FUKUOKA, JAPAN—The Asahi Shimbun reports that an intact, 1,900-year-old mirror has been found at the Nakashima archaeological site on the southern island of Kyushu. The site was part of the Na state during the late Yayoi period, which ended around A.D. 300. The mirror is thought to have been made in China during the later Han Dynasty, between A.D. 25 and 220. An inscription on the mirror, which measures about four and one-half inches across, reads “to benefit future generations forever.” It was decorated with the “linked-arc” pattern, and is in such good condition that it is still reflective. The mirror may have been obtained when the king of Na sent a mission to China in A.D. 107—an event recorded in Chinese history. Hidenori Okamura of Kyoto University added that the artifact could help researchers date the late Yayoi period. To read about another discovery made in Japan, go to “Dogu Figurine.”
