Skeleton in Japan’s cupboard

Press, 26 April 1989, Page 22

Skeleton in Japan’s cupboard

Japanese archaeologists have made an unsettling discovery about their country’s past. They have found a sixth-century tomb near Nara (Japan’s ancient capital) that is of clear Korean origin, Peter McGill writes in the “Observer.” , The discovery is a shock because the nation sets great store by its “unique” culture. Yet the Fujinoki, as the tomb is known, contains a nobleman’s pointed, gilded bronze shoes with tiny rings, and gilt-bronze crown, which are almost identical to exhibits in the Korean National Museum in Seoul. The issue is of great national significance. The Education Ministry ensures that teaching of early Japanese history is still coloured by mythological fabrications designed to prove the imperial dynasty is coeval with the nation’s origins. Koreans claim that Japan has now allowed archaeologists to investigate ancient imperial tombs for fear of revealing a Korean blood line. The Fujinoki has fuelled their suspicions. The first detailed references to Japan in any language were in the Chinese book "The History of the Kingdoms,” written towards the end of the third century, which describes a kingdom of Yamatai visited by Chinese envoys, ruled by a queen called Himiko. Japanese archaeologists believe they may now have discovered the site of Yamatai in a sprawling ancient settlement in Saga prefecture, on Japan’s southern Kyushu island. (The location of Yamatai has divided scholars since the eighteenth century). If they are right, the next big question is where did Queen Himiko and her subjects come from?