chiefdom · Korea and Japan

Na (Japan)

0 CE – 200 CE (approx.)

An early Japanese polity near modern Fukuoka whose ruler received a gold seal from the Han emperor in 57 CE, one of the first datable events in Japanese history.

Origins

Na grew up in the Fukuoka plain of northern Kyushu during the Yayoi period, when wet rice farming and metalworking spread from Korea. Rich burials at Sugu-Okamoto, with bronze mirrors and weapons, point to a powerful local elite by the 1st century BCE.

Rule and society

Known only from Chinese records and archaeology, Na was one of many small Wa polities. The Book of the Later Han records that its king sent envoys to Emperor Guangwu in 57 and received a seal; a gold seal reading King of Na of Wa of Han was found on Shikanoshima island in 1784.

Decline and legacy

The 3rd-century Wei records list Na, with some 20,000 households, among the countries under Queen Himiko of Yamatai. It was later absorbed into the Yamato realm.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

More states of Korea and Japan →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Na (Japan). In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/na-japan
MLA
“Na (Japan).” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/na-japan. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Na (Japan).” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/na-japan.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Na (Japan)’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/na-japan (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻