Sword with an Inscription

This sword has an inscription with 75 characters and images of a bird, fish, and a horse, all of which were rendered in silver inlay. Eta Funayama Tumulus is a 62-meter-long, keyhole-shaped burial mound located near the Kikuchi River in Kumamoto Prefecture. It is thought to date back to the second half of the fifth century or the early sixth century. A set of exquisite burial goods was excavated there in 1873. These included weapons and military gear like swords and armor, a gilt-bronze headdress and a pair of gilt-bronze shoes, gold earrings, jewels and other ornaments, six bronze mirrors, horse tack, and ceramic vessels. This set has been designated a National Treasure. This item is an iron sword that features a silver-inlaid inscription and drawings of a bird, a fish and a horse. The inscription is 75 characters long, making it one of the oldest examples of a textual record written on the Japanese archipelago.

The inscription roughly translates as follows: 'During the reign of Emperor Yuryaku, a man named Murite, who worked at the office in charge of official records, produced a fine 1-meter-long sword in August using an iron smelting pot. This is an extremely high-quality sword. It was painstakingly hammered around 80 to 90 times before being tempered again. Whoever wears this sword will receive many benefits. They will live long and have prosperous descendants. Their rule will never end. The person who made this sword to order was called Itawa. The person who wrote this inscription was called Choan.' The inscription teaches us how powerful clans in today's Kanto region served under a central king at that time. It reveals how the Yamato Kingdom had already become a powerful force by the time the sword was forged.

— Museum description: Tokyo National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.