There have been quite a few studies conducted in both Korea and Japan on exchanges and negotiations between the two countries in the ancient period. Among many academic disciplines, archaeology has been productive in the study of, among others, the exchange of techniques between Korea and Japan in ancient times thanks to tangible artifacts.
These artifacts make up for the lack of textual sources, and they can present new subjects for study. Among the numerous types of archaeological findings, metal artifacts are deemed particularly productive as materials for the study of cultural exchange between ancient Korea and Japan. There have not been enough achievements in the study of weaponry – particularly armor, such as the examples dealt with in this study – but there has certainly been some accumulation of basic information which can shed light on the relationship between Korea and Japan in ancient times.
Studies on ancient Korean and Japanese armor have been largely focused on plate armor dating back to the 4th and 5th centuries; however, they are not enough to provide detailed information on the cultural environment of the two areas in the early phase of history.
In this study, the main discussion focuses on scale armor as they contain important clues for increasing basic knowledge on the exchange of technologies between ancient Korea and Japan. The sources used for the discussion are the artifacts unearthed in the Yeongnam area, which is known to have more scale armor dating back to the Three Kingdoms Period.
Scale armor discovered in this part of the Korean Peninsula was made by fastening small metallic scales of various shapes to each other. Among them, the scales used for the armor’s waist underwent dramatic changes in their shape. These scales include those with Ω-shaped cross-sections; these were originally believed to have originated from Japanese examples of the same period. Quite a lot of armor of this type have been excavated in Korea, providing important sources for the study of ancient scale armor in Korea and Japan.
Research on armor made of Ω-shaped scales for the waist – which was conducted as part of this study – revealed that those examples discovered in Korea were produced earlier than armor of the same type found in Japan, implying that the Japanese examples had been were produced under the influence of Korea armor. This discovery also suggests that the ancient Korean armor with Ω-shaped waist scales did not necessarily originate from – or have a direct connection to – the Japanese examples of the same period. The research also suggests the need for these artifacts to be reviewed more closely.