漢代筆記 vol.31 福岡市博物館：漢委奴國王金印，1784年出土、黑田家傳來 - Fukuoka Art Museum, The Gold Seal of the King of Na of Wa

漢委奴國王金印是中國古代印章制度、冶金技術與外交禮制的結晶。它不僅證明東漢時期中日之間已存在正式官方往來，也為研究漢代官印制度、異族王印等級差異，以及彌生時代日本列島政治格局提供了不可替代的實物依據。其尺寸、金屬成分與製作工藝均與漢代官印標準高度吻合，學界主流認定為真品。作為中國古代藝術與東亞文明交流的珍貴見證，此印在中日兩國歷史敘事中均佔有特殊地位——它既是漢帝國「天子」權威的象徵，也是日本古代國家形成過程中最早的文字實物記錄之一。

現藏地：日本福岡市博物館（Fukuoka City Museum）

漢委奴國王金印

The Gold Seal of the King of Na of Wa

金印為正方形，印面邊長平均約2.347厘米（右2.345厘米、左2.349厘米），與東漢一寸（約2.3厘米）基本吻合。印身高度約0.89厘米，連蛇鈕通高2.236厘米，總重108.729克。金含量約95.1%，另含銀約4.5%、銅約0.5%。鈕作蛇形，蛇身盤繞，頭部居中，飾有魚子紋鱗甲，並有穿孔可繫綬。印面陰刻篆書「漢委奴國王」五字，分三行排列（右起：漢／委奴／國王），字體規整古樸，具典型東漢官印風格。「委」為「倭」之通假字。

此印的蛇鈕形制，與漢代賜予南方非漢族王侯的印章（如雲南「滇王之印」）相近，實際上，在1951年以前，也就是「滇王之印」未出土之前，「漢委奴国王印」一直因為其蛇的造型被認為是偽作，直到「滇王之印」出土才消除了疑慮。

據《後漢書·東夷傳》明確記載：

「建武中元二年，倭奴國奉貢朝賀，使人自稱大夫，倭國之極南界也。光武賜以印綬。」

公元57年，位於倭國（古代日本）極南界的奴國（Nakoku，學界多認為在今九州北部福岡一帶）遣使向東漢朝廷朝貢。使者自稱大夫，光武帝劉秀遂賜予金印與綬帶，正式承認其為漢之藩屬國王。此舉是漢代「羈縻」外交政策的具體體現，亦是中國官方史書中首次以「倭」指稱日本列島政權的明確記錄。奴國屬彌生時代後期地方政權，此印的頒賜標誌著當時九州北部政權已進入東亞朝貢體系。

1784年（日本天明四年）2月23日，福岡縣博多灣志賀島（現福岡市東區）農民甚兵衛在修整水田溝渠時，於兩人方可抬起的大石下偶然發現此印。金印被三塊大石圍成石龕狀妥善安置，出土時保存完好。福岡藩儒學者龜井南冥依據《後漢書》記載，迅速鑑定其為光武帝所賜之印，避免了被熔毀的命運。此後金印成為福岡藩主黑田家傳世重寶。1931年被指定為日本國寶，1954年升為一級國寶。1978年黑田家將其捐贈予福岡市，現為福岡市博物館鎮館之寶，常設展出。

「委奴」讀音、意義與學術解讀

漢委奴國王金印印文為「漢委奴國王」五字，其中「委奴」二字的讀法與解釋，是理解此印歷史意義的關鍵。

一、標準讀音

• 中文讀音：漢 倭 奴 國 王 漢語拼音：Hàn Wō Nú Guó Wáng （「委」在此不讀現代常用的 wěi，而讀作 wō）

• 日文讀音（福岡市博物館及學界主流）： かんの わの なのこくおう （Kan no Wa no Na no Kokuō）

二、核心意義

「漢委奴國王」應斷讀並理解為：

漢（王朝）＋ 委（倭，民族／地域）＋ 奴（奴國）＋ 國王（爵位）

即：漢朝冊封的倭地奴國之王。

「奴國」（Na / Nakoku）是當時倭國（古代日本列島）中的一個具體小國，位於今九州北部福岡一帶。《後漢書·東夷傳》記載建武中元二年（公元57年）「倭奴國奉貢朝賀」，與此印文高度吻合。

三、「委」字為何不作「倭」？

「委」是「倭」的通假字（或異體寫法）。古代文獻中，「倭」常寫作「委」。例如《法華義疏》即有「大倭國」寫作「大委國」之例。漢代印章與文書中，「倭」簡寫或異寫為「委」並非罕見。

「倭」字從「人」旁，本與「委」（隨從、曲屈）字義相關。《說文解字》中「委」有「隨從」之意，加上人旁後形成「倭」，隱含「順從、恭敬之人」的聯想。漢代人以「倭／委」稱呼日本列島居民，正反映當時華夷觀念下的命名習慣。

因此，印文中的「委」絕非現代「委托」「委派」之義，而是「倭」的當時書寫形式。

四、印文結構與漢制

漢代賜予外臣的金印，印文通常按「王朝＋民族／地域＋部族／國名＋爵位」的順序排列。「漢委奴國王」完全符合此制：

• 「漢」字冠首，標明其為漢朝藩屬，而非漢朝直接統治的領地；

• 「國王」為漢代冊封外臣的最高王爵等級，顯示漢廷承認其對境內的管轄權。

五、其他解釋的取捨

歷史上曾出現過不同說法：

• 怡土說：部分江戶時代學者認為「委奴」應讀作「怡土」，對應《魏志倭人傳》的「伊都國」。此說因與《後漢書》「倭奴國」記載直接衝突，已不被主流採納。

• 委任說：少數意見將「委」解為「委任」，即「漢朝委任的奴國王」。此說不符合漢代印文結構與通假慣例。

目前中日學界共識為：「漢之倭之奴國王」。

六、結論

「委奴」即「倭之奴」，「漢委奴國王」意為「漢朝所屬倭人地區奴國之王」。此解讀得到《後漢書》記載、金印形制、金屬成分，以及同時代「滇王之印」「廣陵王璽」等實物的多重印證，已成為定說。

The Gold Seal of the King of Na of Wa

(Chinese: 漢委奴國王印; Japanese: 漢委奴国王印)

The Gold Seal of the King of Na of Wa is a solid-gold official seal bestowed by Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han dynasty in the second year of the Jianwu Zhongyuan era (AD 57) upon the king of the Na state of Wa (ancient Japan). It is the earliest surviving material evidence of official Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations and is designated a National Treasure of Japan. As both a masterpiece of Han-dynasty seal craftsmanship and a tangible embodiment of the Chinese tributary system, it holds exceptional significance for the study of ancient East Asian international order.

Form and Material

The seal is square, with an average face measurement of approximately 2.347 cm (right side 2.345 cm, left side 2.349 cm), closely matching the Eastern Han standard unit of one cun (about 2.3 cm). The height of the seal body is roughly 0.89 cm; the total height including the snake-shaped knob is 2.236 cm. It weighs 108.729 grams and consists of approximately 95.1% gold, 4.5% silver, and 0.5% copper. The knob is fashioned in the form of a coiled snake with its head oriented toward the center, decorated with fish-roe scale patterns, and pierced for a silk ribbon (shou). The seal face is engraved in intaglio in small-seal script with the five characters “漢委奴國王” arranged in three vertical lines (from right to left: 漢 / 委奴 / 國王). The character “委” is an ancient graphic variant of “倭” (Wa).

The snake-knob form is characteristic of seals granted by the Han court to southern non-Han rulers (comparable to the “Seal of the King of Dian” from Yunnan). This convention reflected hierarchical distinctions within the imperial system: turtle knobs for Chinese kings, camel or sheep knobs for northern nomadic leaders, and snake knobs for southern polities.

Historical Background

The Book of the Later Han (Hou Han Shu, “Account of the Eastern Barbarians”) records:

“In the second year of the Jianwu Zhongyuan reign period [AD 57], the Na state of Wa sent an envoy with tribute. The envoy introduced himself as a high official. The state lies in the far south of Wa. [Emperor] Guangwu bestowed on him a seal with a tassel.”

In AD 57, the state of Na (Nakoku), located in the southern extremity of Wa (most scholars place it in northern Kyushu, in the present-day Fukuoka region), dispatched an envoy bearing tribute to the Eastern Han court. Emperor Guangwu conferred a gold seal and ribbon, formally recognizing the ruler as a tributary king under the Han. This event constitutes the first explicit mention of “Wa” in Chinese official historiography as a political entity on the Japanese archipelago and exemplifies the Han policy of jimi (loose rein) diplomacy. The Na polity belonged to the late Yayoi period; the bestowal of the seal marks its incorporation into the broader East Asian tributary order.

Discovery and Transmission

On 23 February 1784 (Tenmei 4), a farmer named Jinbei discovered the seal while repairing an irrigation ditch on Shikanoshima Island in Hakata Bay (present-day Higashi Ward, Fukuoka City). The seal was found carefully placed beneath a large stone that required two adults to lift, within a stone-box-like structure. The Confucian scholar Kamei Nanmei of the Fukuoka domain promptly identified it on the basis of the Hou Han Shu account, thereby saving it from being melted down. It subsequently entered the collection of the Kuroda clan, lords of Fukuoka. Designated a National Treasure in 1931 and elevated to First-Class National Treasure status in 1954, the seal was donated by the Kuroda family to the city of Fukuoka in 1978. It is now the centerpiece of the permanent exhibition at the Fukuoka City Museum.

Scholarly and Cultural Significance

The Gold Seal of the King of Na is a crystallization of Han-dynasty seal institutions, metallurgical technology, and diplomatic ritual. It provides irrefutable physical evidence of formal official contact between China and the Japanese archipelago in the first century AD, while also illuminating Han official seal protocols, hierarchical distinctions among foreign kings, and the political landscape of late Yayoi northern Kyushu. Its dimensions, metal composition, and stylistic features align closely with authenticated Eastern Han official seals, and the scholarly consensus regards it as genuine.

As a rare surviving witness to ancient Chinese art and East Asian cultural exchange, the seal occupies a unique place in the historical narratives of both China and Japan. It simultaneously embodies the authority of the Han “Son of Heaven” and stands as one of the earliest written artifacts connected to the formation of political entities on the Japanese islands.

Current Location: Fukuoka City Museum, Fukuoka, Japan

A Detailed Examination of “委奴” (Wei Nu)

(For SACA use)

The five-character inscription on the Gold Seal of the King of Na of Wa reads “漢委奴國王.” The precise reading and interpretation of the two characters “委奴” are central to understanding the seal’s historical significance.

1. Standard Reading

• Chinese reading: Hàn Wō Nú Guó Wáng (“委” is pronounced wō here, not the modern wěi of “entrust” or “appoint.”)

• Japanese reading (official reading adopted by the Fukuoka City Museum and mainstream scholarship): Kan no Wa no Na no Kokuō (かんの わの なのこくおう)

2. Core Meaning

The inscription should be parsed and understood as:

Han (dynasty) + Wei (Wa, the ethnonym/region) + Nu (the state of Na) + King (title)

That is: “King of the Na state of Wa, [vassal] of the Han.”

The state of Na (Nakoku) was one of the polities within Wa (the ancient Japanese archipelago) and was located in the northern part of present-day Kyushu, in the Fukuoka region. This reading corresponds closely with the record in the Book of the Later Han (Hou Han Shu), which states that in the second year of Jianwu Zhongyuan (AD 57) “the Na state of Wa sent an envoy with tribute.”

3. Why “委” Instead of “倭”?

“委” functions here as a phonetic loan character (or graphic variant) for “倭” (Wa). In ancient texts, “倭” was frequently written as “委.” For example, the Fahua yishu records “大倭國” written as “大委國.”

The character “倭” is composed with the “person” radical and is semantically related to “委” (to follow, to yield). In the Shuowen jiezi, “委” carries the sense of “following” or “submitting.” When the person radical is added, the resulting “倭” evokes the idea of a “compliant” or “respectful” people. The Han-dynasty use of “倭／委” to designate the inhabitants of the Japanese islands reflects the contemporary Chinese worldview of the Sino-barbarian order.

Thus, “委” on the seal does not mean “to appoint” or “to entrust” in the modern sense; it is simply the contemporary written form of “倭.”

4. Structure of the Inscription and Han Institutional Practice

Official gold seals granted by the Han court to foreign rulers normally followed the order:

dynasty + ethnonym/region + specific polity + title.

The inscription “漢委奴國王” conforms precisely to this pattern:

• The initial character “漢” indicates that the recipient was a tributary of the Han rather than a directly administered territory;

• The title “國王” was the highest rank conferred on foreign kings under the Han system, acknowledging the ruler’s authority over his own domain.

5. Alternative Interpretations and Their Status

Several alternative readings have been proposed historically:

• Ito theory: Some Edo-period scholars suggested that “委奴” should be read as “Ito,” linking it to the “Ito state” mentioned in the Wei zhi. This view has been largely abandoned because it directly contradicts the Hou Han Shurecord of “倭奴國.”

• “Appointed” theory: A minority opinion interprets “委” as “to appoint,” yielding “the Nu king appointed by the Han.” This reading is inconsistent with both Han seal conventions and the established phonetic-loan relationship between “委” and “倭.”

The prevailing scholarly consensus in both China and Japan is: “King of the Na of Wa under the Han.”

6. Conclusion

“委奴” means “the Na of Wa.” The full inscription “漢委奴國王” therefore signifies “King of the Na state of Wa, [a tributary] of the Han.” This interpretation is corroborated by the Hou Han Shu, the seal’s physical form and metallurgical composition, and contemporary comparanda such as the Seal of the King of Dian and the Seal of the King of Guangling. It is now regarded as the established reading.