The iron Inariyama burial-mound sword (稲荷山古墳出土鉄剣) or kinsakumei tekken (金錯銘鉄剣) was excavated in 1968 at the Inariyama Kofun, a megalithic tomb located in Saitama Prefecture. In 1978, X-ray analysis revealed a gold-inlaid inscription that comprises at least 115 Chinese characters. This sword was described as the discovery of the century for the study of ancient Japanese history. The sword is designated a national treasure of Japan and is on display in the Saitama Prefectural Museum of the Sakitama Ancient Burial Mounds.

Creation

Japanese research suggests that the metal used in the sword was smelted from copper-bearing magnetite originating in the Jiangnan region of China, later brought to Japan, and then used to forge the sword.

Inscription

The inscription is in classical Chinese, but includes several Japanese proper names written using Chinese characters as syllabograms. The original inscription and translation (by Murayama Shichirō and Roy Andrew Miller) is as follows.

Interpretation

The year is denoted as "xin-hai" (that is "Year of the Metal Pig") according to the Chinese sexagenary cycle, in which the name of the year is recycled every 60 years. It is generally regarded in Japan to correspond to 471 AD, but Seeley suggests that 531 is a more likely date. The person buried in the tomb, named Wowake, was an influential warrior in the region. King Waka Takiru in the transcription is thought to be the same person as Ōhatsuse-wakatakeru-no-mikoto as mentioned in the Nihon Shoki, an alias of Emperor Yūryaku. The name Waka Takiru is also apparently mentioned on another inscribed sword, the Eta Funayama Sword.