The is a Kofun period

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

located in the Hachino-cho neighborhood of Suzuka,

Mie Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefectur ...

in the

Kansai region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropoli ...

of Japan. The tumulus was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1970. It is also known as the

Overview

The Ōzuka Kofun is located on the east bank of the Suzuka River and is then largest tumulus in the Nō Kofun Cluster. It is a , which is shaped like a keyhole, having one square end and one circular end, when viewed from above. The tumulus has a total length of 62 meters. From its shape, it is believed to have been built in the late Kofun period (early 6th century AD). The shield-shaped double moat surrounding the tumulus is almost completely preserved. The outer bank is about three meters wide and about one meter high. The tomb was opened in 1899 by local amateur explorers, and the

grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...

, which included a number of iron swords, have been lost. An anthropomorphic ''

haniwa The are terracotta clay figures that were made for ritual use and buried with the dead as funerary objects during the Kofun period (3rd to 6th centuries AD) of the history of Japan. ''Haniwa'' were created according to the ''wazumi'' techniq ...

'' has been recovered from moat. Despite the protected status of the site, in March 1991, a construction company announced plans to develop the site for materials storage. This was blocked by Suzuka City as the area was a well-known

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

, in which

Jōmon pottery The is a type of ancient earthenware pottery which was made during the Jōmon period in Japan. The term "Jōmon" () means "rope-patterned" in Japanese, describing the patterns that are pressed into the clay. Outline Oldest pottery in Jap ...

Sue ware was a blue-gray form of stoneware pottery fired at high temperature, which was produced in Japan and southern Korea during the Kofun, Nara, and Heian periods of Japanese history. It was initially used for funerary and ritual objects, and origina ...

Haji ware is a type of plain, unglazed, reddish-brown Japanese pottery or earthenware that was produced during the Kofun, Nara, and Heian periods of Japanese history. It was used for both ritual and utilitarian purposes, and many examples have been found ...

and Kofun period tumuli were known to exist, in addition to which portions of the area covered by the National Historic Site designation. However in March 1992, the city discovered that much of the area had been excavated by heavy machinery and that several tumuli had already been destroyed. A cease and desist order was issued, but the construction company responded that the land had already been resold to individuals through a real estate developer for a housing estate. On further investigation, Suzuka City found that the southern half of the site could be backfilled and restored to near its original state, but that the northern half of the site was too damaged. A

rescue archaeology Rescue archaeology, sometimes called commercial archaeology, preventive archaeology, salvage archaeology, contract archaeology, developer-funded archaeology or compliance archaeology, is state-sanctioned, archaeological survey and excavation car ...

project was undertaken in 1992. The Ōzuka Kofun itself was not damaged during these events; however, many of the 91 tumuli which appeared in

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

maps and the sites of over 100 pit dwellings dating from the Jōmon period through Kofun period have been lost. The site is a 10-minute walk from the "Suzukotsu Bridge" bus stop on the Mie Kotsu Bus from Hiratachō Station on the

Kintetsu Railway , referred to as , is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railway network connects Osaka, Nara, Ky ...

Suzuka Line. ;Total length: 62 meters: ;Anterior rectangular portion: 47 meters wide ;Posterior circular portion: 37 meter diameter x 6 meters high

References

External links

Suzuka city home page
{{in lang, ja History of Mie Prefecture Suzuka, Mie Historic Sites of Japan Zenpokoenfun

Overview

See also

References

External links