Japan’s “Oldest Known Writing” is Just Permanent Marker: Experts



For years, Japan has been in possession of what many regard as the first extant writing from the nation’s history. However, new work by a research team in the city of Nara sheds some major doubt on that claim. What was once thought to be “ancient writing,” they’ve concluded, seems like an all-too-modern phenomenon.

The Yayoi Stone

New finds from Japan’s past, of course, aren’t new. One museum in the city of Mihara (Hiroshima Prefecture) is gathering attention for its exhibit of Japanese candy that dates back 200 years to the Edo era, when the Tokugawa family ruled[2].

The artifact in question, however, dates back much longer. It’s a stone from Japan’s Yayoi Era (200BCE – 300CE) The Yayoi succeeds Japan’s prehistory Jomon era (縄文; joumon) and marked the introduction of rice agriculture.

Many examples of Yayoi stone and iron work exist from the numerous historical excavation sites around Japan. This one, however, was thought to be special. It was a stone discovered in the Matsue City site in Shimane Prefecture back in 1997 (Heisei 9). It measures 9 cm long and 7.5cm wide.

And it was thought to bear something special: writing. If verified, it would be the oldest example of writing known in Japan. Until now, that honor has gone to a sample thought to belong to an emisssary from the country of Na, one of the nations inside of Japan during the Yayoi[3].

A modern invention

Alas, it was not to be.

Speculation abounded for years over what the stone could be or what the symbol could represent. One school of thought said it was a whetstone. Another said it could actually be an inkstone.

So researchers in the city of Nara decided to analyze it further. With the help of the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), they examined the stone and the writing using spectral analysis.

The result? The spectral analysis doesn’t show that the writing uses any materials that would have been available to denizens of the Yayoi era. In fact, it seems to most closely resemble…permanent marker ink.

In other words, the sample was contaminated, either deliberately or by accident. At least one researcher thinks the contamination happened when someone brought a marker used for labeling too close to the artifact.

Not the first false alarm

It wouldn’t be the first time the scientific community in Japan got its hopes up. In the 2000s, Japan was rocked by a series of frauds when Fujimura Shinichi spent half a year planting ancient aritifacts around Japan which he then “discovered”[4]. He planted the goods during the 70s and his deceit wasn’t uncovered for years. Even professional researchers were fooled[5].

So far, however, nothing funny seems to plague the Matsue stone. The original researcher who theorized that the stone may contain writing admitted the new analysis. If further tests cooroborate what the Nara researchers found, he said, he’ll revoke his hypothesis. The researcher, however, maintains that other evidence exists to demonstrate that some form of writing existed during the Yayoi.

What to Read Next

References

[1] 弥生時代の「最古の文字」、実は油性マーカーの痕? コンタミか. Asahi Shinbun

[2] 【日本最古か?】“200年前に作られた和菓子”に新たな事実… 三原市で展示. YouTube/NTV

[3] 地中から現れた文字. Toyama Prefecture

[4] 旧石器捏造事件. Wikipedia JP

[5] 「神の手」にだまされた研究者、「お前はグルかバカか」迫られた問い…2000年11月「あれから」<20>. Yomiuri Shinbun



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