One Mirror, an Important Cultural Property since 1953
Gilded Mirror with a Band of Beasts (鎏金獣帯鏡, Ryukin Jutaikyo) is a Kofun-period archaeological object owned by the Gotoh Museum at 3-9-25 Kaminoge, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, listed as an Important Cultural Property on 31 March 1953. The listing is as an Important Cultural Property, not a National Treasure, and the designation number is 00110.
The quantity is one mirror, the same measure word used for the sea-beast mirror and the engraved mirror at Suijinja.
31 March 1953 is the day Otonashi Shrine was listed. On that same date the Jodoji pagoda, Sofukuji Daiyuhoden, the rhinoceros-horn knife, the ivory comb and the sea-beast mirror became National Treasures.
The Commentary Is One Sentence: Material of the Kofun Period
The Agency's commentary ends after a single sentence.
It reads only: material of the Kofun period.
Two other single-sentence commentaries have been met here: a work of the Heian period, and a work of the Tang period for the biography of Huineng.
This one gives the Kofun period, and calls the object material rather than a work.
The category field reads archaeological material, not craft or calligraphy and books.
The mirror is placed not as something made but as evidence to study. As a form of the single-sentence commentary this is the third met.
Excavated in Gifu, Now Held in Tokyo
Where it came out of the ground and where it sits now are different prefectures.
The notes field records that it was excavated from a burial mound at a place in Ibi District, Gifu Prefecture.
The prefecture field, however, gives Tokyo, with an address in Setagaya ward.
The village named in the notes field no longer exists as a place name. The field carries the name as it stood at the time of excavation.
With the engraved mirror at Suijinja, a mirror dug up on the spot was enshrined there and a shrine came into being for it. That one stayed where it was found.
This one moved from Gifu to Tokyo. The notes field carrying a place of excavation is a fourth use of that field, after the colophon of the Engishiki, the Chinese era name in the biography of Huineng, and the tradition of ownership recorded for the porcelain inkstone.
The Fields for Dimensions and Form Are Both Empty
The fields that would describe the object carry nothing.
The field for dimensions and weight and the field for form are both empty.
The date field and the year field are empty too. Only the period field carries an entry, reading Kofun.
With the great ceremonial drums, those same fields stood empty while the commentary described the form closely.
Here the commentary is a single sentence as well. Little about the object's appearance can be read from the record at all.
The Lotus Sutra scroll at Zentsuji also left most fields empty, and this comes close to that. In the title, the first term means gilding done with fire and the second a band of beasts: the name itself states the technique and the pattern.
Seeing It
The mirror is at 3-9-25 Kaminoge, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, owned by the Gotoh Museum.
The field for the holding institution names the same museum. Both fields carry one name.
With the iron pagoda, the Nara National Museum held it and Saidaiji owned it. With the Gekimosho, the Tenri library held it and the university owned it. With the tsujigahana haori, the Tokugawa Art Museum held it and a foundation owned it.
In each of those, holder and owner differ. Here they are the same.
The designation number 00110 falls close to the 00106 shared by the porcelain inkstone and the other objects of that group. It is a museum holding, not kept on permanent display. Check before travelling.
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Q&A
- When was the mirror listed?
- On 31 March 1953, as an Important Cultural Property rather than a National Treasure. The quantity is one mirror and the designation number 00110.
- What commentary accompanies it?
- One sentence: material of the Kofun period. The category field reads archaeological material, placing the mirror as evidence to study rather than as a work.
- Where was it excavated?
- The notes field records a burial mound in Ibi District, Gifu Prefecture, using the village name as it stood at the time of excavation.
- What are its dimensions?
- None are recorded. The fields for dimensions and for form are both empty, as are the date and year fields. Only the period field carries an entry.
- What does the name mean?
- The first term means gilding done with fire and the second a band of beasts. The name states the technique and the pattern.
Basic Information
| Name | Gilded Mirror with a Band of Beasts (鎏金獣帯鏡, Ryukin Jutaikyo); the commentary is one sentence |
|---|---|
| Location | 3-9-25 Kaminoge, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo; the notes field records excavation from a burial mound in Ibi District, Gifu Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (archaeological material), designation no. 00110; not a National Treasure |
| Year Designated | 1953 (31 March), Important Cultural Property |
| Quantity | 1 mirror |
| Dimensions | The fields for dimensions and weight and for form are both empty, as are the date and year fields; only the period field carries an entry, reading Kofun. In the title, the first term means gilding done with fire and the second a band of beasts |
| Owner | The Gotoh Museum, named in the field for the holding institution as well |
| Public Access | A museum holding, not on permanent display |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs database: the gilded mirror
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/201/9710
- Cultural Heritage Online: the same mirror
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/db/heritages/detail/135037
- Gotoh Museum: from the collection
- https://www.gotoh-museum.or.jp/2020/10/18/05-161-072/
- Ono Town: cultural properties
- https://www.town-ono.jp/0000000491.html
Last verified: 2026.09.06