15 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Japan-Persia Ancient Ties

Japanese and Persian ancient ties go back to the 7th century. Silk Road connected Japan with countries and regions far to the west, including Persia and the Byzantine Empire.

Iran and Japan have had direct trading relations since at least the 7th century, but recent testing on a piece of wood unearthed in the 1960s suggests deeper ties.

According to IRNA, research conducted by the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties on previously found objects supports the hypothesis that at least one Persian resided in Nara in the ninth century CE.

A team of Japanese researchers has managed to read the notes on an ancient wooden tablet dating back to 765 AD using infrared imaging techniques.

The Institute announced that fresh infrared pictures of a wooden tablet used for record-keeping in the 8th century Japan identified a Persian official — most likely a scholar and teacher serving the Japanese Imperial Court — by name.

Suzaku Gate
Suzuka Gate, on site of former Heijo Palace in western Nara City. An ancient wooden tablet from this site was reexamined using infrared imagery. Source: https://www.japan-guide.com/

While it has long been accepted that Japan had trade links with countries and cultures all along the Silk Road, records of these exchanges in ancient Japan are scarce and difficult to come by. The infrared imaging results are a significant discovery.

At the time, wooden tablets (rather than paper) were frequently utilized for record-keeping.

A Persian official once worked at Heijo Palace! Heijo Palace is part of the Heijo-kyo complex in Nara. Heiijo-kyo was built in the mid-eighth century and served as Japan’s capital for several decades before being relocated elsewhere. Japan was busy modernizing at the time, importing technology and cultural practices from other parts of Asia, including architecture and artistic styles, religion, and a codified legal system. Especially the architecture and codes were deeply influenced by the Tang Dynasty in China.

Asuras are thought to have their origins in the Persian creator Ahura Mazda.
Asuras are thought to have their origins in the Persian creator Ahura Mazda.

While the ancient city no longer exists, much of the remains of Heijo-kyo have been excavated over the past 70 years. The area is now a large civic park located just west of Nara’s city center.

It should come as no surprise that someone from Persia would wind up living and working in Japan, which was positioned at the end of the Silk Road, in the 8th century. The route linked Japan to countries and areas far to the west, such as Persia and the Byzantine Empire.

Ancient Japanese civilization included cultural influences from South and Central Asia, as well as Persia. Many of the deities and demigods in the Japanese Buddhist pantheon originated in other regions of Asia. This 12th-century Asura statue is thought to have been inspired in part by a comparable ancient Persian deity.

The discovery of ancient Roman coins in the ruins of a fort in Okinawa Province, located in the far southwest of the Japanese archipelago, supports international relations.

Cover Photo: Tehran Times

Related Articles

1,800 Years Old Woman Sculpture in the Ancient City of Metropolis

16 June 2021

16 June 2021

On 12 June, Turkish officials announced the discovery of an 1800-year-old statue of a woman in Izmir. An 1800-year-old statue...

Excavation in Larissa finds a Hellenistic era sanctuary

27 November 2021

27 November 2021

The Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sport reported on Friday the discovery of ancient Greek and Hellenistic era structures at...

Human history in one click: Database with 2,400 prehistoric sites

10 August 2023

10 August 2023

The role of culture in human spread: Digital data collection contains 150 years of research. Human history in one click:...

Mystery of the 1,700-year-old Mosaic Solved: The Medallion in the Mosaic uncovered to be the Symbol of a Roman Military Unit

10 August 2024

10 August 2024

The mystery of the 1,700-year-old mosaic, which was found during excavations in Amasya province in northern Turkey 11 years ago...

The 1,000-year-old Church found under a cornfield in Germany

2 July 2021

2 July 2021

The foundation walls of the large church of the rediscovered Royal Palace of Helfta in Eisleben in the German state...

New stone ram heads unearthed in Luxor, Egypt

15 October 2021

15 October 2021

Mustafa al-Waziri, the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), recently announced the discovery of new stone ram heads...

The discovery that surprised archaeologists; a Rare glass cup adorning the table of rich Romans in Crimea

2 April 2022

2 April 2022

A discovery made in Frontovoye-3 necropolis in Crimea shows that during the Roman Empire there were more centers of glass...

Archeologists in Peru find a 1,000-year-old adolescent mummy wrapped in bundle

25 April 2023

25 April 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed a more than 1,000-year-old mummy on the outskirts of Peru’s capital, Lima. The mummified adolescent was wrapped...

A carved Hand Imprint unearthed in a 1,000-year-old Jerusalem defensive moat

26 January 2023

26 January 2023

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Wednesday that archaeologists discovered the remains of a moat and a mysterious hand imprint...

1.5 tons of bronze coins found in east China

19 December 2022

19 December 2022

An ancient coin hoard containing 1.5 tonnes of coins from the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties has been discovered...

Remains of 240 people found beneath Ocky White department store in Wales

13 October 2022

13 October 2022

Archaeologists found skeletal remains of over more than 240 people, from beneath a former department store in Pembrokeshire in Wales,...

Phrygian Royal Tomb Unearthed in Ancient City of Gordion, Türkiye: A Landmark Discovery

4 June 2025

4 June 2025

In a major archaeological breakthrough, Turkey’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, announced the discovery of a wooden...

Newly Discovered 200,000-Year-Old Rock Carvings in Marbella: Potentially Among Europe’s Oldest Cave Art

14 March 2025

14 March 2025

Marbella has just made an incredible discovery that could change everything we thought we knew about prehistoric Europe. Archaeologists working...

Archaeologists Unearthed Third Greatest Fire Temple Existing in Ancient Iran’s Sassanid Era

11 July 2022

11 July 2022

Archaeologists have unearthed ruins of what they believe to be the third-greatest fire temple in ancient Iran during the Sassanid...

Archaeologists may have discovered the site where Otto the Great, founder of the Holy Roman Empire, died

5 October 2023

5 October 2023

Archaeologists believe they have found the site where Emperor Otto I (936-973), known as the Great, founder of the Holy...