Rei-kyō
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]
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.