Why historians need sources
A source is anything that gives information about the past. History is not remembered; it is worked out from sources. A primary source comes from the time itself, like a tablet from a palace. A secondary source is written later by someone studying the past, like a school book.
The Japanese islands have a long written history only from about the 700s. Before that we depend mostly on objects dug from the ground and on what neighbours wrote.
Written sources of ancient Japan
- Kojiki (712): stories of gods and early rulers, ordered by the court.
- Nihon Shoki (720): a longer court history written in Chinese style, with dates.
- Fudoki: reports on provinces, with local stories and products.
- Law codes (ritsuryo): show how the state wanted to be run.
- Manyoshu poems: show feelings of people from nobles to border guards.
- Chinese records: dynastic histories mention Wa and its envoys. They give an outsider view.
Court books were written to show that the ruling family was right to rule. That is their view.
Objects and sites as sources
- Mokkan (wooden tablets): thin strips with ink writing, found at palace sites. Many were tags on tax goods, so they show what came from where.
- Kofun tombs and haniwa clay figures: show rank, ritual and clothing.
- Pottery, tools, iron and mirrors: show food, work and contact with the mainland.
- Palace and city ground plans: show how capitals were laid out.
Objects were not made to impress anyone, so they are often honest about daily life. But they cannot explain themselves; we must interpret them.
How to question a source
Ask five short questions: Who made it? When? Why? For whom? Can another source confirm it? A court chronicle (who: court scholars, why: to support the ruling family) must be checked against tablets, tombs and foreign records. Where they agree, we can be confident. Where they differ, that difference is itself interesting.
Forming a hypothesis about the era
A hypothesis is a best guess about the whole period that the evidence supports. Example: "Ancient Japan built a state by borrowing ideas such as writing, law and city planning from China and Korea." Evidence: law codes copy Chinese models, Chinese-style characters appear on tablets, and capitals follow Chinese grid plans. A hypothesis is good if it explains many clues and can be tested. If a new clue contradicts it, we improve the hypothesis. This inquiry habit is the aim of the course: ask, collect, check, guess, test.
Try it
At home pick an old object (a coin, a photo, a letter). Write: who made it, when, why. Then find a second clue (a person, a date) that agrees. Now write a one-line hypothesis about that time. In the 3D, tap each clue type and say its limit out loud before reading it.
Key formulas and definitions
- Primary source = from the time; secondary = written later
- Kojiki 712, Nihon Shoki 720
- Mokkan = wooden tablets; haniwa = clay tomb figures
- Check: who, when, why, for whom, confirmed?
- Hypothesis = best guess backed by many clues; test it with new ones
Worked examples
1. A wooden tablet found at a palace site says "two bundles of dried fish, from a coastal province". What can we say?
The state received goods from provinces, and the palace kept tags on them. It supports the idea of a tax system. It does not say how big the tax was, so we need more tablets.
2. A court chronicle says a ruler won a great victory. No other source mentions it. How should we treat it?
As a claim by the winners, not a proven fact. The chronicle was written to praise the ruling family. We look for a tablet, a tomb find or a foreign record that confirms it.
3. Clues: (1) law codes list officials, (2) tablets show tax goods arriving, (3) Chinese records mention envoys. Write a hypothesis.
"The court copied the Chinese model of government: officials, taxes and contact with China." Three different kinds of source support it. To test it, look for a clue showing officials who did not work like the Chinese model.
Common mistakes
- Believing a court chronicle is plain truth. It shows the court view.
- Using only one source for a big claim.
- Thinking objects speak for themselves. We must interpret them with care.
- Mixing up a hypothesis (a tested guess) with a fact or a wild guess.