弥生・古墳時代
Yayoi–Kofun Period
The formative stage before the birth of the Japanese sword. Iron straight swords introduced from the continent (China and Korea) took root in the archipelago, establishing the technical and cultural foundations from which Japanese sword-making would eventually emerge.
Description
In the middle Yayoi period (around the 1st century BC), iron goods began flowing into the Japanese archipelago via the Korean peninsula. By the late Yayoi and Kofun periods (roughly 3rd–7th centuries AD), iron swords and daggers were being interred as burial offerings in earthen mound tombs (kofun), and continental ironworking technology was taking root through the migration of skilled craftsmen from Baekje and Gaya. The swords of this era are straight-bladed (no curvature), with characteristic ring-pommels (kantō-tachi) reflecting strong Han and Six Dynasties Chinese stylistic influence. These blades lack the laminated forging structure and differential hardening that define true Japanese swords, but they established the technical and cultural foundations — refined tamahagane precursor iron, the political symbolism of the sword as a prestige object, and the beginning of Japan's independent iron production — upon which the Japanese sword would eventually emerge in the late Heian period. The famous Shichishitō (seven-branched sword) at Isonokami Shrine, a gift from Baekje to the Yamato king, exemplifies the diplomatic and political function of swords in this age. For collectors, artifacts and replicas of this era represent the deep archaeological roots of Japanese sword culture.
Caracteristiques de cette epoque
- All blades are straight (no curvature); direct influence of continental Chinese and Korean straight-sword tradition — the sori (curvature) defining later Japanese swords does not yet exist
- Ring-pommeled tachi (kantō-tachi) are the defining form, with single-phoenix, twin-dragon, and trefoil designs reflecting Six Dynasties Chinese aesthetics
- Iron production was led by immigrant craftsmen; the prototype of tatara ironworking developed in Izumo and Kinki, marking the beginning of indigenous sand-iron smelting
- Burial swords functioned as prestige objects signaling political rank; the Yamato polity distributed swords to regional chiefs as instruments of governance
- Laminated forging structure (kawagane/shingane composite) not yet present; iron quality uneven, though some fine specimens show evidence of heat treatment (quenching)
- Swords served as diplomatic gifts in continental relations; the Shichishitō (seven-branched sword) at Isonokami Shrine is the paradigmatic example