It appears the Japanese might begin allowing archaeologists to begin walking on the tombs of the early emperors, although excavations are still prohibited. Things learned from the tombs might prove of interest not just to Japan, but also to Korea.
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‘begin walking on the tombs…’
i thought that was a typo at first. wonder what can be gleaned from just walking around a tomb. instead of allowing that, why not allow archeologists to examine what has already been excavated and stored away?
Yeah, it doesn’t sound like they’ll be digging anytime soon. “What can be gleaned from walking around a tomb”? Not much. Maybe a sense of national pride.
The shape and arrangement of those tombs and the architecture of their stone foundation are similar to royal tombs of Baekje around the fifth and sixth centuries, according to the late art historian Jon Carter Covell, in her book _Korean Impact on Japanese Culture — Japan’s Hidden History_ (Hollym). Ditto the “Three Imperial Treasures” (Iron Sword, Jade Jewel and Bronze Mirror) that neither the public nor researchers ever get to see (or at least we can say that access is highly restricted). And it’s no surprise that this is a favorite theme of some Korean historical-archaeologists, and no surprise that it’s a sensitive subject in Japan.
Her book was published more than 25 years ago, and I don’t know what the progress of academic opinion on this subject has been since then, having kept up with it. Anybody…?
But anyway, this is the reason why it’s kind of a thing worth noticing if the Japanese Powers That Be permit slightly greater access to these tombs….
Quote from Article:”But the myth that Japan’s 125 emperors descended from the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami of Japan’s native Shinto religion still holds sway among rightists.
Suggestions by some scholars that the imperial line originated elsewhere — for example, on the Korean peninsula — have been attacked as an insult to the Japanese people.”
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The irony of a Korean sitting on the chrysanthemum throne
Yup, it’s ironic — and the real underlying fuel for all the anti-Korean prejudice in Japan — deep down they’re scared to find out. Some J academics have admitted the probability of that being the actual history, and have been (verbally) attacked — tho none lost their jobs yet over it, Bevers-style, so far as i’ve heard…