Jump to content

Rei-kyō

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rei-kyō, excavated from Ueno Kofun (Chikusei, Ibaraki).

Rei-kyō (Japanese: 鈴鏡, lit.'bell mirror') is an ancient type of Japanese round bronze mirror made in the late Kofun period (5th - 6th century). The mirror is named so because it has bells around its perimeter.

History

[edit]

Rei-kyō is a Chinese-style bronze mirror made in the Japanese archipelago, whose perimeter is surrounded by four to ten bells with pebbles inside.[1] Chinese-style bronze mirrors made outside of China are called bousei-kyō (Japanese: 仿製鏡, lit.'imitated mirror'), and rei-kyō is one of them.[2] It is an instrument intended to make sound,[2] and haniwa (clay figurines) with a mirror of this style on their waist have been excavated.[3] Rei-kyō loses its original purpose as a mirror, and this fact suggests that mirrors were regarded as tools for spells in Wa at that time.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "世界大百科事典 第2版 「鈴鏡」の意味・わかりやすい解説". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  2. ^ a b c "日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ) 「仿製鏡」の意味・わかりやすい解説". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  3. ^ "日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ) 「鈴鏡」の意味・わかりやすい解説". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-12-04.