It was newly found that the reaction of red pigment containing mercury was detected in the mud-covered part of the stone chamber of the Kitora Tumulus, which is located in Asuka Village, Nara Prefecture, and has mural paintings based on the zodiac. ..

From the location of the reaction, the Agency for Cultural Affairs believes that it is highly possible that the figure of the zodiac snake wearing red clothes was drawn in this place (more on this in this article).

This was announced at the "Study Group on the Preservation and Utilization of Kofun Mural Paintings" held by the Agency for Cultural Affairs in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, with the attendance of experts in archeology and conservation science.

The Kitora Tumulus is a circular burial mound built during the Asuka period from the end of the 7th century to the beginning of the 8th century. , "Twelve zodiac statues" with an animal face and a human body were drawn.



Of the twelve zodiac statues, six have already been confirmed to exist, such as "tiger", "child", and "horse", but the part covered by mud in the south-southeast of the stone chamber is analyzed by a scientific method. As a result, it was newly found that the reaction of the red pigment containing mercury was detected in the area of ​​10 cm square.

It is thought that there are twelve zodiac statues of "Snake" based on snakes in this place, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs may have drawn the figure of "Snake" expressing clothes etc. with bright red pigment. I think it's expensive.



In the investigation so far, the reaction that the red suzaku and the zodiac "horse" were painted from the south wall of the stone chamber, the blue color "blue dragon" from the east wall, and the garment of "tiger" was painted blue was also found. It has also been pointed out that the colors may have been used differently for each wall.



Seigo Wada, director of the Hyogo Prefectural Archaeological Museum, chaired the study group of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. I have taken a step forward in my understanding. I would like to work on comparisons with other research results. "

What is Kitora Tumulus?

The Kitora Tumulus, located in Asuka Village, Nara Prefecture, is said to have been built during the Asuka period from the end of the 7th century to the beginning of the 8th century.



A survey conducted from 1983 revealed that a colorful mural was drawn inside the stone chamber, and it attracted a great deal of attention as the second discovery in Japan following the Takamatsuzuka Tumulus, which is located about 1 km away. I did.

Mural painting inside the stone chamber

The stone chamber of the tumulus is made by assembling 18 cut stones, and the inside is plastered.



The oldest astronomical map in East Asia was drawn on the ceiling.



On the north, south, east, and west walls, "Blue Dragon," "White Tiger," "Suzaku," and "Genbu," which are the guardian deities of each direction and are called "Four Gods," were drawn.

"Twelve Zodiac Statues" of the Beast Head

On the other hand, what was not found in the Takamatsuzuka Tumulus is the "Zodiac Statue" with an animal face and a human body.



Of these, the one with the best preservation was the "tiger" drawn on the north side of the eastern wall, and as a result of scientific analysis, it seems that the batter was painted blue-green with a pigment containing copper. I am.

In addition, it has been confirmed that "child", "ox", and "pig" were drawn on the north wall, "dog" was drawn on the west wall, and "noon" was drawn on the south wall, but the remaining six bodies. Was not found because it was covered with mud or the plaster itself, which is the base of the mural painting, was peeled off.



What has newly emerged here is the possibility that a statue of "Snake" was drawn in the south-southeast part of the stone chamber. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, as a result of scientific analysis, it is covered with a red pigment containing mercury. Etc. are believed to be expressed.

"Peel off" and save

In the process of studying preservation and restoration of the Kitora Tumulus mural, which has been underway since 2001, it was found that plaster may float and fall to a considerable extent.



For this reason, it was decided that the mural paintings would be stripped off and preserved along with the plaster, and this unprecedented work was completed in 2010.



The Kitora Tumulus itself became a special historic site in 2000, and all the stripped murals were designated as national treasures in 2019.



The murals are currently stored in a dedicated facility in Asuka Village and are open to the public on a regular basis.

Is the idea of ​​ancient China influenced?

In the stone chamber of the Kitora Tumulus, an astronomical map is drawn on the ceiling, and "four gods" and "12 zodiac statues" are drawn on the four walls.



All of these are thought to be based on ancient Chinese ideas.

About the four gods

The "four gods" are the guardian deities of the direction.



"Blue Dragon" was drawn on the east wall, "White Tiger" was drawn on the west, "Suzaku" was drawn on the south, and "Genbu" was drawn on the north.



Each has a symbolic "color", which is said to be "blue" for the blue dragon, "white" for the white tiger, "red" for the suzaku, and "black" for the genbu.

About the zodiac

The "Zodiac" has been used to indicate time and direction.



Twelve animals are fitted to each.



For example, the "child" who hits a mouse in the zodiac is around midnight in terms of time.



In the direction, it indicates true north.

And they are arranged clockwise like "Ox", "Tora", "Ura", "Dragon" and so on.



The snake, "Snake," is around 10 am in terms of time.



The direction indicates south-southeast.

At Kitora Tumulus

Based on these assumptions, I will look at the mural paintings of the Kitora Tumulus again.

First is the east wall.


It is known that the blue dragon = blue dragon is drawn, and it is highly possible that the garment of the zodiac "tiger" on the same wall was also painted with a blue-green pigment containing copper.



It is the south wall.


A red suzaku was drawn, and the "horse" garment on the same wall was also painted red.

And this time, even though it was covered with mud, the reaction of the red pigment was detected from the part of "Snake" that seems to have been drawn on the same south wall.



The Agency for Cultural Affairs has imagined the four gods and twelve branches drawn on the four walls of the stone chamber of the Kitora Tumulus in blue in the east, white in the west, red in the south, and black in the north. It is highly possible that the painting was done separately.

Expert "A kind of ideal space-time was created in the stone chamber"

For these reasons, some researchers think that the ideal "time" and "space", that is, "space-time", are expressed in the stone chamber of the Kitora Tumulus.

Ryusuke Masuki, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo's graduate school who is familiar with the history of ancient painting, said, "The four gods represent the four seasons and directions, and the zodiac signs the time. I think it means that a kind of ideal space has been created. "



On top of that, he said, "The zodiac signs drawn in the stone chamber of the Kitora Tumulus do not appear in the mural paintings of the central burial mounds in the center of the time, such as Chang'an and Luoyang in Tang, China. is.