Term meaning "curved bead /jewel" a jade or jasper pendant made since the Neolithic but especially during the Jomon Yayoi and Kofun periods. These comma-shaped beads (with a perforation at the thick end) have been found in 4th-7th century AD tombs in Korea and Japan. They purportedly had magic properties. In the Tumulus/Kofun period (3rd-6th centuries) of Japan it was an imperial emblem. Many of these beads decorated the gold crowns of Silla (Korea). Its form may derive from prehistoric animal-tooth pendants.
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