The Bronze Mirror of Suda Hachiman Jinja Shrine 隅田八幡神社

Official explanation

There has been a shrine dedicated to the Shinto god Hachiman, the protector of warriors, on this spot since the ninth century. The approach to the main hall features an elegant gate with a dragon painted on the ceiling; the hall itself is surrounded by smaller sub-shrines dedicated to other deities.

The cast bronze mirror of Suda Hachiman shrine dates from around the fifth century, and is a designated National Treasure. While the original mirror is now on display at the Tokyo National Museum, a large replica is displayed at the shrine.

Read the full explanation

This artifact, which is inscribed with 48 kanji characters, is particularly important because it gave researchers insight into the period when Japan was just starting to use written characters imported from China. Several of the kanji characters on the mirror are reversed, indicating that the artisans who made it were not yet familiar with this type of written script.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.