The King of Na gold seal (Japanese: 漢委奴国王印) is a solid gold seal discovered in the year 1784 on Shikanoshima Island in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The seal is designated as a National Treasure of Japan.[1] The seal is believed to have been cast in China and bestowed by Emperor Guangwu of Han upon a diplomatic official (envoy) visiting from Japan in the year 57 AD. The five Chinese characters appearing on the seal identify it as the seal of the King of Na state of Wa (Japan), vassal state of the Han dynasty.[2] The seal is currently in the collection of the Fukuoka City Museum in Fukuoka, Japan. The seal is very well known in Japan, as its taught in Japanese history books to be a cultural asset which ascertains how Japan as a political entity came into being. Its the first known textual record of Japan as a country.[3]
- ^ National Treasures of Japan – Exhibition catalogue, April 10 - May 27, 1990, Tokyo National Museum (in Japanese). Yomiuri Shimbun. 1990.
- ^ Miyake, Yonekichi (December 1892), "漢委奴國王印考 (A study of the seal [inscribed] to the King of the state of Na in Wa under the Han dynasty)", Shigaku Zasshi, 3 (37): 874–81
- ^ "The Permanent Exhibitions of the Fukuoka City Museum". Fukuoka City Museum. Retrieved 2023-05-10.