Season 1 • Episode 4
LatestWhy has the samurai sword always been such a powerful symbol of Japanese culture? Dr. Inazo Nitobe, the man pictured on Japan's 5,000-yen note, tried to answer that question for the world. As a Japanese diplomat at the League of Nations, he was asked by a western colleague how - without religious instruction - the Japanese could teach their children right from wrong. ...
How did an Indian Buddhist shrine influence a Japanese pagoda? How are Italian pigs and cowry shells related to porcelain? Why did the ferocious warriors of Mongolia wear silk underwear? And how did wood block printing bring about a revolution in Japan and in European culture? These intriguing questions are investigated in Artifacts, a series that explores the origins and hidden connections among the art and artifacts of the great cultures and belief systems across Asia - on a journey through time and across continents from India to Thailand, China and Japan - to understand the impact of calligraphy, porcelain, architecture, metallurgy, wood block printing and silk on Asian history and on the history of the world in general.
Production
Gorgeous location footage across four countries
Writing
Questions so weird you'll NEED answers
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The series quietly argues Asian innovations reached Europe centuries before colonization—radical for 2000 documentary television.
Silk's arrow-resistance wasn't myth; Mongol armies genuinely issued silk undershirts as primitive body armor.
