State an old period of time

S

Selorm Aglagoh

Registered

4 Mar 2014

1

0

• 12 Mar 2014

• #1

I just want to know how to state a very old period of time, specifically the 900s
I'm doing a presentation on Kendo and I'm trying to speak about the advent of the Katana

I want to say "Dating back to the 900s...."
But all I can really think of is 九百年前のなか...

 

Angel Valis

黒川

15 Jul 2010

290

27

• 12 Mar 2014

• #2

You can say "the 900s" with 九百年代 / 900年代 (ねんだい) or "the 10th century" with 十世紀 / 10世紀 (せいき).

 

T

TokubetsuHero

後輩

12 Mar 2014

5

0

• 12 Mar 2014

• #3

Thanks!

 

Majestic

先輩

Ten-year veteran

12 Oct 2013

4,071

5,023

• 12 Mar 2014

• #4

I think maybe 10世紀 would be better than 900年代 . I'm sure both would be equally understood, but 900年代 feels a bit odd to me (I am not a native speaker though).

Another option would be Heian Jidai (平安時代). Which might be more relevant to a native speaker, or to a student/enthusiast of Japanese history (although its a bit more ambiguous given the length of time represented by the Heian period).