The jug was buried three meters deep. It was undamaged. However, the copper in the bronze coins found inside had oxidized and they had turned bright green. Archaeologists believe there were more than a hundred thousand of them, strung on a rope. Along with the money was a wooden tablet.
Saitama Prefecture.
Historians say that a string of a thousand coins was worth one ounce of silver and was a normal amount of money to keep. At the time this treasure was hidden, the country was divided and ruled by the Emperor, who gave the conquered lands to the shoguns, the military leaders. Perhaps the wealthy warrior hid his treasure because he was in danger of being robbed due to the civil unrest in Japan at the time.
This is a huge jar filled entirely with medieval coins.
The Muromachi period from 1333 to 1573 AD was the time of the Ashikaga shogunate. Ashikaga Takauji fought against his brother Tadayoshi. The war lasted for two years. Ashikaga Takauji eventually won. It was during this time, under his rule, that most of the samurai rules of conduct were adopted.
Samurai were an elite guard of soldiers who swore their lives to the daimyo, a feudal lord. Daimyo were the military elite, a kind of military governor. For samurai, bravery, honor, and personal loyalty were more important than their own lives. Samurai would rather commit seppuku (ritual suicide) than be dishonored. Samurai wielded two swords, which were given to them by their military commander. These warriors enjoyed a special position in society and privileges.
Japan at the time was in civil unrest. Daimyo began to feud with each other. This period of history was called the Warring States Period. It lasted from 1467 to 1568 AD and was a time of fighting, killing and deception between competing Japanese warlords, daimyo and samurai. They were all fighting to be the next shogun. Since the shogun’s power had diminished during this time, this did not matter much and could be an excuse for overly aggressive daimyo to flaunt their power.
After the war ended, there were no victors. Nothing had been achieved except that ordinary citizens were subjected to horrific lawlessness, cruelty, and extreme hardship.
The people’s suffering was only partially alleviated when slavery was abolished. During this period, art and architecture began to flourish. Warlords built castles to protect themselves from enemy invasion. They tried to place the buildings on mountain pᴀsses. If they were built on flat land, they surrounded them with deep moats and other fortifications. Common people also settled near these castles. For example, Omi-Hachiman Castle near Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture attracted so many people that an entire city grew up around it.
It was during these turbulent times that the Japanese tea ceremony was popularized by Buddhist monks. The Zen religion gave the world such an artist as the Zen priest Sesshu Toyo, whose works are still considered among the finest works of art in Japan.
Eventually, the military leader Oda Nobunaga began to conquer different parts of the country and was able to take the capital Heiankyo in 1568 CE. In 1573, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was exiled. Until his death, Nobunaga tried to unite central Japan. After he died in 1582, his work was continued by his successors. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who ruled from 1537-1598, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was shogun from 1543 to 1616. The latter began to trade with the West.
The treasure is kept in a museum.
Since ancient times, the earth has kept many treasures, lost treasures. Sometimes people are lucky enough to find them in the most unexpected places. Read our article about how archaeologists found a mysterious jug with a surprise in an abandoned village church.
