Chikatsu Asuka Museum@ The 2003 Chikatsu Asuka
Special Spring Exhibition
"THE OTHER WORLDS ACCESSORIES
-Accessories of Kofun (Tomb) period-
@We can see that people have adorned their bodies,heads,ears,necks and arms
with ornamental accessories as early as the Jomon period - 12,000-2,200 B.C.
This ornamentation seems to have taken place regardless of status and
gender,
as a form of protection against various harms and in assurance of happiness
and
prosperity.
It is in the Kofun period (250 to 600 A.D.) that people began to wear
accessories
as a way to show off their status and respectable positions.
Local leaders constructed huge tombs in various parts of Japan and stocked
them with gorgeous objects prominent both in quality and quantity.
At burial, the bodies of these leaders were ornamented with accessories in
great
number,as if in ostentatious display of their considerable powers.
Among accessories there are two groups:
Traditional accessories are inherited from the Yayoi period (400B.C.-300
A.D.)
and include ear ornaments,necklaces,bracelets and so on.
Imported accessories, particularly in the Middle Kofun period, provide a
glimpse
of continental cultures in the form of luxurious crowns, ear ornaments,
rings,
shoes and other objects crafted in gold,silver and gilt bronze.
The gorgeous Kofun period accessories exhibited here are classified and
sorted by kind. By means of exhibits and research such as this, we hope to
gain insight on the changing image and meaning of adornment among ancient
peoples.
@
Event Information
@April 15 to June 15, 2003
@Special Admission : 600 / 400
@Hours : 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
@1st HISTORY TALK
@Sun. May. 11 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (free)
@"Accessories of Kofun period"
@Kanekatsu Inokuma (Professor, Kyoto Tachibana Women's University)
@2st HISTORY TALK
@Sun. May. 25 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (free)
@"Searchi for the roots of the accessories of Kofun period"
@Akira Machida (The Head, The National Reserch Institute for Cultural Properties,
Nara)
@3st HISTORY TALK
@Sun. June 8 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (free)
@"Research into the accessories of Kofun period from the viewpoint
of
@Northern Ethnic Culture"
@Kazuyoshi Otsuka (Professor, National Museum of Ethnology)
