right|thumb| dating from Jōmon period to 8th century
thumb|right|Magatama from [[Kofun period（Tokyo National Museum）]]
are curved, comma-shaped beads that appeared in prehistoric Japan from the Final Jōmon period through the Kofun period, approximately 1000 BCE to the 6th century CE. The beads, also described as jewels, were made of stone and earthen materials in the early period, but by the end of the Kofun period were made almost exclusively of jade. originally served as decorative jewelry, but by the end of the Kofun period functioned as ceremonial and religious objects.
Jōmon period
first appeared in Japan in the Final Jōmon period (1000–300 BCE), and in this period were made from relatively simple, naturally occurring materials, including clay, talc, slate, quartz, gneiss, jadeite, nephrite, and serpentinite. from the Jōmon period were irregularly shaped, lacked continuity in form from region to region, and have been called "Stone Age " for this reason. These resemble , but more recent scholarship indicates that these early Jōmon may have simply had a decorative function, and have no relationship to . A "middle Jōmon exchange network" may have existed, whereby were produced in regions where materials for their manufacture were readily plentiful. Jade and talc examples produced in bead-making villages located in present-day Itoigawa, Niigata have been found at a large number of sites along the northern coast, in the central mountains, and in Kantō region.
Archaeological sites (Jōmon)
Examples of from the Jōmon period have been discovered in large numbers at the Kamegaoka site in Tsugaru, Aomori Prefecture. The Kamegaoka remains are among the largest known Jōmon settlement in Japan, and the , among other decorative objects found, may be an indicator of the high social status of the settlement.
Other sites associated with the Kamegaoka settlement have yielded , including the Ōboriya shell mound, in the northwest corner of Ōfunato Bay, which yielded a huge number of beads, as well as the Korekawa site, near Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture. Remains from the Korekawa site can be seen at the Korekawa Archaeological Museum in Hachinohe. Stone and clay and -like beads have also been discovered at the Amataki site, Ninohe, Iwate Prefecture, Osagata site, Ibaraki Prefecture, and the Kou site, Fujiidera, Osaka Prefecture.
Yayoi period
left|thumb|Agate ,
in the Yayoi period (300 BCE – 300 CE) are notably different from Jōmon-period . The jewels moved from a primitive, non-standard form towards more polished and uniform form in this period. The technology to cut large gemstones and polish jewels notably advanced in the Yayoi period. Refined materials such as jadeite, serpentinite, and glass replaced the less sophisticated materials of the Jōmon period. were commonly used to create necklaces and bracelets worn on the wrists or ankles. The necklace was typically constructed of jadeite separated by cylindrical bored-holed pieces of jasper. Small beads of dark-blue glass are also not uncommon on the necklace. The bracelet typically also used shells from the coastal areas of Shikoku and the Inland Sea, wood, and bronze. In this period the use of the mirror, sword, and jewels as status symbols for village, and later regional leaders of all kinds, emerged in the Yayoi period, and point to the origin of the mirror, sword, and as the Imperial Regalia of Japan.
The Records of the Three Kingdoms, the earliest historical document with a reference to Japan, describes the Wa people, an ancient country of Yamatai, and its queen, Himiko. The Record indicates that when Himiko died, her relative Iyo, a girl of 13, was made queen and sent a delegation of twenty officials under Yazuku, an imperial general, to offer tribute to the Northern Wei court. "The delegation visited the capital and offered to the court five thousand white gems and two pieces of carved jade, as well as twenty pieces of brocade with variegated designs." The carved jade in the Record likely describes a tribute of two jade .
Archaeological sites (Yayoi)
right|thumb|Museum housing artifacts of production, Tamatsukuri Inari Shrine, Osaka
The large-scale Yayoi period remains at the Yoshinogari site, Yoshinogari and Kanzaki in Saga Prefecture revealed examples of lead glass typical of the Yayoi period. In 2003, the excavation of a large Yayoi period settlement in Tawaramoto, Nara also revealed two large jade , one , the second in length. The larger Tawaramoto is the 10th-largest example found to date in Japan. Both jade from the site are of unusually high-quality brilliant green jade.
One known center of Yayoi production was in the area of the Tamatsukuri Inari Shrine in Osaka. literally means "jewel making", and a guild, the Tamatsukuri-be, was active from the Yayoi period. An existing jewel at the shrine is said to have great spiritual power. appear on all sorts of implements of the present-day temple, including amulets, roof tiles, and lanterns. The inari female fox at the gate of a subshrine of Tamatsukuri Inari Shrine wears a necklace of . The shrine has an exhibit on the history and production of .
Kofun period
thumb|Necklace of jade from a Japanese burial
thumb| from the Kofun period
became very common in the Kofun period (250–536 CE), and by the end of the period almost all tumuli contained . are with inscriptions that look like flowers of the clove tree and have a hole suitable to attach to a string.
Archaeological sites (Kofun)
Examples of stone from the Kofun period are especially numerous. An excavation of the Kamegaoka , Kishiwada, Osaka, revealed a local who had been buried with a jade, jasper, and alabaster necklace, as well as placed near the feet. A bronze mirror imported from China accompanying the burial was dated to 239 CE. The is a Designated Historical Spot of the city of Kishiwada. Ceremonial offerings from a burial from the Kisami-Araida area of Shimoda, Shizuoka also revealed clay reproductions of used as effigies. The excavation of the Ubusuna in Kyōtango, Kyoto yielded two fully intact necklaces of jade and agate, with segments between in length.
The Sakurai in Sakurai, Nara, excavated in 1949, represents a from the final phase of the Kofun period, and is possibly from a ruler associated with the imperial family. The is high and shows evidence of being surrounded by a moat. Among the very large number of funerary objects were high-quality weapons, including swords, 10 mirrors, and a necklace of jadeite , agate cylinders, and glass beads used to make a -style necklace.
Origin of magatama forms
Archaeologists and historians are unable yet to explain what the origins of forms are, or whether these forms can be traced back to one convergent source. A number of explanations have been suggested, including:
- They may be fashioned after animal fangs/teeth
- They may be modeled after the shape of fetuses
- They may be symbolic of the shape of the soul
- They may be modeled after the shape of the moon
- That there is meaning and connotation attached to the shape of the itself (i.e. meaning comes from the form itself, and not that has been patterned after anything else)
In Japanese mythology
right|thumb|upright|Artist's rendition of Amaterasu emerging from the cave holding a necklace in her left hand, and a sword in her right
The and , completed in the 8th century, have numerous references to . Susanoo went to heaven and presented them to his sister, the sun goddess Amaterasu, who bit off successive parts of the , and blew them away to create other deities. Tamanoya no mikoto remains the god of , glasses, and cameras. In the legend Amaterasu later shuts herself in a cave. Ama-no-Koyane-no-mikoto hung , among other objects, on a five hundred-branch tree, to successfully lure Amaterasu from the cave. A similar practice is described again in the during the reign of the Emperor Chūai. Chūai made an inspection trip to the Tsukushi, or Kyūshū, and was presented with an enormous tree hung with as well as other sacred objects.
Yasakani no Magatama
A noted is the , one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan. Swords, mirrors, and jewels were common objects of status for regional rulers in Japan as early as the Yayoi period,