馬具
馬は5世紀に朝鮮から日本にもたらされ、大和朝廷(300-710年)にとって時を経ずに必要不可欠なものとなりました。これらの精巧な金銅製の馬具や装飾品は朝鮮から持ち込まれたもので、朝鮮の王族の古墳からも同様のものが出土しています。また、日本で最初に軍用の馬を飼育したのは、4~7世紀の百済・新羅・高句麗の3国間での戦時中に安全の約束を得て渡来した朝鮮民族であると考えられています。
儀式のために沖ノ島に馬を運び込むことは一度もなかったようで、これらの品々はおそらくこの動物の強力な象徴性に対する証です。実際、神道では馬は神様の乗り物と考えられています。今日でも奉納された本物の白馬が常にいる神社もありますが、多くの場合は彫像です。
Horse Trappings
Horses were brought from Korea to Japan in the fifth century, and quickly became indispensable to the Yamato court (300–710). These elaborate gilt-bronze horse trappings and ornaments were brought from Korea, where similar items have been unearthed at royal tombs. It is also thought that the first people to raise horses for use in battle in Japan were of Korean heritage, who emigrated with the promise of safety during Korea’s wars among the Baekje, Silla, and Goguryeo kingdoms from the fourth to the seventh centuries.
It seems horses were never brought to Okinoshima for ceremonies, so these particular objects are perhaps a testament to the potent symbolism of this animal. Indeed, in Shinto, horses are considered as transport for the deities. Today some shrines have resident white horses dedicated to the deities, sometimes real but more often statues.
