 Magatama
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Beads have been an important part of human decoration for centuries.
Tama (balls) have had a special meaning for people in the far east for
just as long. There are four aspects to the ancient meaning of the ball.
The four are: Ninigimitama (harmony), Aramitama (bravery), Sakimitama
(graciousness), and Kushimitama (working wonders). Everyone will agree
these characteristics are very important to human beings. However the
most important ball in Japan is the Magatama, which is known as the Curved
Jewel.
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The history of Magatama goes back to the middle of the Jomon era, around
3500 B.C. The curved shape was standardized in the Yayoi Era (300 B.C.
- 300 A.D.) and the Kofun Era (300 A.D. - 710 A.D.). This was a period
of about 1000 years, which ended 1300 years ago, or so. Green jade was
the most important material as a status symbol, probably because it is
so hard to work with. Magatama are made of many materials. Strangely enough,
some of these materials are not found in Japan, but in China and Korea
instead. Does this mean that Magatama, the Curved Jewel, originated there?
I don't think so.
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Magatama, the Curved Jewel of Japan, is most significant to this country
because in the sixth century, a set of curved jewels became a part of
the Three Imperial Regalia! The first of the three Imperial Regalia is
a mirror, and the third is a sword. All these treasures were received
by Ninigi no Mikoto from Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, when he first came
to Japan. The three have been thought to represent the Sun, the Moon,
and lightning, respectively.
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In streams in the early Jomon era, people found pebbles with tiny holes
in them. The holes had been naturally formed by the action of the water.
Water is powerful! Go to the Oni-no-Shita-Burui Gorge some day and see
what I mean. Though these Jomon Era pebbles were smooth, they were almost
all uneven in shape. The people found them beautiful and made from them
the really ancient necklaces we sometimes find in burial sites of that
period. Later on, people learned to make the pebbles into a standard Magatama
(curved jewel) shape, and assigned them religious significance. Early
jewels were handmade by rubbing the material on other stones to establish
the shape and then polishing the rough bead on wooden blocks until both
ends were exactly alike. In tracing the history of the Curved Jewel, I
visited the Shiryo-kan (Exhibition hall) in Tamatsukuri. At that time
it was managed by Mr. Mamoru Katsube. He very kindly explained the tools
and the process involved in making the Curved Jewels. Tamatsukuri is famous
as the place the Curved Jewels are made.
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After the fifth century, crystal and amber became popular for the jewels,
but in Tamatsukuri, green agate, the most cherished material, is found.
At a certain stage in Japan's history, class systems of workers were established.
One of these systems was called the Be system. The people of the Be system
made articles for the royal family and other rich and powerful families
of the period. In Tamatsukuri, the Imbe family controlled this geographical
center of Curved Jewel production. As I have mentioned before, I doubt
the correctness of the modern day interpretations of the meaning of the
Curved Jewel's shape. Some say the shape was intended to represent the
moon, but there is only one moon, and Magatama were used in strings.
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Others insist the shape is a copy of tiger claws, holy in China. If
that were true, there would be many strings of tiger claws, but there
aren't. Others suggest the Curved Jewel took its shape from a Korean Bronze
Age ornament. It this were true, wouldn't we have ancient examples and/or
drawings, as we do for so many other ancient decorations? I don't like
this explanation either. I continue to think the Magatama was made in
a curved shape to represent the new fetus. The shape is the same and the
hole corresponds with the placement of the eyes of a fetus. The fact that
many Magatama were necessary to make a set, seems to me to correspond
with the wish for an abundance of offspring.
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I think the ancient religious significance of the Curved Jewel was that
of a fertility symbol! That idea fits in with the thinking of the people
of those days - being prolific!
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