Study of vermillion found in 1st- and 2nd- century burials proves Yayoi people traded with China

 

Experts who have studied  vermillion traces found in burial mounds in Kyushu and San’in say that powerful chiefs obtained vermillion through trading relations with China between the 1st and 2nd centuries of the Yayoi period. The study found that the vermillion found in burials in the western regions of northern Kyushu and San’in came from the mines of Wanshan China. Cinnabar samples were taken from Niu in Mie, Yamato in Nara, and Sui in Tokushima prefectures and compared with those from from Wanshan in China, where mining activity has been recorded back to the 6th century A.D. and earlier.

The study however also showed that during the Kofun or Yamato period, local sources of vermilion were developed and used.