Mokkan

Mokkan (木簡) refers to inscribed wooden tablets used in ancient Japan, primarily from the Yayoi period (c. 300 BCE – 300 CE) to the Nara period (710 – 794 CE), though they continued to be used to a lesser extent afterward. These tablets, often thin and rectangular, served various purposes including record-keeping, writing practice, drafts of official documents, and labels for goods.

Mokkan were made from readily available wood, typically cedar, cypress, or pine. The inscriptions were usually written in ink with a brush, and the content varied depending on the tablet's purpose. They offer valuable insights into the daily lives, administrative practices, and social structures of ancient Japan.

Unlike more permanent forms of writing such as scrolls or bronze inscriptions, mokkan were often considered disposable. As a result, a large number of mokkan have been unearthed from archaeological sites, particularly in areas with waterlogged conditions where the wood was preserved. These discoveries have significantly enhanced our understanding of Japanese history during the periods in which they were used, supplementing and sometimes challenging information gleaned from more formal historical texts.

The study of mokkan, known as mokkan-gaku, is a specialized field of historical research. Researchers analyze the inscriptions on mokkan to reconstruct historical events, understand bureaucratic processes, and gain insights into the linguistic evolution of the Japanese language.