Magatama - Relationship To Korean gogok

Relationship To Korean gogok

Gogok are jewels from the Korean peninsula that physically resemble magatama and were used in roughly the same time period. Gogok of the kingdom of Silla and magatama of the Yayoi and Kofun period show a strong connection; historical and archaeological evidence establishes strong economic and cultural ties between East Asia and Japan in this period. The usage of magatama and gogok were not exactly similar. Magatama and gogok were both used in decorative jewelry, and later for ceremonial purposes. Gogok, however, were used in large crowns, a practice not seen in the Japanese arcaeaological record to date. Japanese scholarship on the relationship between gogok and magatama suggests a variety of possibilities. Some scholars suggests that magatama originated from Japan and spread to Korea. Other Japanese scholarship suggests an ambiguous connection between the magatama of Japan and similar jewels of the Korean Peninsula, and more generally, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and region north of China. Lacking a complete archaeological picture, the relationship between gogok and magatama remains unclear.

"The magatama's origins are more controversial. These curved jewels of jadeite are common in Kofun Period burials, and they are common also in Korean sites of the same age. But magatama are found in Yayoi sites, too, and unquestionable true magatama are reported also in Jomon sites in Tohoku, Japan as early as about 1000 B.C., long before true magatama appeared in Korea." (Charles Keally)

The Encyclopædia Britannica equates magatama with gogok, but offers no supporting references. Brittannica also erroneously calls the magatama an exclusively "jade ornament".