Eta Funayama Sword

Eta Funayama Burial Mound Sword (江田船山古墳鉄剣, eta funayama kofun tekken) in Japan is a 5th-century ancient iron sword excavated from the Eta Funayama kofun in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan in 1873. The inscription on the blade indicates that the sword was made during the era of Emperor Yūryaku in the 5th century. The burial objects from the Eta Funayama site including this sword have been designated as National Treasure of Japan in the category archaeological materials.

Inscription

The original inscription and translation is as follows.[1]

治天下獲□□□鹵大王，奉□典曹人名无□弖，八月中，用大錡釜併四尺廷刀八十練□十捃□寸上□□刀。服此刀者□□子孫注ゝ得其恩也，不失其所統。作刀者名伊太加，書者張安也。

In the reign of the great ruler Wa[kataki]ru who ruled the land, in the eighth month an official in service by the name of Mu...te used a large cauldron and a four-foot court (?) sword. Refining and selecting the metal many times,... sword. He who wears this sword...; his descendants will successively obtain its favours, and not lose that which they control The name of the person who made the sword is Itaka; the text was written by Zhang An.

Portions of the text are now illegible, rendered above as □, making it difficult to interpret. The name of the ruler, Wakatakiru, is reconstructed from evidence on the Inariyama burial mound sword.

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See also

Notes
  1. Seeley, Christopher. A History of Writing in Japan. Brill Academic Publishers. 1991. pp 24-25. ISBN 90-04-09081-9.

References


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