Seven armed sword
| Seven armed sword | |
|---|---|
 Replica in the War History Museum ( Jeonjaeng ginyeomgwan ) in Seoul |
|
| Information | |
| Weapon type: | sword |
| Designations: | Nanatsusaya no Tachi, Shichishitō, Chiljido |
| Use: | Ceremonial sword |
| Creation time: | 369 AD |
| Region of origin / author: |
Korea , Baekje |
| Distribution: | Japan, unique piece |
| Overall length: | about 74.9 cm |
| Blade length: | 65.5 cm |
| Handle: | metal |
| Particularities: | seven arms |
| Lists on the subject | |
The seven-armed sword ( Japanese 七 支 刀 , Kyujitai : 七 枝 刀 , Nanatsusaya no Tachi , Onyomi reading also Shichishitō , Korean Hangeul : 칠지 도 Chiljido ) is a 74.9 cm long iron sword with three on each side of the blade attached tips. According to the Nihongi , the Korean kingdom of Baekje presented the sword along with a mirror to Japan in AD 372. The inscription says that it is a sign of good relations, the alliance between the two countries. The sword was declared a national treasure in 1953 (Category: Archaeological Materials ) and is not open to the public, in the Isonokami Shrine in Nara Prefecture . Replicas of the sword are shown in museums in Japan such as Korea.
overview
The blade of the sword is 65.5 cm long, the handle ( tsuka ) another 9.4 cm. The handle broke off at the end. The sword was forged from iron as a ceremonial sword . The sword has been kept in the Isonokami shrine since ancient times. It was not until 1870 that the rust-covered inscriptions were rediscovered by the Shinto priest Masatomo Kan. The inscriptions, which consist of 60 characters, are inlaid with gold on both sides of the blade. Quite a few scientists have tried to decipher and interpret the inscriptions since the rediscovery.
Archaeological and historical research currently deduces from the interpretation of the inscription that the sword was probably made at the time of the Eastern Jin Dynasty . In addition, the two characters 泰和 are understood as the era name Taìhé ( Chinese 太和 - "great harmony") 366–371 of the emperor Jin Feidi . In addition, it is assumed that the seven-armed sword is the Nanatsusaya no Tachi mentioned in the Nihongi .
The sword is significant as a historical document because it proves a friendly alliance between Baekje and the Japanese Wa Confederation, which, with the creation date of the sword in 369 AD, falls in the same year in which, according to the Samguk Sagi , the "Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms", a military conflict between Baekje and Goguryeo on the Korean peninsula began.
Inscriptions
The inscriptions on the sword are as follows (black boxes ■ stand for illegible characters):
Front:
「泰 ■ 四年 十 (一) 月 十六 日 丙午 正陽 造 百 錬 (銕) 七 支 刀 (出) 辟 百 兵 宜 供 供 候 王 ■■■■ 作」
“At noon on the sixteenth day of the eleventh month of the fourth year, the Nanatsusaya no Tachi was forged a hundred times. It can ward off a hundred enemies and is sent to the king for use [as a gift]. Manufactured by ■ or it is ■ for the benefit "
Back:
「先世 以來 未有 此 刀 百 濟 王世 (子) 奇 生 聖 音 故 爲 倭王 倭王 旨 造 傳 示 後世」
“There has never been a sword like this before. The Crown Prince of the King of Baekje, born under the protection of the gods, had it made for the King of Wa [= Japan], hoping it would be passed on to future generations. "
The first four characters on the front are understood to indicate the fourth year of the Taiwa era . According to the historian Kōsaku Hamada et al. a. the illegible second character was supplemented with the first character 泰 for the acronym 泰和 ( Chinese 太和 , Pinyin Taìhé ). The fourth year of this era corresponds to the year 369 according to the Gregorian calendar .
Web links
- 伝 世 の 社 宝 . Isonokami Shrine, 2012,accessed September 12, 2013(Japanese).
Individual evidence
- ^ Josef Kreiner: Prehistoric and early historical foundations . In: Josef Kreiner (ed.): Small history of Japan (= Reclam ). Phillipp Reclam Stuttgart, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-15-010783-6 , pp. 43 (reference point for the German designation).
- ↑ Nihongi , fascicle 9, translation according to WG Aston: Nihongi. Chronicles of Japan, from the Earliest Times to AD 697 . London 1896, p. 251 ( online ). : “ Kutyö and the others came along with Chikuma Nagahiko and presented a seven-branched sword with a seven-little-one mirror with various other objects of great value. ”
- ↑ a b 伝 世 の 社 宝 . Isonokami Shrine, 2012, accessed September 12, 2013 (Japanese).
- ↑ Yasumoto Biden: 第 240 回 謎 の 四 世紀 景行 天皇 と 日本 武 の 尊 七 支 刀 銘文 の 解 読 . 邪 馬 台 国 の 会 , accessed September 12, 2013 (Japanese, graphic representation of the inscription).
- ↑ Tarō Sakamoto: The Six National Histories of Japan . UBC Press, Vancouver 1991, ISBN 0-7748-0379-7 (Japanese: Rikkokushi . Translated by John S. Brownlee).