SAITAMA--A seven-year effort to recreate a rusty iron sword unearthed from a fifth-century tomb that was a gift from a legendary emperor has finally paid off.
The finished product reflects the beauty of the original blade, a national treasure named “Kinsakumeitekken,” that was unearthed in 1968 from the Inariyama burial mound in Gyoda, Saitama Prefecture.
X-rays done on the artifact in 1978 showed that a total of 115 characters were inscribed on each side of the blade.
The characters include the words “Wakatakeru Okimi,” who is assumed to have been the Emperor Yuryaku in the fifth century.
The replica blade faithfully recreates the original, including gold inlay of the letters.
The copy measures 58.5 centimeters and 3.7 cm at its widest point next to the sword grip. It weighs 560 grams.
The team members included noted artisans: Among them were swordsmith Norihiro Miyairi, sword engraver Shuha Hashimoto and sword polisher Okisato Fujishiro. Morihiro Ogawa, a special consultant on traditional weapons and armor with the U.S. Metropolitan Museum of Art, oversaw the project.
The team members created five prototypes, tempering and hammering the metal, by comparing swords unearthed from the Kofun Period (third century to seventh century).In a final touch, Hashimoto engraved the characters on the sword the team selected.
Finding the right type of grinding stone from that era, which was essential to the production process, proved difficult.
The team X-rayed the ancient sword from the Inariyama mound to analyze the grinding work through marks remaining on the gold inlay to find a stone similar to the one originally used.
It was donated to the prefecture on Nov. 13
This article was taken from the following article.
For more information about the background of the discovery:
Located in Oaza Saitama, Gyoda, Sakitama Kofun Park is a park surrounding a group of Saitama kofun (ancient Japanese tomb), which is designated as a National Historic Site. "Sakitama" is the origin of the name "Saitama." There are 9 kofun including Maruhakayama, which is said to be the largest round barrow in Japan and Futagoyama and Inariyama, which are among the largest keyhole-shaped kofun in Kanto. The kofun that may have been built one after another from the late 5th century to the early 7th century are on a fertile land between the Tone River and the Arakawa River. The kofun, unearthed articles and a reconstructed old folk house are under the management of the park.
All the keyhole-shaped kofun are built facing the same direction and have rectangular double moats. These remain unsolved mysteries even today. Musashi Saitama Inariyama Kofun is best known among them. The discovery of the famous national treasure "Kinsakumeitekken" (gold-inlaid iron sword) which appears in social studies school textbooks attracted lots of attention to this kofun. The iron sward inlaid with 115 characters including the words “I served Gokatasiru Okimi" (assumed to be an emperor in around the 5th century) revealed that the influence of central authority reached north Kanto around the 5th century. Estimated to be created in 471, the sword is an invaluable piece of history. From the many excavated articles including armor and harnesses/trappings we can infer that there was influence from those coming from the Korean Peninsula on people's lives at the time. You can see the original "Kinsakumeitekken" national treasure in the Museum of the Saitama Ancient Burial Mounds.
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