A bronze inscribed mirror with made during the Later Han Dynasty (25-220 AD) was discovered at the late Yayoi Pottery Culture period site (300 BC-300 AD) in Nakashima, Fukuoka, South-West Japan.

The mirror was unearthed unbroken at an archaeological site in Fukuoka’s Hakata Ward. The lies in the presumed territory of Na, an early state from the Yayoi period. The artefact measures 11.3 centimetres across and is believed to have been manufactured in China. The surface of the object is inscribed with a text that reads, “chang yi zisun”, which means, “to benefit future generations forever“.

The artefact was uncovered together with earthenware from sometime around the middle of the late Yayoi period, from a depth of some 2 meters beneath a former village site. Archaeologists believe that the Na state of the period also had an influential person who had the power to acquire a Chinese-made mirror. The researchers state that it is extremely rare for a similar artefact to be found preserved in such good condition.

(after Shunsuke Nakamura & Asahi Shimbun)