lengthy approach, but Himeji Castle was never attacked in this manner so the system remains untested. However, even today with the route clearly marked, many visitors have trouble navigating the castle complex.

Cultural impact

Himeji Castle is frequently known as Hakuro-jō or Shirasagi-jō ("White Egret Castle" or "White Heron Castle") because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight.  The castle has been featured extensively in foreign and Japanese films, including the James Bond movie "You Only Live Twice" (1967), and Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha (1980) and Ran (1985). In the television miniseries Shōgun (1980) it served as a stand-in for feudal-era Osaka castle, which has lost the surrounding fortifications. In the video games Civilization Revolution and Civilization V, Himeji Castle is available to build as a world wonder.

Lore and legend

Himeji Castle is associated with a number of local legends. The well-known kaidan (or Japanese ghost story) of Banchō Sarayashiki (番町皿屋敷 "The Dish Mansion at Banchō"?) is set in Edo (Tokyo), but a variant called Banshū Sarayashiki (播州皿屋敷 "The Dish mansion in Harima Province"?) is set in Himeji Castle. There is a disputed claim that the castle is the bona fide location of the entire legend, and the alleged Okiku's Well remains in the castle to this day. According to the legend, Okiku was falsely accused of losing dishes that were valuable family treasures, and then killed and thrown into the well. Her ghost remained to haunt the well at night, counting dishes in a despondent tone.

Diamond Gate, the first of the castle's 21 remaining gates

The legend of the "Old Widow's Stone" (姥が石 Ubagaishi?) is another folklore story associated with the castle. According to the legend, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ran out of stones when building the original three-story keep, and an old woman heard about his trouble. She gave him her hand millstone even though she needed it for her trade. It was said that people who heard the story were inspired and also offered stones to Hideyoshi, speeding up construction of the castle. To this day, the supposed stone can be seen covered with a wire net in the middle of one of the stone walls in the castle complex.

A folklore story is also associated with Sakurai Genbei, who was Ikeda Terumasa's master carpenter in the construction of the keep. According to the legend, Sakurai was dissatisfied with his construction, feeling that the keep leaned a little to the southeast. Eventually, he became distraught and climbed to the top of the keep, where he jumped to his death with a chisel in his mouth.

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Himeji Castle, Japan

6th-century tomb reveals longest sword from ancient Japan

The decoration on the hilt of a sword excavated from an ancient tomb in Ebino, Miyazaki Prefecture, is considered the oldest example of ray skin-craft ever found in East Asia. (Provided by Ebino city government)

EBINO, Miyazaki Prefecture--Textbook-changing discoveries were made after artifacts found in an early sixth-century tomb in the Shimauchi district here in southern Kyushu were examined, rewriting the histories.

The Ebino education board announced Oct. 24 that experts confirmed the two swords found in the underground tunnel tomb designated no. 139 in a burial site, excavated between 2014 and 2015, are both historic findings.

One is the longest sword ever excavated from ancient tombs in Japan, and another’s hilt is covered with ray skin, making it the oldest ray-decorated item found in East Asia.

The swords were placed by skeletal remains in the tomb no. 139, and both are signs of high social status.

“The swords suggest there was a powerful person in southern Kyushu, who would have directly served someone in the upper rank close to the Yamato king, and would have gone overseas in charge of foreign politics,” said Tatsuya Hashimoto, an associate professor of archaeology at Kagoshima University Museum, who collaborated in the research.

The ancient Yamato kingdom once ruled most of the Japanese archipelago in the Kofun Period (third to seventh centuries).

The underground tunnel tomb no. 139 is in a style unique to Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures and to the Kofun Period. Many valuable burial accessories such as armor, weapons, and horse harnesses were excavated along with two remains in 2014 and 2015.

The city education board asked the Nara-based Gangoji Institute for Research of Cultural Property to perform conservation work as well as scientific analysis on them.

The cleaning work revealed about 142 cm of another sword with a wooden pommel is remaining.

Researchers say if reconstructed, it would be about 150 cm long in its original condition, making it the longest sword ever excavated from an ancient tomb in Japan.

On top of that, a valuable textile called “tatenishiki,” or warp-patterned brocade, was used to cover around the opening of the scabbard. Only four examples of such a luxurious textile from the same time period had previously been discovered in Japan.

This sword is considered to have been a gift from the Yamato kingdom.

Further analysis showed that one of the longer swords buried in the tomb, which is about 85 centimeters long with a round silver-decorated pommel, has its hilt covered with a granular ray skin, and is the oldest example of ray skin-craft found in East Asia that had been formally examined.

It is thought that the sword was made in the ancient Paekche kingdom of the Korean Peninsula.

6th-century tomb reveals longest sword from ancient Japan