Ancient Ceremonial Boat Discovered in Japan

I found the English page regarding this news.

In Nara prefecture of Japan, A.D. 4th century ceremonial boat was discovered. This boat probably carried noble to his grave. The surface of the wood is stained and a motif is carved. It is 2.1 m in length, 0.78 m in width, and 0.25 m in thickness. In China, it is known that dead were carried on boat. It is believed that this boat finished its mission and discarded at the side of the tomb.

Such a find in rare in Japan, and this artifact should be analyzed fully by trained nautical/boat archaeologist to fully understand the real significant.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/culture/20060224TDY03002.htm

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Several large vermillion-lacquered wood fragments believed to be part of a funeral boat were unearthed at the Suyama ancient tomb in Koryocho, Nara Prefecture, the local board of education has announced.

The fragments bear inscribed patterns and were unearthed from the moat surrounding the tomb, which dates from the late fourth century.

Researchers said the fragments were part of a funeral boat that was used to transport human remains from a mortuary to a tomb over land.

One of the fragments is a piece of Japanese cedar measuring 3.7 meters long, 45 centimeters wide and five centimeters thick. It was originally part of an 8.2-meter-long piece of wood believed to be from one side of the boat. The fragment is decorated with triple concentric circles, intended to ward off evil spirits, and a beltlike pattern.

A piece of Japanese cinnamon measuring 2.1 meters long, 78 centimeters wide and 25 centimeters thick, is believed to be part of a coffin lid, and was originally part of a four-meter-long piece of wood. It is adorned with straight and curved lines and also triple concentric circles. The fragment retains some of its original vermillion lacquer finish.

If these fragments were to be assembled, they would suggest the shape of a boat with upward arching pointed ends, like a gondola, with a coffin on it.

The boat is similar to one described in a seventh-century Chinese book: “The remains of a noble are kept outside a mortuary for three years. Then, for the burial, they are put into a boat and carried over land.”

The Suyama tomb is a 220-meter-long keyhole-shaped mound. An emperor or another person of exalted status is believed to have been buried in the tomb.

The unearthed items will be on display to the public March 4-5 at the town’s cultural property preservation center.

Prof. Kunihiko Kawakami of Kobe Yamate University, who is an archaeologist, said: “It may have been placed at a mortuary, and after sending the remains to a tomb, it may have been destroyed and thrown away. For the first time, we have clarification of a funeral ritual that reproduces the world of myth.”

(Feb. 24, 2006)

奈良県広陵町の国特別史跡・巣山古墳（４世紀後半）の周濠（しゅうごう）から、表面に文様が刻まれ、朱が塗られた前例のない形状の大型木製品が出土したと、同町教委が２２日、発表した。

　木製品は船の形に復元できることから、埋葬前に遺体を仮安置する「殯（もがり）」の場から古墳まで遺体を運んだ＜霊柩（れいきゅう）船＞の一部と専門家はみている。古代の葬送儀礼を解明する上で極めて重要な発見と言える。

　出土した木製品のうち、船の側板の形をしたスギ製の部材は、長さ３・７メートル、幅４５センチ、厚さ５センチ。一部が欠けているが、復元すると長さは８・２メートルに達する。魔よけを意味する三重の円と帯状の文様が刻まれていた。棺の蓋（ふた）形をしたクスノキ製の部材（長さ２・１メートル、幅７８センチ、厚さ２５センチ）は復元長が約４メートル。表面に直線と弧を組み合わせた「直弧文」と三重の円が刻まれ、一部に朱色の顔料が残っていた。

　これらを組み合わせると、先端が反り上がったゴンドラ形の船に棺を載せたような形になり、中国の史書「隋書倭国伝」（７世紀）にある「貴人は、三年外に殯し、葬に及べば、屍（しかばね）を船上に置きて、陸地にて之を牽（ひ）く」という記述と合致する。

　巣山古墳は全長約２２０メートルの前方後円墳で、被葬者は大王（天皇）級の有力者とされる。出土品は３月４、５日に町文化財保存センターで一般公開される。

　河上邦彦・神戸山手大教授（考古学）の話「葬送用の棺として殯の場に安置し、古墳まで運んだ後に破砕して周濠に捨てたのではないか。葬送儀礼の流れが、初めて明らかになった」
（読売新聞） – 2月22日22時13分更新