Dōtaku

{{Italic title|reason=:Category:Japanese words and phrases}} thumb|A Yayoi period ''dōtaku'', 3rd century {{nihongo|'''''Dōtaku'''''|銅鐸}} are richly decorated Japanese bells cast in bronze. They were used for about 400 years, between the second century BCE and the second century CE (corresponding to the end of the Yayoi period), and were used almost exclusively as decorations during rituals. They were richly decorated with patterns representing nature and animals, among which the dragonfly, praying mantis and spider are featured. Historians believe that ''dōtaku'' were used to pray for good harvests, as the animals featured are natural enemies of insect pests that attack paddy fields.

The Yasu City History and Folklore Museum in Yasu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan (nicknamed the "''dōtaku'' museum") has a permanent exhibition devoted to the bells.<ref>{{Cite web |title= |script-title=ja:野洲市歴史民俗博物館は開館36周年を迎えました |trans-title=Yasu City Museum of History and Folklore Celebrates its 36th Anniversary |url=https://www.city.yasu.lg.jp/topics/1730419175209.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250223231540/https://www.city.yasu.lg.jp/topics/1730419175209.html |archive-date=2025-02-23 |website=Yasu City |language=ja}}</ref>

==History== During the Yayoi Era (1000 BCE – 300 CE), a great number of technological innovations occurred. Unlike the earlier nomadic Jōmon people, the Yayoi inhabited large community settlements and engaged in the cultivation of rice.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Mason |first=Penelope |title=History of Japanese Art |publisher=Pearson |isbn=978-0-13-016395-0 |edition=2nd |pages=22–27}}</ref> Likewise, newly learnt metallurgical techniques afforded them the ability to cast metal objects in bronze and iron such as weapons, mirrors, and various tools, etc. Among their bronze creations, ''dōtaku'', one of the most distinctive objects of the era, were created. In recent years, ''dōtaku'' have been studied by researchers in order to decipher their origins, how they were created, their various purposes, and the reasons or meaning behind the images on the main body.

==Origin== Despite being a well-known artifact of the Yayoi era, the concept of ''dōtaku'' did not initially originate in Japan. According to several studies, these bells are thought to be derived from "earlier, smaller Korean examples that adorned horses and other domesticated animals",<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=October 2006 |title=Bell (''dotaku'') |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/18.68 |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614020628/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/18.68 |archive-date=2015-06-14 |access-date=2015-09-14 |website=Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref> from Chinese cattle bells, or Han Chinese ''zhong'', which were bells without clappers used for composing ritual music. However, further studies show that the Yayoi did not have cattle farms, and although several ''dōtaku'' do have suspension rings and clappers, they make "muffled tones"<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url = https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/asset/two-d%C5%8Dtaku-ritual-bells/pAERWRrgJXeh_g|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170202105448/https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/asset/two-d%C5%8Dtaku-ritual-bells/pAERWRrgJXeh_g|url-status = dead|archive-date = February 2, 2017|title = Two dōtaku (ritual bells)|access-date = 2017-01-29|website = The British Museum}}</ref> or "rattling sounds"<ref name=":1" /> when struck, suggesting that they were not meant to be rung.<ref name=":1" /> Therefore, any bells from China were imported as ritual objects.<ref name=":2" />

===Locations=== thumb|right|Distribution of Dōtaku In total, over four hundred ''dōtaku'' have been found in Japan,<ref name=":0" /> mainly in western Honshu, the Tokai District, Shikoku, and the Kansai region, namely Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka.<ref name=":1" /> The "first recorded discovery of ''dōtaku''" was in 662 CE at a temple located in Shiga Prefecture.<ref name=":1" /> They are often "found buried on isolated hillsides"<ref name=":2" /> either ‘singly, [in] pairs, or in large groups"<ref name=":1" /> along with various bronze mirrors and weapons. When buried in groups, researchers have speculated that several clans each buried their only ''dotaku'' in one area to signify the unity of all the clans.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title = Prehistoric Japan: New Perspectives on Insular East Asia|last = Imamura|first = Keiji|pages = 170–177}}</ref>

==Appearance== thumb|upright|Dōtaku (bell-shaped; bronze), Yayoi period, 1st-2nd century A.D.

Physically, the body of a ''dōtaku'' consists of "a truncated cone shape"<ref name=":1" /> with an oval cross-section<ref>{{Cite book|title = Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Global History|last = Kleiner|first = Fred|pages = 477}}</ref> and "has rows of horizontal bands divided in the center by a vertical row".<ref name=":1" /> Arching and extending over the top and the sides of the body is an "elaborate flange filled with sawtooth design and projecting spirals".<ref name=":1" /> The materials used for ''dōtaku'' came from both Korea and China since "bronze resources were not found until the 7th century",<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title = Japan, Late Yayoi Period / Dōtaku / 100-200|url = http://www.davidrumsey.com/amica/amico1259573-33003.html|website = www.davidrumsey.com|access-date = 2015-09-14}}</ref> thus bronze was considered more precious than iron.<ref name=":4" /> In addition, researchers have detected lead traces inside the bells, which was a common characteristic of Chinese metals.<ref name=":3" /> These Yayoi bells vary in height ranging from 4 inches to 50 inches,<ref name=":0" /> approximately 10 cm to 127 cm. In conjunction with the varying height, the styles of the bells also varied greatly. Across several regions, this scattered production continued until a group of bronze-smiths congregated and decided on a standard.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Archaeology of Japan: From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State|last = Mizoguchi|first = Koji|pages = 180–195}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sitereports.nabunken.go.jp/2734|title=荒神谷遺跡発掘調査概報 2 銅鐸・銅矛出土地|last=The Shimane Board of Education|date=1986|website=Comprehensive Database of Archaeological Site Reports in Japan|access-date=2016-09-01}}</ref>

===Evolving Casting Methods=== These bells were originally made through the use of two-part sandstone moulds, in which "designs were carved"<ref name=":4" /> in order to create the appearance of raised bronzes on the outer surface. Many of these sandstone moulds were "found in abundance in northern Kyushu"<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title = History - Yayoi Period| date=26 October 2012 |url = http://www.jref.com/articles/yayoi-period.188/|access-date = 2015-09-14}}</ref> and near Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara.<ref name=":5" /> As time progressed, ''dōtaku'' gradually became larger in size and thinner because they began to be made using clay moulds instead of sandstone.<ref name=":1" /> This allowed for more detailed work, such as simple line drawings, compared to the smaller and thicker sandstone moulds.<ref name=":1" />

==Main purpose== Other purposes of the ''dōtaku'' are still being debated by researchers, but it is certain that they were used for agricultural rituals and rites, as supported by various sources.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|title = Dotaku (Ritual Bronze Bells) and the Yayoi Period {{!}} 京都国立博物館 {{!}} Kyoto National Museum|url = http://www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/dictio/kouko/45dotaku.html|website = www.kyohaku.go.jp|access-date = 2015-09-14|archive-date = 2015-09-16|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150916013338/http://www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/dictio/kouko/45dotaku.html|url-status = dead}}</ref> Researchers suggest that, when not in use, ''dōtaku'' were buried "in the ground to receive Earth’s life force",<ref name=":6" /> thus ensuring agricultural fertility for the community;<ref name=":1" /> they were also believed to have been used to pray for rain. These beliefs and suggestions are supported by the fact that many ''dōtaku'' had inscriptions of "flowing water, waterfowl, fish, boats, and agricultural objects"<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|title = The Cambridge History of Japan, Volume 1|last = Hall|first = John Whitney|pages = 332–334}}</ref> on them. Although it is unknown whether or not ''dōtaku'' were "used by the chieftains for small principalities or by villages in public community festivals",<ref name=":7" /> it is certain that they belonged to the community as a whole rather than an individual.<ref name=":1" /> Some alternate theories include ''dōtaku'' being used as "a sundial, producing gold, heating water for bathing, or related to secret Jewish practices", although these explanations have little support within the mainstream archaeological community.<ref name=":6" />

== Similarities with Chinese imagery == Decorations on ''dōtaku'' contain many aspects that resemble Chinese objects. For example, many early bells had "delicate decorations [that] resemble contemporary Chinese mirrors".<ref name=":2" /> It wasn’t until later in the Yayoi era that decorations "with scenes of animals and humans hunting or farming"<ref name=":2" /> were used. Along with these depictions, there are also images of the typical Yayoi "elevated granaries and scenes of rice being pounded".<ref name=":6" />

===Deer=== Many depictions of deer appear on ''dōtaku'' the most, even though the "Yayoi ate mostly wild boar".<ref name=":6" /> According to "''Harima Fudoki''",<ref name=":6" /> which is a series of reports comprised in the Nara period (710 C.E. – 793 C.E.), there was "a magical ritual of sowing seeds in deer blood that was used to speed up the germination of rice plants"<ref name=":6" /> because it was believed that "the deer’s life force helped the growth of rice."<ref name=":6" />

==Research== There have also been studies as to whether or not the images on the ''dōtaku'' have significant meanings. According to a researcher named Oba, each picture contains a hidden pictograph that can be deciphered through a phonetic reading. For example, a picture of a man shooting a deer can be read as "''iru ka''" (to shoot a deer),<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|title = Review|jstor = 132139|journal = Journal of Japanese Studies|date = 1975-04-01|pages = 485–506|volume = 1|issue = 2|doi = 10.2307/132139|first = Roy Andrew|last = Miller}}</ref> but when combined to form "Iruka", the pictures refer to Soga no Iruka, which is a reference to the Soga Dynasty.<ref name=":8" /> Through several more readings, Oba discovered that the drawings "contain references to precise persons, places, and events in Japanese prehistory"<ref name=":8" /> as well as provided "info of shapes of buildings, hunting customs, and other aspects of daily life",<ref name=":8" /> possibly left for future generations. However, due to a lack of concrete evidence, other researchers have deemed it improbable that the pictures are actually hidden pictographs; it is possible that the pictures are just pictures. Despite the lack of evidence, researchers do believe that the pictures aren’t just casual pictures drawn for the sake of art, that there is some other meaning behind them.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|Dotaku}} * [http://sitereports.nabunken.go.jp/en Comprehensive Database of Archaeological Site Reports in Japan], Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dotaku}} Category:Archaeology of Japan Category:Bells (percussion) Category:Japanese art terminology Category:Yayoi period Category:Japanese musical instruments Category:Bronze objects