Ancient clay ritual figure goes on display in Japan’s Gunma Prefecture
A clay figure recovered from the moat of a burial mound in Gunma, Japan, is on public display for the first time. Officials date the surviving head and torso to the late fifth century and interpret the object as a female ritual attendant. Its hairstyle, bracelets, red colouring and hand-held implement preserve details of ancient funerary imagery.
Science··Midday
A first public display
A clay human figure found in the moat of a burial mound in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, has gone on public display for the first time. Its surviving head and torso are dated to the second half of the fifth century. Officials interpret the object as a female ritual attendant, known as a miko, wearing a sash across the shoulder.[1], [2]
The object comes from Nishikaminomiya in Isesaki. Excavations connected with improvement work on the Tone River have been under way since fiscal year 2020. The prefecture says eleven burial mounds have been identified so far. Haniwa is the name for clay figures associated with these ancient burial settings, and officials consider this an early human-shaped example within Gunma.[1]
Paint and carefully modelled hands
The surviving piece stands about 40 centimetres tall; the complete figure would have been larger. Live Science describes carefully shaped fingers, a distinctive hairstyle and a prominent nose. Clay bracelets encircle both wrists, with red colouring among the surviving decoration. A red sash and a rod-shaped implement held in the left hand give the torso further identifiable details.[2]
Experts connect these features with the interpretation of a miko, a female attendant associated in the report with funeral rites and spiritual guidance. The figure has not been identified as a portrait of a named person. Its surviving clothing, ornaments and implement are the material features behind the proposed ritual role, rather than a biographical identification of an individual.[2]
The mound and the museum
The figure is linked to burial mound number one, where part of a boat-shaped stone coffin was also found. Officials regard that mound as a central feature within the burial group. Live Science describes the mound as roughly 45 metres across and reports a possible movement of the figure down the slope into the moat after its original placement nearby.[1], [2]
The exhibition opened on October 28 in the second-floor gallery at the prefecture's archaeology centre. The foundation's notice gives November 30 as the closing date. The prefecture says no public opening of the excavation site is planned. The recovered figure is being shown at the museum while access to the dig remains separately arranged.[1]
