Stone Figure

This figure represents a person in the shape of a quiver. Similar figures have been excavated in Kyushu, the southernmost major island of Japan. Sekijin are stone figures that were placed around kofun burial mounds alongside haniwa terracotta tomb figurines. As with haniwa, these figures assume a variety of forms, including weapons and implements symbolizing dignity, for example, or humans and animals. Most sekijin have been found in Kyushu, the southernmost island in the Japanese archipelago. Sekijin are often quite large. As symbols of the authority of the lord interred in the tumulus, they may have been imbued with some kind of special significance.

The front of this sekijin features a face, a waist band and a sword. It appears to depict a person with raised arms and a wide-hemmed garment. Arrows with arrowheads facing upwards are depicted on the back with a cord attached. It seems the entire back surface represents a quiver for arrows, with the cord used to carry the quiver. In other words, this is a double-sided sekijin, with the front depicting a human and the back a weapon. Perhaps it is a symbolic representation of a guard replete with quiver.

— Museum description: Tokyo National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.