Sacred Texts and Buried Treasures
Imagine Japan in the earlier part of its existence, before it was as we know it now. What it unified under one ruler or was in made up of many smaller societies? How did people have kinship ties with one another? How did they live? While you contemplate these things others have already extensively researched them, written about them, and taught the history to other people. One such individual, William Wayne Farris, wrote a book called Sacred Texts and Buried Treasures (1998) which attempts to address some parts of Japanese history that are still under debate as well as recent archaeological finding and what they prove. First he discusses Yamatai which is a 3rd century realm that was ruled over by Queen Himiko. Next, he discusses the 'Korean connection,' which refers to the connections that Japanese and Koreans had during this time period (Did the Japanese conquer southern Korea or did the Koreans conquer Japan. Thirdly, he discusses the capitals in Japan, how they were influenced by the Chinese methods of architecture, and how they were able to build such large cities. Lastly, Farris addresses wooden tablets (a new written resource) and how they effected what we thought about certain parts of Japanese politics and histor
It is hard to say who conquered who because there has been very little archaeological excavation in Korea until recent times, and even now it is limited. However, the next thing Farris discusses is the archaeological evidence we do know of that shows what technologies came to Japan via Korea. He divides these political/economic influences into a three categories: those that originated in the peninsula, items that were invented in China but were transmitted by inhabitants of Korea (so they were probably altered by them), and finally, itemed that were developed elsewhere and came to Japan virtually unaltered. He sites the importance of iron and iron working, iron weapons, horse trappings, and farm tools and irrigation technologies. He discusses in detail several things that the two regions share in common culturally, such as pottery, burial techniques (i.e.: keyhole tombs, tumuli), gold jewelry, belt buckles, crowns, shoes, gold and silver metalworking techniques, glass beads, and silk weaving. The Japanese first writing system was developed through the Chinese style which also came via Korea. It seems that Korea was also a source of learning for the Japanese. It is also believed that the Korean cap system of ranking influenced the Japanese system because the colors and ranking are so similar. There is also evidence that many artisans came from Korea to use their services in Japan. The Japanese also adapted Buddhism and law codes which came from China through Korea, therefore having some Korean influence. Farris deduces that the Japanese could not have ruled over the more powerful Korean kingdoms, but probably had an outpost there through which many aspects of the Korean culture passed to the archipelago. He also stated that the stem of the Japanese contempt for the Koreans stems from their hatred of the Silla who, it is rumored, tried to bribe a Japanese emissary to help them over throw the court. We know that Farris has an extensive knowledge on the subject since one of his previous book was written entirely on this sub
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1383
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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