is a mounded tomb located in the Kōdachi area of

Yao, Osaka is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 263,436 in 126509 households and a population density of 6300 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city is the birthplace of the Kawachi on ...

, in Japan. It is the largest scallop-shaped burial mound, or '' kofun''. It is a round burial mound 22.5 meters in diameter and 9 meters tall. It was constructed in the late sixth century, during the

Asuka period The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 (or 592 to 645), although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after ...

Later use

Atagozuka-kofun existed as a grave in the late 6th century and hosted additional burials. After that it also existed as a sacred place for some 200 years. The tomb was reused after the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

as shown by the excavation of two pieces of sueki (unglazed ware) of the early

and also of black pottery, unglazed pottery, Hagi plates and hagama (kama with wing) of the middle and later Heian and Kamakura periods. An excavated five-ring

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

and human bones of the

Muromachi The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

period show that this ancient tomb was used for additional burials in the medieval period.

References

{{Reflist Geography of Osaka