Third Thursday Lecture:Okinoshima: the Shosoin of the Sea

Okinoshima, a tiny sacred island between Japan and Korea, isolated, surrounded by ritual and taboo, home to three goddesses who protected the embassies sent from the ancient Japanese court to China. The wondrously preserved treasures offered to these deities on the island are likened to those in the Shosoin, the imperial treasury in Nara, the final terminus of the Silk Road.

Simon Kaner is an archaeologist specialising in the prehistory of Japan. His research interests include: Japanese prehistory and the history of archaeology in Japan; Japanese cultural heritage and the international role of Japanese heritage management. He is directing the Shinano River Project, investigating the development of the historic landscapes of the Shinano and Chikuma River drainage in central Japan.