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Figure
of a Man
 Figure
of a Man
Japan, Ibaraki Prefecture; Tumulus period, 6th- 7th century
Earthenware with traces of pigment
1979.199
Wearing a fanciful, pantaloon-and-long-jacket outfit and a tall, triangular
headdress with crisscross patterns, this charming male figure is a study
of complex forms. At the same time, he is endowed with a simplified face
comprising hole openings for eyes and mouth, and retains an overall cylindrical
quality. At first nothing more than plain tubes, haniwa (literally "clay
circle"), or burial mound figures, eventually morphed into more elaborate
forms, including human and animal shapes as well as architectural structures.
Haniwa were placed in groups on the exterior-on top, around the edges,
and at the entrance-of mound tombs of the elite during the Kofun period.
These tombs ranged from elaborate, keyhole shapes to rounded mounds of
earth and, along with the multitude of haniwa around them, represented
powerful visual markers of the deceased's social and political status.
Although not specifically Shinto or Buddhist, haniwa may have held some
spiritual meaning for the elite whose tombs they guarded.
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