A 1,500-year-old clay figurine excavated in Japan is offering new insights into religious practices during the Kofun period, an era characterized by elaborate burial traditions and indigenous spiritual beliefs that preceded the widespread adoption of Buddhism.
Researchers discovered the object at Nishikaminomiya in Isesaki City, Gunma Prefecture, central Japan, an area of the Kanto region historically associated with large migrations from the Asian mainland.
Although Japan’s earliest surviving written histories were compiled centuries later, archaeological discoveries provide an important window into the Kofun period, particularly its religious beliefs and ceremonial traditions.
Japan’s Kofun Period
During the Kofun period, generally dated from approximately the third to the sixth century CE, Japan underwent significant cultural and political changes, influenced in part by developments on the Korean Peninsula and in China.
The period saw the emergence of powerful regional elites, increasingly elaborate burial practices, and growing cultural exchanges with neighboring societies. Chinese writing also began making its way into Japan, while Buddhism was formally introduced toward the end of the period or during the transition to the subsequent Asuka period. Indigenous religious traditions, including practices associated with the worship of kami, continued to play an important role.
Among the most distinctive archaeological remains from this era are the large keyhole-shaped burial mounds known as zenpō-kōen-fun, constructed across the Japanese archipelago. Similar burial monuments have also been identified on the Korean Peninsula. Researchers have extensively studied these funerary sites to better understand the social organization, cultural connections, and religious practices of Kofun-period Japan.
Excavating Nishikaminomiya
Excavations at Nishikaminomiya began in 2020, as part of an improvement project on the Tonegawa River, which cuts through Japan’s Kanto region. Here, archaeologists have detected 11 burial mounds, with the most impressive being a 49-meter-long monument called Tumulus No. 1, in the middle of an 18-meter-wide moat.
The team discovered the new haniwa in that moat at Tumulus No. 1 after it apparently fell from the monument’s southern end some time ago. It represents one of the oldest anthropomorphic figures of its type ever discovered in the prefecture.
Despite its tremendous age and the circumstances of its discovery, fine details and some pigment remain.
Ceremonial Japan
The figurine is of a type called a haniwa, which originated as simple cylinders before artistic development turned them into images of ceremonial objects, buildings, animals, and even people. These unglazed terracotta figures were often used to decorate burial mounds at the time. This example depicts a type of female shrine maiden, or shaman, called a miko. Although the object dates to Japan’s embrace of Buddhism and the tombs share a style found across the Korean peninsula, the miko depicted is associated with Japan’s older Shinto tradition.
Although the figurine stands approximately 41 centimeters tall today, it would originally have been taller, as its cylindrical base is missing. Still, its head and torso are intact, with clay cords arranged to represent the miko’s identifying Kofun Shimada topknot hairstyle. The haniwa also depicts a bracelet on the right wrist and ceremonial clothing overlaid with a sash.
In its left hand, the figure holds a rod that archaeologists interpret as a possible ritual implement.
Female ritual practitioners are believed to have played important roles in Kofun-period religious ceremonies, including practices associated with communication with spiritual beings. The discovery of such a figure in an elite burial context may offer valuable clues about the ceremonial responsibilities and social standing of women during this period.
The figurine also provides researchers with an unusually detailed representation of ancient clothing, hairstyles, jewelry, and possible ritual symbolism, offering new insights into the ceremonial traditions of Kofun-period Japan.
Work at Nishikaminomiya has now concluded. This month, the figure goes on display at the Gunma Prefectural Museum of History from October 28 through November 30.
Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org, and follow him on Twitter @mdntwvlf.