Dōtaku (Ritual Bell) with Flowing Water Design

This dōtaku, or ritual bell, from the mid-Yayoi period was discovered by chance during the Meiji period under a large stone in the grounds of a shrine in Akeshi, Yosano-chō, in northern Kyoto prefecture. Dōtaku were originally for sounding notes, but over time these bells increased in size and their use as ritual implements in festivals came to predominate. This representative Yayoi-period bronze specimen from western Japan typifies the mid-development stage of such bells. The surface is covered in numerous horizontal lines that swerve back on themselves at intervals, a pattern known as “flowing water design” that is characteristic of pottery from the Kinki (Kyoto-Osaka) area in the Yayoi period. The fish that can be made out in the swirling design on the handle is among the oldest graphic representations of any living creature. Interestingly, the flowing water design and representation of fish indicate that the aesthetic sense of Yayoi people differed very little from that of later Japanese.