Aerial view of Aotsuka Kofun The is a

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

burial mound, located in the Aotsuka neighborhood of the city of Inuyama, Aichi in the Tōkai region of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1983. It is the second largest ''kofun'' found in Aichi Prefecture after the

Danpusan Kofun file:断夫山古墳周濠復原図.png, 250px, Sketch of Danpusan Kofun The is a large keyhole-shaped ''kofun'' burial mound located within the grounds of the Atsuta Shrine complex in the Hayata neighborhood of Atsuta-ku, Nagoya, Japan. The tu ...

in Nagoya.

Overview

The Aotsuka Kofun is located in the southern part of Inuyama, in western Aichi Prefecture. It is one of tumuli which once formed a ''kofun'' cluster in the surrounding area (most of which have now been destroyed).

Archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

s have been conducted in 1979 and from 1995 to 1998. The tumulus is a , which is shaped like a keyhole, having one square end and one circular end, when viewed from above. It has a total length of 123 meters and is orientated to face southwest. It consists of a three-tiered posterior circular portion with a diameter of 78 meters and height of 12 meters, and a two-tier trapezoidal anterior portion, with a width of 62 meters, length of 45 meters and height of seven meters. A surviving portion of a moat is on the west side of the tumulus, and on the east side a raised embankment for crossing the now vanished portion of the eastern moat has also survived. An unusual feature of this ''kofun'' is the presence of a rectangular mound on the far end of its anterior portion, which may have been a ceremonial platform. The tumulus was formerly covered in ''

fukiishi ( or "roofing stone") were a means of covering burial chambers and burial mounds during the kofun period of Japan (). Stones collected from riverbeds were affixed to the slopes of raised kofun and other burial chambers. They are considered t ...

'' across its entire surface, and had rows of cylindrical and drum-shaped '' haniwa''. It is believed to have been built in the middle of the 4th century in the early Kofun period. The ''kofun'' is associated with the ''Ni-no-miya'' of

Owari Province was a province of Japan in the area that today forms the western half of Aichi Prefecture, including the modern city of Nagoya. The province was created in 646. Owari bordered on Mikawa, Mino, and Ise Provinces. Owari and Mino provinces were ...

, , which is located 3.5 kilometers to the east. The shrine claims that the ''kofun'' is the grave of its ''kami'', . During the Sengoku period, the tumulus was fortified as a castle by the forces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the 1584 Battle of Komaki and Nagakute. The site is now open to the public with the exterior of the tumulus restored to its appearance at the time of construction, with a row of replica pot-shaped ''haniwa'' as part of the Aozuka Kofun Historical Park , which also has an on-site museum. It is located about a 30-minute walk from Gakuden Station on the Meitetsu Komaki Line.

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, , Aotsuka Kofun (Aichi)
Aichi Prefecture Cultural Properties
History of Aichi Prefecture Inuyama, Aichi Historic Sites of Japan Kofun

Overview

See also

References

External links