Treasures That Pursued Sacred Beauty

This exhibition features stunning dedication articles offered at state rituals on the Okinoshima island. By viewing the solemn beauty and craftsmanship exhibited in this collection of some 80,000 items, you can experience the aesthetic sense and religious piety of the ancients. The exhibition will also showcase the results of research on the chemical composition of the glittering glass products excavated from Okinoshima; x-ray fluorescence was used to reveal their raw materials and manufacturing methods.

This study verified that the excavated shards of a cut-glass bowls were made by the Sasanian Empire in Persia, and revealed that the green, faceted, glass beads have a chemical composition similar to that of Sasanian glass. An analysis of the small glass beads further revealed that they were originally produced in different parts of the Eurasian continent, and later dedicated at rituals on Okinoshima.

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  Glass Beads

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  Shards of a cut-glass bowl

Swords of the Munakata Seafaring People in the Light of Latest Science

A sword with a straight, non-warping, iron blade was one of the main dedication items to be offered to Okinoshima. This exhibition is focused on the swords of the Munakata seafaring people to provide a picture of the ironware production of the Munakata clan and Okinoshima rituals.

At the north of the Shimbaru-Nuyama Mounded Tomb Group, which has been inscribed as a World Heritage property, the Katsuura Minenohata Mounded Tomb is thought to have been the tomb of a chieftain of the Munakata clan who was responsible for Okinoshima rituals. Using the latest methods to examine shards of the single-edged long sword with its straight blade excavated from this keyhole-shaped tomb, researchers confirmed the various materials and processing techniques used in its manufacture. For example, the sword handle was wrapped with a special cord to improve durability and grip. They also found several knives unique to the Munakata region, including one with a long, thin blade, which were integral to the lives of the Munakata seafaring people.

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  Sword from Katsuura-Minenohata Tomb

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  X-ray CT image

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  Micrograph

The Munakata Seafaring People – A People Veiled in Mystery

This exhibition gives a detailed picture of the Munakata seafaring people who supported the Okinoshima rituals, based on studies of seaside settlements that have been excavated in recent years, and of the mound tombs that contain fishing equipment that was interred with the deceased.

Archaeological sites from the Jomon period that indicate a close relationship with the sea have been unearthed in the Munakata region, and they confirm that exchanges with the Korean peninsula had become very active from the Yayoi period onward. The culture of the Munakata region has been formed through these interactions across the sea, and includes the region’s relationship with the coastal area of the Sea of Japan in western Japan. Starting in the Kofun period, mounded tombs with a seafaring touch were built on the coastal hills.

An excavation led to the identification of the Hamamiya Shell Midden in seaside settlements of the 5th-6th centuries, and revealed details of the lives of the Munakata seafaring people through shells, fish bones, fishing tools such as fish hooks, salt-making pottery, and ritual artifacts that give evidence to their relationship with the Korean peninsula and Okinoshima island.

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  Large Ceremonical Vessel Stand reportedly from Hamamiya Shell Midden

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  Fish spear from Tano-Seto Mounded Tomb Group

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  Artifacts as Excavated at Hamamiya Shell Midden

Latest Radar Analysis Reveals a New Perspective of the Munakata Clan

This exhibition presents details of the 50-year investigation of the Shimbaru-Nuyama Mounded Tomb Group, which has been inscribed as a World Heritage property. This is a group of graves for the Munakata clan, an ancient local ruling family who carried out Okinoshima rituals and who nurtured faith in the Three Female Deities of Munakata.

The excavations began in the 1970s, and in recent years have been carried out to preserve and restore the sites. Findings suggest that the two round mounded tombs, No. 15 and No. 19, actually make up one keyhole-shaped tomb that dates back to the mid-6th century. In addition, a ground penetrating radar survey, which is a non-destructive method of detecting underground objects, was conducted on the No. 7 tomb, a square mounded tomb that was built in the 5th century, to investigate whether the tomb was an altar. The radar detected what was thought to be a burial facility in the central part of the mound. Moreover, petrographic analysis revealed that the stones used for chambers and pavement included basalt rocks shipped from Ainoshima, an island about 15 kilometers offshore.

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  Horse Trappings (Bridle), Iron Arrowheads and Knives form Tomb no. 4

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  Analysis Image of Ground Penetrating Radar at Tomb no. 7

True Nature of the Ancient Local Clans Discovered in Excavated Articles

This exhibition sheds light on the lives of the ancient ruling families in the region, such as the Tsukushi clan and the Munakata clan, who built their own power in Fukuoka during the Kofun period (3rd-7th centuries). The exhibition includes items excavated from the mounded tombs they built, as well as the murals of decorated tombs.

A number of ceramic items from the Korean Peninsula have been found in the Munakata region. Among them are items that were transported directly from Baekje and Silla, as well as items that are believed to have been made in the Japanese archipelago using skills acquired from the Korean peninsula, indicating active exchange. And furthermore, an interesting fact has been found out that a bead excavated from a mounded tomb in the Munakata region is made of Amazonite that had been manufactured on the Korean Peninsula more than 500 years before the tomb were constructed.

Fukuoka Prefecture possesses many more foreign artifacts of the Kofun period brought in from across the sea, which give us more insight to the historic ties of the area.

• Bead made from Amazonite

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  Decorated Ring Pommel from Azami-otsuka Tomb

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  Mural of Mezurashizuka Tomb