Envoys of Na receive a gold seal from Emperor Guangwu
An embassy from Na, a small state of the Wa on Hakata Bay in northern Kyushu, reached the Han court, and Emperor Guangwu granted its ruler a seal — one of the earliest recorded contacts between Japan and China, confirmed by a gold seal found in 1784.
- Date
- 57year known
- Place
- Hakata Baytoday: Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan · East Asia
- Participants
- Na (Nakoku), Han dynasty, Emperor Guangwu of Han
- Threads
- East Asia in the 1st–5th centuries
- Also known as
- Kin-in; Kan no Wa no Na no Kokuō; Золотая печать вана На; 漢委奴國王
The Book of the Later Han records that in the second year of the Jianwu Zhongyuan era (57) the state of Na of the Wa sent an envoy with tribute and New Year greetings (the envoy called himself a dafu, a high official; the chronicle places Na at the far southern edge of the Wa lands), and that Emperor Guangwu bestowed a seal on its ruler. Guangwu died later that year, on 29 March 57.
In 1784 a farmer repairing an irrigation ditch on Shika Island at the mouth of Hakata Bay found a gold seal about 2.3 cm square and weighing some 108 g, with a snake-shaped knob and the five characters 漢委奴國王 — “(seal of) the King of Na of the Wa, vassal of Han”. Its authenticity has been questioned, but comparison with other seals of the period, among them a gold seal of 58 found in Jiangsu in 1981, has led to its wide acceptance. The seal is a National Treasure of Japan and is kept in the Fukuoka City Museum. Na, in the area of modern Fukuoka, appears again in the 3rd-century Records of Wei.
Connections
Same participants
- Trưng sisters’ rebellionMarch 40 – 43 · Southeast Asia and Oceaniavia Emperor Guangwu of Han
- The Xiongnu split into Northern and Southern48 · Central and Northern Asiavia Han dynasty
- Buddhism reaches China: the court of Liu Ying at Pengcheng65 · East Asiavia Han dynasty
Same place
- First Mongol invasion of JapanNovember 1274 · East Asia
- Second Mongol invasion of JapanJune–August 1281 · East Asia
Adjacent events in the thread
- Liu Xiu restores the Han: the Eastern Han25 · East Asia
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within a year of this event
Western and Central Europe
- Roman conquest of Britain43 – between 83 and 84
Eastern Europe
- The Alans appear on the Don and in the North Caucasusbetween 50 and 72
- Zarubintsy culturec. 200 BC – c. 200
Balkans and Anatolia
- Dioscorides’ De materia medicabetween 50 and 70
- Missionary journeys of Paulc. 46 – between 57 and 58
Middle East and Egypt
- Periplus of the Erythraean Sea40s … 70s
- Roman–Parthian War of 58–6358–63
- Reign of Vologases I51–78
- Hero of Alexandria’s aeolipilebetween 50 and 100
Africa
- Adulis and Aksum in the Periplus40s … 70s
- Temple of Apedemak at Naqabetween 1 BC and AD 70
Central and Northern Asia
- The burials of Tillya Tepe (the Bactrian Gold)between 16 and 100
South Asia
- Kushans conquer Gandhara and Taxilabetween 50 and 70
- Gandharan art: the first images of the Buddhabetween 30 BC and AD 100
- Heyday of Indo-Roman trade: Muziris and Arikameduc. 30 BC – c. 250
Southeast Asia and Oceania
- Founding of Funan: Kaundinya and Queen Liuyebetween 1 and 100
- Óc Eo, the port of Funanbetween 1 and 100 – between 601 and 700
- Sa Huỳnh culturec. 1000 BC – c. 200
North America
- Hopewell traditionbetween 200 and 100 BC – c. 500
- Late Basketmaker II erac. 50 – c. 500
Latin America
- Monte Albán II: the Zapotec state expandsc. 100 BC – c. 200
- Rise of Teotihuacanc. 1 – c. 250
- Nazca culture and the Nazca Linesbetween 200 and 100 BC – between 500 and 800