| Abstract |
A bronze bell (dotaku) from Kagawa-ken with six scenes on each face with motifs from the life of Yayoi rice farmers. Size and provenance unknown. A dotaku is a cast bronze bell typical of the later phases of the Yayoi culture. The around five hundred known bells are mainly distributed on the eastern margins of the Setouchi Basin or Inland Sea on Honshû (the Kinai region). They are found, singly or in groups, buried away from Yayoi settlements, probably as a part of some ritual activity. Some bells are decorated with geometric panels depicting in relief scenes of Yayoi life. Bronze casting reached Japan from Korea and the metal from which they were locally cast was almost certainly imported
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