A recent study published in the journal Archaeometry investigates the recycling of Han Chinese bronze mirrors into Japanese ...

Early mirrors like this bronze one were all made of metal ... And on the outer edge are more decorative pine fronds. It's a beautifully balanced, perfectly composed, work of art.

KASHIHARA, Nara Prefecture--Archaeologists were stunned by the sheer number of bronze mirrors among grave goods at a large keyhole-shaped burial mound here, more than 100 in all, a record.