Japonya’da 1800 yıllık maske bulundu

An 1,800-year-old ceremonial wooden mask has been found in Japan. According to Heritage Daily news, officials at the Osaka Cultural Heritage Center announced that a mask in the shape of a human face, carved from cedar wood and found to be 1,800 years old, was found during an excavation conducted as part of the Osaka Monorail extension in the East Osaka region.

The wooden mask is about 30 centimeters high and 18 centimeters wide; It was stated that it had two eyes and a hole for a mouth, and on one side was a hole that was probably used to hold a mask on the face.

The researchers stated that the mask was used in religious ceremonies during important agricultural festivals during the Yayoi period 1,800 years ago. Highlighting Yayoi pottery styles among the distinguishing features of the Yayoi period, the researchers noted that carpentry and architecture developed during this period, and intensive rice cultivation began in the rice fields.

“The third sample of the wooden mask”

The found mask is noted to be the third sample of a wooden mask from this period and resembles another mask excavated at the Makimuku ruins in Nara Prefecture. “I think the mask is the ‘master spirit,’ which is believed to be a god in human form and represents the sovereignty of the ‘Okimi,'” said Kaoru Terasawa, director of the Makimukugaku Research Center.

It will be exhibited in the museum

The statement said Okimi was the leader of the Yamato Kingdom, a political coalition of influential tribes in the region also known as Nara Province, which ruled from the 3rd to 7th centuries AD. In addition to the mask, a wooden water container and a charred wooden object in the shape of an anchor were found in the excavation.

The mask will be on display at the Yayoi Culture Museum in Osaka Prefecture’s Izumi District from April 29 to May 7. (AA)