少々大袈裟かもしれませんが、この時代に生まれてきてよかったな…と思うことが一つあるのですが笑。それは昨今の分析技術のお陰でこれまでだと謎とされてきたことが解明される瞬間であります。折しも先日訪れた奈良国立博物館「超国宝展」にて展示されておりました石上神宮の「七支刀（しちしとう）」のニュースが上がっておりました。

 

古墳時代に朝鮮半島から伝わったとされる石上神宮の国宝「七支刀（しちしとう）」ですが、奈良国立博物館が最新の分析装置での調査結果では、内部はほとんど腐食しておらず、極めて良好な状態が保たれていることがわかったそうです。1600年前の剣としては状態が非常によく奇跡的だとのことです。

先日実際にみてきたのですが、表面は赤褐色にさびていました。再び磨ぐとあの中からきらりと光る鋼が現れるのでしょうか。

 

 

 

It may be a bit exaggerated, but there is one thing that makes me glad to have been born in this era… lol. It is the moment when something that has been considered a mystery until now is clarified thanks to the recent analytical technology. The other day, I visited the Nara National Museum and saw the news about the “Shichishito,” a seven-sided sword from Ishigami Jingu Shrine, which was on display at the “Super National Treasure Exhibition.

 

According to the Nara National Museum’s latest analytical equipment, the interior of the sword is almost completely uncorroded and remains in excellent condition. I saw the sword in person the other day.

I actually saw it the other day, and its surface was rusted to a reddish-brown color. I wondered if the shiny steel would appear from the surface when the sword was polished again.

 

As I briefly explained the other day, this National Treasure “Shichishito” is an iron sword with a unique shape with three branching blades protruding from each side, and is said to have been introduced to Japan from the Korean Peninsula during the Kofun period about 1,600 years ago. The sword is in the possession of Ishigami Jingu Shrine in Tenri City, Nara Prefecture, and the Nara National Museum has been examining it with the latest analytical equipment using X-rays in order to check its state of preservation in conjunction with an exhibition to be held this time to display the Seven Swords and other items.

 

The steel was in good condition, but the first X-ray CT (computed tomography) survey revealed that the gold inlays engraved on both sides of the sword were clearly visible. This clarification of some of the previously unclear characters is expected to further advance research on the inscriptions, which provide valuable clues to understanding Japan’s ancient history.

 

The inscription is as follows

(Front side) 16th day of the 4th month of the 4th year of the Heigo period in the year Taiyo (□□), made by Houou, a hundred knives, seven zodiac buttons and a fed-up hundred soldiers. □□□□
(Reverse side) Since the previous generation, this sword has never been made by a king of Japan.

 

The current research clearly shows the Chinese character for “Je” in “Baekje,” which some have suggested was a different character. Furthermore, the year of the production of the seven scrolls, which many researchers have read as the fourth year of the Chinese era “Taihe (=Taihe)” (369), was also believed to be the fourth year of ‘Taishi’ (468) because of the poor “Wa” remainder. This time, the possibility of “Tai Wa” has become even more likely, as traces of the “nogi-hen” with its missing inlays were more clearly visible.

 

It seems that the Nanashito has been X-rayed in the past, but the inscriptions on both sides overlapped, making it difficult to read the characters, and this time, since the CT was used to slice the object, the inscriptions on the front and back could be read in different images.

 

There is a debate over whether the sword was forged by beating the iron material or casted by pouring molten iron into a mold. However, it seems that a detailed examination with a specialist is necessary to determine whether the sword was forged or cast.

 

When we actually see it, we might be concerned about the rusting…etc. However, no serious deterioration or cracks were found in this investigation, and the physical examination seemed to be good this time.

 

Although we have not yet been able to decipher all of the inscriptions, we are happy to have learned even a single letter, as if we were there in the middle of solving a mystery of the times.

 

Have a good day. (Staff Y)