Quick Links: American Painting & Chinese Architecture

It’s that time again. The open tabs have piled up, and it’s time to share some links while trying to not go overboard with lengthy comments.

*First today is Chinese Vernacular Architecture, a blog by UCSB Art History PhD student Wencheng Yan. He hasn’t updated in quite some time, but among his posts from a few years ago are some excellent ones about the Yuan Palace and efforts to save Suzhou’s vernacular architecture, among other topics.

*Meanwhile, in a piece cleverly titled “>Curator, Tear Down These Walls,” the New York Times’ Roberta Smith has presented an argument for American folk art to be considered right up there with academic art. The power of the canon can be very strong, and even today, even as we question ‘what is art?’ in our classrooms and galleries, even as we work to challenge the canon, we are still somewhat arbitrarily implicitly, or explicitly, elevating some types of art above others. I don’t know much about the intricacies of the politics of American art appreciation, but it reminds me of the way that late Ming Dynasty painter & art critic Dong Qichang, through his incredible influence, was able to shape Chinese tastes all the way down to the present, to appreciate literati art the most, and to disparage academic art. Only very recently have art historians and curators come back around to begin to examine Chinese academic art, and to regard it highly, once again.

*Archaeologists in Tokyo have reported the first-ever discovery of Jômon period human remains in the Kantô plain, outside of shell-mounds. I recently learned that the soil in most parts of Japan is rather acidic, and breaks down human remains – even bones – within just a few hundred years, making it especially rare to find remains outside of what are called “pot burials”, where the bones are placed within ceramic vessels. Actually, now that I think about it, if the soil is acidic enough to break down bones, why doesn’t it break down shell mounds?

And.. that’s all for now. More stuff to come.

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Quick Links: September Times

I have way too many tabs open once again, and I think it’s about damn time that I post about them, and thus get rid of them.

*Newly discovered papyrus fragment mentions Jesus’ wife – A professor at Harvard Divinity School has revealed a 4th century scrap of papyrus that had been brought to her attention which reads, in ancient Coptic, in part, “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife…’” Scholars seem convinced that it is not a forgery, though of course, who knows the context this comes from, or how apocryphal the text it comes from… Courtesy of io9 and the Gothamist and the Mary Sue.

*The Seven Deadly Sins of Public Library Architecture, a slightly old, but nevertheless valid, article describing in neat, clean bullet-points, a number of (well, seven) basic, but very serious, failings in how many public libraries are laid out. Much thanks to the indomitable Jasspears (and a professional librarian herself!) for sharing this with me. Personally, I would argue for the value of ornamentation and historical architectural styles and all of that, creating an enjoyable and/or inspirational atmosphere for the library or museum, surpassing practical concerns about maximum efficiency of space or whatever. But, most of the other points here are quite valid, quite interesting, and, I think, equally applicable to issues of museum architecture as well.

*There’s apparently an exhibition of Okinawan bingata robes up at the Osaka City Museum of Art, and the blog 遊行七恵の日々是遊行 has written a quite nice blog post about it (in Japanese). It’s wonderful to see a mainland Japanese museum, or, indeed, any museum outside Okinawa, featuring Okinawan art/culture in such a big way. And, if I were in the Kansai area, I absolutely would make sure to go see the exhibit, and would probably enjoy it very much. Still, while my interest in textiles has begun gradually to grow over the last year or so, still, I really am growing a bit tired of textiles, pottery, and lacquerware (and music & musical instruments) being so constantly shown and talked about as the shining examples of Okinawan art. I know that the division between art and craft, or “fine arts” and “decorative arts” is old hat, but, still, this whole thing only goes to reinforce age-old stereotypes of Okinawa as a folk art, hillbilly, backwater. Since ancient times, painting – not lacquer, not pottery, not textiles, but painting – has been regarded throughout East Asia as one of the finest of elite pursuits, along with calligraphy. And, surprise surprise, Okinawans produced plenty of paintings and calligraphy. Perhaps not too many survive, but, I really would love to see an exhibit highlighting these, and in doing so, highlighting Ryukyu’s *elite* artistic tradition, and not only its folk tradition. *Asterisk – bingata, though often discussed in the context of “folk arts” or something because they’re textiles, were actually historically, traditionally, exclusive to the royalty & aristocracy.

*On a related note, an article in the Japan Times about traditional Japanese stencil art. I clicked this article because I was recently thinking about stencil print artist Takahashi Hiromitsu. Turns out the article is about stencil-dyeing, known in Japanese as katazome (among other terms? I’m not sure?) and quite similar in technique and process and everything to that used to make Okinawan bingata.

*An amazing webpage full of information on Ryukyu-related historical sites in (mainland) Japan by Prof. Watanabe Miki of Kanagawa University. He has a page for Ryukyu-related sites in China as well, and links to a bunch of other great resources too. If these pages were citable sources, wow, they’d be amazing resources. Alas.

*Resobox, a art gallery and event space in Long Island City (Queens, NYC) that I just recently heard about. Sadly, I never did get around to actually visiting, but it would seem that they very frequently have exhibits, events, workshops, lessons and the like related to Japanese and Okinawan arts. Next time I’m home in New York I’m going to have to check this out.

*There have been a lot of blog posts lately on, what should we call it, the fundamental flaws in the American university system, how we got here, where it’s going to lead us if we don’t fix it, etc. This is one of the better ones I’ve seen, though there certainly are plenty out there. Google something like “why not to get a PhD” or “scarcity of tenure positions,” and you’ll find plenty, I’m sure. It worries me, to be sure, as I am myself starting a PhD right now, but, I remain optimistic that things’ll work out for me in the end, whether as an academic, or otherwise, maybe in the museum world.

*EDIT: One more thing added since this post was originally put together. The latest installment of “I’m missing out because I’m not in New York” brings us the bizarrely controversial Tatzu Nishi’s “Discovering Columbus” installation in which the artist surrounds a statue of Columbus at Columbus Circle with a living room so that visitors can experience the statue in a whole new way.

Maybe it’s just because I’m not Italian, but I’ve never really understood why Italian-Americans get so offended when anything happens to Columbus. I mean, it’s not as if Italians (and Italian-Americans) aren’t known, and beloved, for all sorts of other things. I mean, for god’s sake, you’ve got Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello, for starters (and I’m not talking about the turtles). Western civilization owes so much to the Italians it’s almost unfathomable. You really don’t need Columbus, specifically, to remain un-besmirched or whatever, in order to maintain your pride in being Italian. It’s okay. We still love you even if some people have begun to take issue with Columbus Day; and, it’s not even as if Nishi’s installation is anti-Columbus at all to begin with…

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Update: Honolulu Rail Project

Today, Archaeology.org’s daily news roundup has an update for us on the Honolulu Rail Project, and the archaeological opposition to the project, which I posted about some time ago.

The Hawaii State Supreme Court has decided in favor of Paulette Kaleikini, who accused the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) of not doing due diligence in performing archaeological surveys along the entire route of the proposed rail line before beginning construction. Kaleikini, whose credentials remain entirely unclear to me, claims to have ancestors buried in Kaka’ako, a major site of ancient Hawaiian burials through which the rail line is proposed to run.

The politics are complicated, but, in short, construction is now stopped, and will be delayed by at least five to seven months; the Hawaii Reporter (which, incidentally, I had never heard of before) says that if any burials are found, and I am sure there will be, the project might be delayed by as much as 18 months. All of this is costing the taxpayers even more money, which I’m sure doesn’t make people happy – especially when so many people were opposed to the project originally on the basis of the vast cost to taxpayers. On the other hand, there seems some disagreement as to whether or not the project could be scrapped entirely, or whether it will push forward no matter what. I wonder how much pressure it would take to get them to scrap this route and do a completely different route, servicing a different part of the island.

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Archaeology / World Heritage Updates

An update on those terrible attacks upon World Heritage sites in Timbuktu: the Associated Foreign Press reports that locals have established an armed watch to defend precious historical Muslim sites in and around the city.

One representative of the group is quoted as saying, “We are not going to allow people who know nothing about Islam to come and destroy our treasures. I studied in Mauritania and Saudi Arabia, no one tells us in the Koran that we should destroy tombs.”

This is an important step towards ensuring the conservation of these sites against the radical Islamists who would label them “haram,” or heretical. And for what it’s worth coming from me, I applaud these people for standing up for themselves, for their faith, and their heritage. It will take a lot more to destroy the extremist organization Ansar Dine, and a lot more beyond that to put an end to people following that sort of ideology.

….

Meanwhile, a hoard of Crusader coins has been found in Israel. Archaeology.org’s News Feed constantly has stories about hoards of gold coins being discovered. But, the article seems to indicate that finding Crusader hoards in Israel is relatively rare, especially one of this size. Given how romanticized/dramatized Crusaders are (or am I thinking of Templars?), this seems an especially exciting find.

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Archaeology QuickLinks

*Archaeologists believe they have discovered the ruins of The Curtain, a London theatre that saw the world premieres of Romeo & Juliet and Henry V. The Curtain is believed to have been the first purpose-built theatre in London, along with the creatively named The Theatre, founded the following year, in 1576, and uncovered in 2008. It’s very exciting that discoveries like these are still being made – that there are still things yet to find, and that we are finding them.

Today, of course, you can visit the rebuilt Globe Theatre, and see a show in a recreation of the way it might have been done in Shakespeare’s time. And it can be quite inexpensive, too. The one time I went to the Globe, it was a very new play about Abelard & Heloise, not a Shakespeare production, but nevertheless, the atmosphere/aesthetic was amazing, and it was only five quid. Probably the cheapest entertainment I had my entire time in London. Cheaper even than a sandwich, almost.

*Meanwhile, a survey has revealed that the Great Wall of China is about twice as long as previously believed. Previous understandings were based primarily on historical records, apparently, and now that actual measurements and investigations have been done of the actual sites, it has been determined that the wall’s many branches total over 20,000 km of length, more than double the 8,000 or so kilometers of the core section of wall (re)built during the Ming Dynasty. The wall is referred to in Chinese and in Japanese as 万里長城 – lit. “The Long Fortress of 10,000 li,” a li (or ‘ri’ in Japanese) being a traditional unit of distance; the length of a li has varied over time, but is today standardized as roughly half a kilometer. This would make the whole wall only 5,000 km long, if it were literally 10,000 li. But, of course, “ten thousand” is sort of a stand-in or euphemism for a really really great number, just as in the chant “banzai!” (万歳！), meaning that the Emperor, or the Empire, should live “ten thousand years!” In short, it’s ultimately irrelevant, what the actual length of a li is, and how many li long the wall is.

Today, only a small portion of the 20,000 km of wall is intact, and the intact sections still face various threats from erosion, development, and the like.

*Speaking of China, the Palace Museum has apparently finished cataloguing its entire collection. I’m not sure too many museums can say the same.

*Finally for today, the author of Chasing Aphrodite, a book about museums & looted artifacts, is proposing beginning a crowdsourced website called WikiLoot.

The BBC reports that WikiLoot would serve as a database for looted artifacts, helping professionals and others keep an eye out for such objects, whether at auction, otherwise on the market, in private collections, or in museums. Anyone could contribute, allowing the database to grow, and stay up to date, very quickly and easily (in theory), allowing it to be very extensive, and thus very effective. It does look like Mr. Jason Flech, the brains behind Chasing Aphrodite and WikiLoot, has already anticipated the problems of allowing fully free public access to the site – he says that only “experts and researchers .. will have back-end access” to edit the material on the site, while the general public (read: anyone) will have access to look at and read the site.

On the surface, this sounds like it could be a great thing. Art police types, as well as museum professionals working to ensure the above-board provenance of their acquisitions and collections, have long used published volumes listing known stolen objects. In one anecdote I remember reading about, investigators raiding a dealer’s warehouse in Geneva found just such a book, open to a picture of a stolen table, the book sitting on that very table. Books such as these help museums make sure that objects they’re considering acquiring are above-board, and that objects they already own are legally possessed; and they help investigators reclaim objects from Sotheby’s and Christie’s auctions, where looted objects quite often do appear. I wouldn’t be surprised if officials use these books as well when stopping antiquities smugglers at customs at airports as well. Making such lists into an extensive, constantly-updating, online database seems the obvious next step, to bring this into the 21st century, expanding accessibility. Mr. Felch has even investigated the possibility of incorporating such a database into Google Googles, or some other sort of “computer vision” HUD, and has discussed the possibility with people at Google. Imagine walking around with Terminator-vision set to whether or not an object in front of you has good, legal provenance. What a tool!

But, as Arthur Houghton, former curator at the Getty Museum, warned during an event at Asia Society discussing the matter, having such a website publically accessible and widely known about could “flood … museums with people wanting to find out, Is this object looted or not? If it is unprovenanced, how do you know where it came from? And what should we all do about it?” In other words, it would only enhance people’s distrust of museums, and distaste for museums, inviting people to question the provenance of absolutely everything, undermining museum’s efforts to do things legally, and undermining their fragile image or reputation of doing things legally. I have, admittedly, myself, not yet watched the full discussion that took place at that Asia Society event, nor read too much other commentary on it, of which there is a fair bit out there, but I can certainly appreciate the concerns these museum people, collectors, and dealers raise. It’s not about doing illicit things and trying to ensure that it remains easy to do illicit things – quite to the contrary, I want to believe the best in people and to believe that for Mr. Houghton and others, it’s about doing licit (legal, above-board) things, and cultivating that the public is aware that museums, dealers, etc. are in fact committed to doing things ethically, legally. It’s about having a reputation for a dedication to upright ethical practices, and not threatening that reputation by inviting anyone and everyone to question the provenance of anything and everything in every museum.

If WikiLoot really took off, and if there did develop, in fact, this “flood” of public inquiry that Houghton worries about, that could put pressure on short-staffed, under-funded museums to have to do a ton of very intensive provenance research very quickly, and to replace gallery labels with more extensive descriptions of the proper provenance of each and every object. Or maybe that’s just an extreme case.

Because of the romantic, dramatic aspects of the world of black markets, looting, and illicit dealings, and because of the nationalistic feelings on the part of “source” cultures who have been looted from, it is inevitably a very dramatic, exciting, interesting topic. But it’s also a very serious one, for everyone involved, with very serious ramifications for museums, and for the art world as a whole. WikiLoot is not yet online, and the form it will take remains very much still in development (or so I gather); we shall see how this ends up developing.

All images in this post courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

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Archaeological Obstacles for Honolulu Rail Project

Living in Honolulu the last few years, I’ve heard bits and snatches of talk about a proposed (and apparently already underway, though widely opposed) rail line connecting Kapolei, Waipahu, and Pearl City (to the west and north of Pearl Harbor) with downtown Honolulu to the east.

Today, Archaeology.org’s daily archaeology news roundup links to a KITV (Honolulu local news) video report about a new obstacle to the project. A Native Hawaiian woman by the name of Paulette Kaleikini has brought a lawsuit claiming that the full route needs to be archaeologically surveyed before construction continues, since there may be Hawaiian burial sites along the route. It is unclear from the article & video report what, if any, connection Ms. Kaleikini has to larger Native Hawaiian advocacy groups, or on what grounds she claims to be either a spokesperson for the Native Hawaiian community, or an archaeology/heritage expert.¹ But, since the honored remains (known as ʻiwi in the Hawaiian language) of Native Hawaiian ancestors are scattered throughout the island, and very very frequently found when attempting a construction project, it does seem, on the surface, that there is indeed a high likelihood that the route will run across sacred burial sites.

Part of what makes this difficult is the fact that, unlike many other cultures, Native Hawaiians traditionally did not concentrate their burials in a single location (i.e. a cemetery), nor mark burials in any way. To the contrary, burials, especially of people of high birth or great power, known as aliʻi, were deliberately hidden and kept secret, so that no one could steal the ʻiwi (the bones) and in doing so steal the person’s mana – their power. When I first arrived in Hawaii, I thought the whole thing more than a little absurd; firstly, if you didn’t even know it was there, how can it be a sacred site? And secondly, if you value all the land (ʻaina) in the islands as sacred, then how is anything supposed to be built, ever? I have since learned to appreciate the Native Hawaiian culture, heritage, and beliefs a lot more, and feel bad for my prior attitudes. Still, these questions remain. Native Hawaiians enjoy the benefits of “modern” life just as much as the next person, and so they too must negotiate (and I am sure they do) for themselves where they stand in terms of there being a balance between protecting the ʻaina and allowing roads, buildings, and perhaps railroads to be built.

Now, in theory, as in any other archaeologically rich part of the world, the railroad route could simply be altered to go around any burial sites or other archaeologically significant sites that may be uncovered. The question is whether the planners will actually do that, whether they will choose to invest the time and money to do what has to be done to respect these sites, or whether they will (pardon the pun) rairoad right over Native objections, as has happened so many times in the past. Since this is a State Supreme Court case we are discussing, of course, there is also the technical legal matter of whether or not it is legal to do the archaeological survey in phases (as is being done, and as federal law allows) or whether it must be done along the entire route first, before construction can continue (as Kaleikini alleges is mandated by state law).

…

It remains to be seen whether the railroad project will go forward without a full archaeological survey being completed first. But, in the meantime, I think there is a lot of need for it, and at the same time a lot of very appropriate and correct-minded opposition.

Earlier this week, Honolulu was announced to have the worst traffic congestion in the US. Congratulations! It was obvious to me almost from the moment I stepped off the airplane three years ago that Oahu residents love their cars, and love driving, and that despite (a) it being a small, relatively compact town with the perfect climate for walking, biking, or skateboarding, (b) everyone’s desire to preserve and protect the beautiful natural environment, and (c) the terrible congestion on the freeway, in Waikiki, and elsewhere, there is little impetus to change. It is in fact an extremely unfriendly city for bicyclists, chiefly in terms of drivers’ complete disregard for bicyclists in terms of sharing the road, in terms of looking out for bicycles and not hitting them, and in terms of just generally being good drivers and acting in a predictable manner. I know numerous people who have gotten hit on their bicycle or moped and either seriously injured or killed.

So, yes. We absolutely need a railroad. However, while I do believe that there must be plenty of people who are simply bullheaded about their car-centered culture and who would oppose any improvement or expansion of public transportation², the opposition we hear the most about focuses instead on the incredible monetary cost of the project, and on the allegation that the technology and design were already on the verge of being outdated before construction even began – by the time it’s complete, the whole thing will be even more outdated. If you’re interested in seeing more specifically what reasons people are giving for their opposition, I invite you to Google it.

Meanwhile, while I do support the expansion of public transportation – specifically of the railroad variety – on Oahu, I think it positively asinine to build it where they are planning right now. The proposed line runs from Kapolei to Ala Moana, in downtown Honolulu. It does not connect to the University, to Kaimuki or Hawaii Kai, or any other areas I have ever been, or needed to get to, or where anyone I know lives. Kapolei, I am told, is a relatively wealthy neighborhood, full of the kinds of people who have the kind of influence to bring a railroad out to their neck of the woods first, rather than to anyone else’s.³ These are, of course, the same kind of people who can afford the nicest cars and (for some reason, somehow) would never “stoop” to riding public transportation.

Personally, I say screw Kapolei. They can drive in. Or they can move somewhere more normal. Meanwhile, it’s the people all the way on the other side of the island, in Kailua and Kaneohe, who could really use a train, so that they don’t have to deal with the traffic on the Pali Highway, and with having to drive all the way across the island, each way, every day. And so that people like me, who don’t have cars, don’t have to deal with the ridiculously long bus ride to get out there, to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. A train over to Kailua/Kaneohe, connecting to the University (hard to bike to because it’s up in the mountains), Kaimuki, and Waikiki (hard to get to because there’s only two bridges over the canal), would be wonderful.

Finally, since so much of the opposition centers on the cost of the project, I don’t really understand why they’re building an elevated rail line. Yes, admittedly, ground-level train lines would cut up the road network, making it harder to walk, bike, or drive anywhere without having to go out of your way to get to a crossing. But, we have that problem with the freeway already anyway, and I don’t see anyone complaining that we should get rid of the goddamned freeway. Ground-level rails would do less damage to the skyline, would avoid the problem of putting areas into shadow (under the tracks), and would cost a lot less. Hawaii has had railroads before…

Whatever happens, I hope that a positive resolution is reached. If they do go ahead and build the railroad, I hope that they do so while properly respecting Native Hawaiian burial sites, and that the railroad ends up seeing strong ridership, and a significant easing of congestion on the roads. If it does well enough, they might even expand it out to some more actually useful places. Frankly, I’m pessimistic about either of these things happening, but we shall see.

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(1) Interestingly, Kaleikini seems to have also been one of the primary people opposing the construction of the Wal-Mart on Keeaumoku St in downtown Honolulu some years ago. This was a fairly major issue at the time, and remains a prominent oft-discussed example today.
(2) People often talk about Honolulu’s creatively named “TheBus” being already the best public transportation system in the country; therefore, they argue, what do we need a railroad for? However, being named “America’s Best Transit System” in 1994 and 2000 doesn’t make it true today; furthermore, trains, especially elevated trains, don’t get stuck in traffic the way buses do. I cannot count the number of times TheBus was late, or didn’t show up at all. Note also that whatever issues the NYC subway system may have, it runs 24/7 and compared to the incredible infrequency of Honolulu buses along most routes, that has got to count for something. I’ll take the subway over a bus any day. And, if in a bike-friendly city like Kyoto, I’ll take my bike over public transportation.
(3) Reminds me of Japanese Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei who arranged for the Shinkansen (bullet train) to go out to his home region of Niigata when there was (and remains) much more demand for it to go elsewhere first. Even today, certain major cities like Kanazawa still don’t have a Shinkansen station.

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Quick Links: Archaeology, and some other news

It’s that time again. I have a ton of tabs open in my browser, of things I’d like to share with you, on a few different topics.

*Let’s start with the sad news that Prof. Karen Brazell passed away this past Wednesday. She was Professor Emeritus at Cornell University, and Director of GloPAC, the Global Performing Arts Consortium, an organization which maintains GloPAD (Global Performing Arts Database), an excellent resource for information on theatre and dance from Japan and around the world.

I never had the privilege of meeting Dr. Brazell, but have quite enjoyed, and made much use of, her book Traditional Japanese Theater, an excellent anthology of Noh, bunraku, kyôgen, and kabuki plays in translation (in English), which I have made much use of.

You can read more about Dr. Brazell and her career at GloPAC’s official announcement on her passing.

*The Gothamist reported yesterday on the a new “travel agency” that has opened in Brooklyn. The Bureau of Unknown Destinations will, for a price, organize a mystery journey for you (within a few hours by train from NYC) to an unknown destination. As the Gothamist (or the Bureau itself?) describes it:

You’ll be presented with a free round trip ticket for a train adventure (along with a notebook and a small, somewhat absurd, task). Begin your day by tearing open a sealed envelope and revealing the mystery of where you will find yourself by noon. Set forth, free of decisions, into the great (or perhaps, in this case, the small) unknown. Test your sense of destiny. Have lunch someplace new.

Sounds wonderfully artsy and maybe just slightly hipster, but in a good way. Seems like the kind of thing some of the professors in the Art Department here at my university would get a real kick out of. I’d be happy to give it a try when I get back to NY…

Though, how cool would it be to get to buy a mystery trip (all expenses paid) to, for example, somewhere in Europe? Assuming it’s not too expensive, I’d love to find myself in Dublin, Prague, Munich, Amsterdam, Leiden, Copenhagen, Nottingham, Edinburgh, York, Caerdydd, Venice, Florence, Rome, Pisa, Padua, Athens, Tallin, Krakow, Warsaw, Paris or Oslo, sent off on an adventure to a city I might not ever get around to going out of my way to visit otherwise. But, then, I guess that’s a whole different thing.

*In archaeology / art world news, the charges against Robert Hecht (above), an American art dealer accused of extensive involvement in the black market of stolen antiquities, have been dropped in Italian court, as the statute of limitations has, apparently, expired.

Looking through my past posts, it looks like I’ve never actually posted about this before, but Google “Robert Hecht”, “Marion True“, or “Giacomo Medici,” or even better, pick up the book “The Medici Conspiracy.” The book reads like a crime thriller, tracing the adventures of Italian Art Squad carabinieri and US authorities in tracking down a string of evidence leading them to some of the biggest black market antiquities dealers active today, and eventually launching a raid on Medici’s warehouse in Geneva’s “Freeport,” loaded with looted antiquities and extensive documentation on his network of looters, buyers, dealers, etc., a network which included Getty Museum curator Marion True, and art dealer Robert Hecht, perhaps most (in)famous for his involvement in the acquisition by the Metropolitan Museum of the Euphronios krater, which has now been returned to Italy.

I am, of course, not the only blogger writing about this development. Chasing Aphrodite is one of a number of blogs more specifically devoted to (and expert on) the subject of antiquities looting which is reporting on the end of Hecht’s trial.

(Incidentally, another excellent book, not directly talking about Hecht or Medici, if I recall, but on a very similar topic, and with equally thrilling narratives, is Stealing History. In it, Roger Atwood shares amazing stories, from crazy stings in a parking lot on the side of the New Jersey Turnpike to catch people smuggling ancient Peruvian gold to discussions of the market in stone Buddhist sculptures literally chainsawed off of monuments in Cambodia.)

*Meanwhile, in the exciting but far less scandalous/controversial world of Japanese archaeology, a few fragments of pottery have been found in Mie prefecture bearing fragments of the famous Iroha poem which contains each kana (syllabic characters such as いろは in contrast to kanji characters such as 伊呂波) exactly once.

See the original Asahi Shimbun article, in Japanese, and in English.

The fragments are believed to date to the 11th or 12th century, and are said to now be the oldest known extant example of hiragana writing the iroha poem being written in hiragana. Frankly, I find this a bit hard to believe, given that it’s been dated to the late Heian period, a period today known for its vibrant traditions of poetry, etc. Considering all the numerous examples of poetry and other writings we have from the Heian period, could it really be possible that this late Heian pottery is the earliest extant example of hiragana writing? If they said it dated to the Asuka or Nara periods (6th-8th centuries), it would seem much more amazing and believable on first impression (kneejerk reaction). But, then, what the hell do I know? If the experts say this is how it is, then, apparently, this is how it is. An important find.

Much thanks to Joseph Ryan of the Ancient Japan blog for pointing out that had I not been so lazy, and had actually read the Japanese, I would have realized/noticed that this new find is not the oldest known extant example of hiragana writing, but only the oldest known extant example of the iroha in hiragana.

*The Asahi has also reported on the discovery of a possible residence of Emperor Shômu in Shiga prefecture. Shômu (r. 724-749) is best known for having established a system of provincial temples, and commissioning the Great Buddha of Tôdai-ji, which remains today the largest bronze Buddha in the country, housed within the largest wooden building in the world. The construction of Tôdai-ji, and especially of the Buddha, was an incredible undertaking, involving a major proportion of the total resources of the Yamato State (i.e. Japan), and a major symbol to the rest of the Buddhist world of Japan’s devotion.

The Asahi article (in Japanese) includes a short video of aerial footage of the site recently uncovered in the city of Kôka (甲賀市) in Shiga prefecture, along with photos of the site, and artists’ renderings of what the buildings may have originally looked like. The remains of pillars sunk into the ground, along with other archaeological evidence, indicate a pair of buildings with the distinctive form of Nara period imperial residences; it is believed this may be the Shigaraki Palace, a set of residences constructed by Emperor Shômu, where his predecessor and aunt Empress Genshô (r. 715-724) would have resided as well.

The two newly discovered structures were found near the center of a much larger archaeological site, in an area of about 500 square meters which local experts have been surveying since September 2010. It lies directly to the north of a previously uncovered chôdô (朝堂, “[Imperial] Court Hall”), an 8th century Imperial Court governmental administrative building. Twenty-eight postholes, each about 1.3-1.5 meters in diameter, have been found, running in a grid six postholes long from north to south. As a result, experts have suggested that the original buildings were roughly 24.9 meters wide and 14.8 meters long.

Similar buildings were found to the west in 2001-02. Since those were not located to the north of the administrative buildings, they were not believed to be Imperial residences; however, these newly discovered structures are believed to be just that.

Image Credits:
*Cover of “Traditional Japanese Theater” from Amazon.jp.
*Photo of rails somewhere in upstate New York taken myself
*Photo of Robert Hecht from ChasingAphrodite.com – if you’d like me to take it down, just say the word.
*Photo of iroha pottery taken by Inoue Shôta of the Asahi Shimbun.
*Photo of Shigaraki-no-miya palace site taken by Yagi Takaharu.
*My thanks to Japanese copyright law, which considers the use of photos to be a “citation” or a “quote”, and not an intellectual property violation.

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Site excavated in Nara may be remains of pond mentioned in ancient history records

Wow. The last few weeks have been really busy for Japanese archaeology news. I follow the archaeology news feed on Archaeology.org, and also the Asahi Shimbun’s “bunka” (culture) news feed, but it’s not super often that I find anything in there of enough interest that I bother to read further, or to repost. But, in the last few weeks, I’ve come across quite a few news articles on Japanese archaeological finds.

The Mainichi Shimbun reported yesterday on the discovery in Nara prefecture of late 6th century remains identified as signs of a manmade pond. Scholars have suggested this may be the so-called “Iware Pond” mentioned in the Man’yôshû (an Imperial poetry anthology) and Nihon Shoki (one of the most ancient histories of Japan). As explained in the Mainichi article, the pond was formed by the artificial damming of a river, and is the oldest one of this kind known to have existed in Japan. The Nihon Shoki also speaks of a structure built on the shore of the pond, associated with Emperor Yômei; remains of such a structure were found at this site as well.

Lots of exciting finds. I look forward to hearing about the next one.

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Oldest Wooden Pagoda found – dated to 1159

The Asahi Shimbun reports today the discovery of the oldest wooden five-tiered pagoda yet found. Now, just to be clear before we move forward, the Japanese news article is using the word 「五輪塔」 (gorin-no-tô), but as you can see from the photo, we’re not talking about a full-size pagoda building, but rather a small object carved of solid wood. The full-size five-story pagoda building at Hôryûji near Nara dates (at least in part, since it’s been repaired and renovated numerous times) to the 7th century or so, and is considered, along with the Kondô a few feet from it, one of the oldest wooden buildings in the world. So, this small, solid wood object is a different story altogether.

Now follows my rough translation of the Asahi article:

A small wooden pagoda has been found, marked with the late Heian year “first year of Heiji” (1159), at Shikobuchi Shrine, in a valley in the southernmost area of Kyoto City, Ôtani University announced on Dec 12. This makes it the oldest extant object in the country to have a reign year (nengô) written on it. [I find this hard to believe. The oldest wooden pagoda of this sort, perhaps. But there are older objects with the date written on them, right?] It is a valuable object for showing us an early form of wooden pagodas created for the purpose of memorial services.

According to Ôtani University, it was in connection with a survey of Buddhist scriptures held by that same Shinto shrine that it was discovered, in March 2010, that this object existed, “sleeping” in storage. It is 29 cm tall, and sits on a base 8cm square. On the side of the base [as you can see in the photo] is inscribed “First year of Heiji, 12th month, 9th day,” and on the opposite side is written the name “Sainen,” a monk who founded the temple of Bujô-ji in 1154, about four km southwest of Shikobuchi Shrine.

The date written here is the date of the beginning of the Heiji Rebellion (or “Heiji no Ran”), an incident which provided the opportunity for Taira no Kiyomori (1118-1181) to rise to power. Since Fujiwara no Michinori (aka Shinzei), who helped establish Bujô-ji, died in the Heiji Rebellion while fighting alongside Kiyomori, there is a possibility that this funerary pagoda might have been made for his memorial service.

Incidentally, if you can see it, the current header image is from the “Tale of Heiji Scroll,” a painting depicting the Siege of the Sanjô Palace, the key event in that same 1159 Heiji Rebellion.

京都市最北部の山あいにある志古淵（しこぶち）神社（左京区）で、平安時代後期の「平治元（１１５９）年」と記された木造の五輪塔が見つかったと、大谷大学が１２日発表した。年号がある現存のものでは国内最古。供養のために建てる五輪塔の初期の姿を伝える貴重な作としている。

　大谷大によると、同神社に保管されていた仏典の調査に関連し、蔵に眠っていたのが昨年３月にわかった。土台の基壇は８センチ四方で高さ２９センチ。基壇の側面に「平治元年十二月九日」とあり、裏面には神社から南西４キロの峰定寺（ぶじょうじ）を１１５４（久寿〈きゅうじゅ〉元）年に開いた僧、西念（さいねん）の名が書かれていた。

　記載の年月日は、平清盛（１１１８～１１８１）が台頭する契機となった「平治の乱」が起きた日。清盛と手を結びながら乱で没した信西（しんぜい）（藤原通憲〈ふじわらのみちのり〉、１１０６～１１５９）が峰定寺の建立にかかわったことから、この供養の可能性もあるという。

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Meanwhile, in other Japanese archaeology news, they’ve apparently uncovered a 7th-8th century site in Dazaifu, today cut through by train tracks, which back then may have been some kind of facility for hosting foreign delegations, especially from Korea and China. Full article in English at Mainichi.jp.

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Asahi: Discovery of Heian era aristocratic mansion

I guess I’ve been sitting on this for a few days, but on Dec 8th, the Asahi Shimbun reported the discovery of a late 9th century nobleman’s mansion in Kyoto, specifically, the mansion of Fujiwara Yoshimi (813-867), who served as Udaijin (Minister of the Right), and who was a suspect in the Ôtemmon Incident of 866, in which Ban Dainagon, Tomo no Yoshio, burned down the Ôtemmon (Great Heaven Gate) of the Imperial Palace and tried to blame it on another courtier, Minamoto no Makoto.

Objects excavated include paintings or drawings from that time, as well as earthenware inscribed in ink, which were used to determine the identification of the site with Fujiwara no Yoshimi. This is apparently the first time that archaeological evidence has been able to be used to determine the specific identity of the courtier associated with a given excavated mansion site. Excavations covered a 2500 square meter area that had been (is) planned to become part of Bukkyo University’s campus; there, archaeologists found the remains of early Heian buildings, as well as the remains of a garden and pond. The pond was roughly rectangular or oblong, measuring 24 meters from north to south, and 18 meters from east to west. An island six meters in diameter sat in the middle of the pond, accessible via an earthen “bridge” one-and-a-half meters wide and eight meters long, which struck out from the island to the south.

The foundation stones and remains of the pillars of a veranda were found to the west side of the pond, along with stone paving in a S-shape, places where we can easily imagine courtiers gathering to admire the garden, hold banquets, and compose poetry. A great amount of high class Chinese pottery was found as well, along with inscriptions identifying some pieces as belonging to the “serving table of the tsuridono of the Sanjô-in,” tsuridono meaning the buildings flanking the pond to the east and west. I’m tempted to think that this “Sanjô-in” might be the same Sanjô Palace that was raided and burned in the 1159 Heiji Rebellion, but then, that palace is usually referred to as 三条殿 (Sanjô-dono), not 三条院 (Sanjô-in), and the only references I see for 三条院 (Sanjô-in) on a cursory Google search are references to Emperor Sanjô himself, who would have been called Sanjô-in in his retirement.

In any case, a very exciting find. Check out the actual Asahi Shimbun report while you still can (before they take it down) for some unnarrated video of the site, and an image of one of the inscribed pottery fragments they found.

The abbreviated text of the Asahi report (full access requires a paid account):
平安貴族の邸宅跡を初特定　藤原良相邸、優雅な庭園も

　平安京があった京都市中京区で、平安時代前期（９世紀後半）の貴族の邸宅跡が見つかったと、市埋蔵文化財研究所が８日発表した。出土した墨書土器や当時の絵図などから、右大臣・藤原良相（ふじわらの・よしみ）＝８１３～８６７＝の邸宅と断定した。特定の平安貴族の居住地を発掘調査で確認できたのは初めて。

　佛教大キャンパス予定地の約２５００平方メートルを調査したところ、平安前期の建物跡と庭池の遺構が確認された。池は南北２４メートル、東西１８メートルの長方形。中央に直径６メートルの島があり、南岸とを結ぶ土橋（長さ８メートル、幅１．５メートル）も築かれていた。

　池の周囲からは、貴族らが小川のそばで詩歌を詠む「曲水の宴」を開いたとみられるＳ字形の石敷きが出土。池の西端には礎石と柱を据えた縁側の跡があり、そばから「三条院釣殿高坏（さんじょういんつりどのたかつき）」と墨書された土器や、中国・唐で作られた多数の高級陶磁器が見つかった。

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