270px, Aerial photograph 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 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 Amino neighborhood of the city of Kyōtango, Kyoto 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 metropolita ...

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 ...

. The tumulus was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1922.

Overview

The Amino Chōshiyama Kofun is a , which is shaped like a keyhole, having one square end and one circular end, when viewed from above. It is located on a hill at the mouth of the Fukuta River that flows through the

Tango Peninsula was a province of Japan in the area of northern Kyoto Prefecture. Tango bordered on Tanba to the south, Tajima to the west, and Wakasa to the east. Its abbreviated form name was . It was also referred to as or . In terms of the Gokishichi ...

into the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

. It dates from the middle of the Kofun period, or the end of the 4th century to the beginning of the 5th century. The surrounding area has a number of

Yayoi period The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon p ...

and

remains. The tumulus is orientated to the north-northeast and has an overall length of 201 meters, making it one of the largest on the Sea of Japan coast. The surface of the mound was covered in white ''

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 ...

'', and both cylindrical and figurative ''

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'' technique, ...

'' have been found. Among the ''haniwa'', fragments of a type specific to the

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

region have been found. In addition, the tumulus is surrounded by incomplete moats with a width of 17 to 25 meters on east, south and west sides. As no excavation has been conducted, the details of the

burial chamber A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interred than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could a ...

are not clear. During the Kofun period, this region of northern Kyoto prefecture had trade contacts with the Asian mainland, and the area around the mouth of the Takeno River was the center of an ancient kingdom. The tumulus was situated such that its white ''fukiishi'' would be visible as a landmark for any ships approaching the harbor. However, after the middle of the 5th century, trade decreased and the political center of the region shifted inland to the Tamba region. The tumulus is about ten minutes by car from

Amino Station 270px, Derailed JNR Class 8620 at Amino Station after 1927 North Tango earthquake ">1927_North_Tango_earthquake.html" ;"title="JNR Class 8620 at Amino Station after 1927 North Tango earthquake">JNR Class 8620 at Amino Station after 1927 North Ta ...

on the

Miyazu Line The is a railway line of the Kyoto Tango Railway in Kyoto Prefecture and Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Trains on the line are operated by Willer Trains Inc. as part of its Kyoto Tango Railway system. The and the are the aliases assigned by Wille ...

. The National Historic Site designation includes the smaller circular "Choshiyama Tumulus No. 1 and No. 2 Tumulus" nearby. ;Total length: 201 meters: ;Anterior rectangular portion: 80 meters wide x 10 meters high, 3-tier ;Posterior circular portion: 115 meter diameter x 16 meters high, 3-tiers

Gallery

Amino Choshiyama Kofun, zenkei-1.jpg, Panoramic view 網野銚子山古墳出土埴輪群.JPG, Haniwa from the Amino Chōshiyama Kofun Amino Choshiyama Kofun, baizuka-1.jpg, Choshiyama Tumulus No. 1 Amino Choshiyama Kofun, baizuka-2.jpg, Choshiyama Tumulus No. 2

References

External links

Kyōtango Tourist Information home page

{{in lang, ja History of Kyoto Prefecture Kyōtango Historic Sites of Japan Zenpokoenfun

Overview

Gallery

See also

References

External links