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Gold-inlaid Iron Sword (Inariyama Iron Sword)

Unknown5th Century

Museum of the Sakitama Ancient Burial Mounds

Museum of the Sakitama Ancient Burial Mounds
Saitama prefecture , Japan

The Inariyama Sword was excavated from the inside of the main portion (grave) of the Inariyama Kofun. It is also called the kinsakumei tekken (roughly, “gold-inscription iron-sword”) in Japanese. The sword has 115 characters written in gold inlay on its sides. This inscription includes the name of the sword’s creator, Wowake; the date of the sword’s forging, the xinhai (Japanese reading: shingai) year,” believed to be 471 C.E.; 8 generations of Wowake’s genealogy; and the name “King Wakatakeru,” which is believed to refer to Emperor Yūryaku. The Inariyama Sword and other excavated funerary goods were designated as Japanese national treasures in 1983.

Details

  • Title: Gold-inlaid Iron Sword (Inariyama Iron Sword)
  • Creator: Unknown
  • Date: 5th Century
  • Title (Japanese): 金錯銘鉄剣
  • Physical Dimensions: d73.5 cm
  • Object Date(Japanese): 古墳時代 5世紀
  • Excavation(Japanese): 埼玉県行田市埼玉 埼玉古墳群稲荷山古墳出土
  • Type: Iron
  • External Link: Saitama Prefectural Museum of the Sakitama Ancient Burial Mounds

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