Yoshinogari Keitai-Guide
This is a scene showing the high priest of the Yoshinogari kingdom praying for guidance from the ancestral spirits. In buildings used for religion and affairs of state in ancient China, the upper level was a space for religious rituals and the lower level was a place for political gatherings. Also, in multi-story buildings modeled in the Iegata haniwa figures, there are some showing the upper level used for sacred mysteries. This suggests that the third level of the ceremonial hall was the site of sacred ceremonies in which the high priest communed with the souls of the ancestors and gods at rest in the burial mound. The scene of prayer was restored with reference to a description of a scene in Japan’s ancient chronicle, the Kojiki, in which the Empress Jinguukougou enters into a state of divine inspiration.
(C)YOSHINOGARI HISTORICAL PARK