Jindai moji

Jindai moji or Kamiyo moji (Japanese: 神代文字 “characters of the Age of the Gods”) are characters said to have been used in ancient Japan. Some have claimed since the mid-Edo period that such ancient characters, for example such as Chikushi characters and Hokkaido characters, have been found in archeological remains, in Kofun and on mountains, but all jindai moji are generally considered to be forgeries. No earthenware with such characters has ever been found.

The concept of jindai moji was first addressed at the end of the Kamakura period. Urabe no Kanekata () mentioned in Shaku Nihongi that his father. Urabe no Kanefumi, argued that the ancient Japanese could not have performed bone-style fortunetelling with turtleshells (亀卜, Kameura, "turtle fortunetelling"), as described in the Nihon Shoki, without having a writing system.

Some examples of jindai moji appeared during the Edo period, each set being named after its supposed source. Even then, the authenticity of jindai moji was supported by scholars such as Tsurumine Shigenobu (), and at least one scholar, Hirata Atsutane, changed his opinion from negative to positive. Other scholars, such as Kaibara Ekken, Dazai Shundai (), Kamo no Mabuchi, Motoori Norinaga and Tō Teikan (), rejected both the concepts and the claimed examples. The most famous article denying the existence of jindai moji was Jindaiji ben (神代字弁), attached to Kana no motosue (仮字本末) by Ban Nobutomo (). The skepticism about jindai moji that developed in the Edo period has been the prevailing attitude among scholars ever since.

In 1930, a religious sect, Amatsukyō, was charged with Lese-majesty by the special higher police. Amatsukyō had used documents that were partly written in what its members said were jindai moji. Experts in linguistics and other scholars gave evidence in court that the documents were forgeries. However, the documents and other artifacts of this sect were destroyed in the American bombardment of Tokyo.

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