Haniwa
Figure of a Man
Ibaraki Prefecture
Tumulus period, 6th-7th century
Earthenware with traces of pigment
Before the Tumulus period (258-646), Japan was divided into domains, their mixed
populations including immigrants from Korea and the East Asian mainland. These domains
were gradually federated into a unified state, marking a period of an emergent national
"Japanese" style. Enormous tombs--kofun, or "tumulus"--were constructed
for the elite. These tombs were covered with earth, forming burial mounds often in
the shape of keyholes, and surrounded by moats. Haniwa figures such as this one lined
the contours of the mound and the entrance to the tomb, and were positioned frontally,
facing outward. The haniwa functioned not only as attendants to the departed, guardians
of his tomb, and emblems of his status, but also as national symbols for a unified
country, placed above ground for all the living to see.