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 Iizuka neighborhood of the city of
Oyama in
Tochigi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 km2 (2,474 sq mi). Tochigi Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the ...
in the northern
Kantō region of
Japan. The tumulus received protection as a
National Historic Site in 1926.
It is the second largest in the prefecture.
Overview
The Biwazuka 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 narrow plateau between the Oshi and Sugata rivers, which run north and south through the northern
Kantō Plain
The is the largest plain in Japan, and is located in the Kantō region of central Honshū. The total area of 17,000 km2 covers more than half of the region extending over Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, ...
. This area was the central region of ancient
Shimotsuke province
was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Tochigi Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''SHimotsuke''" in . Shimotsuke was bordered by Kōzuke, Hitachi, Mutsu and Shimōsa Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was ...
, and contains many ''kofun'' and the ruins of the
provincial capital
A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the g ...
and
provincial temple
were Buddhist temples established in each of the provinces of Japan by Emperor Shōmu during the Nara period (710 – 794).
History
Shōmu (701 – 756?) decreed both a ''kokubun-ji'' for monks and a for nuns to be established in eac ...
(''kokubunji''). The Marishitenzuka Kofun is located 100 meters north of the
Marishitenzuka Kofun, which is of almost identical size and orientation to the south-southwest.
The Biwazuka Kofun uses a natural hill as its base. As a result of an
excavation in 1977, it was confirmed to have a total length of about 123 meters, making it the second largest in the prefecture. The tumulus is built in three tiers. The tumulus is surrounded by a moat, ranging from 18 to 20 meters in width. From fragments of cylindrical ''
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 ...
'' found in the moat in 2013, along with the shape of the mound, it is estimated that this ''kofun'' dates from the first half of the 6th century AD. The National Historic Site designation was expanded in 1981 to encompass the moat area.
;Overall length: 123 meters
;Posterior circular portion: 75 meter diameter x 11 meter high, 3-tier
;Anterior rectangular portion: 70 meters wide x 9 meters high, 3-tier
Recovered artifacts are on display at the Marishitenzuka-Biwazuka Kofun Museum in Oyama. The site is located approximately 15 minutes by car from
Oyama Station
is a junction railway station in the city of Oyama, Tochigi, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The station is also a freight depot for the Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight).
Overview
This station is the rep ...
on the
Tohoku Shinkansen.
Gallery
Biwazuka-kofun hokora.JPG, Shinto shrine on summit of the posterior portion
Biwazuka-kofun trench.JPG, trench from the 2015 excavation
Biwazuka-kofun and Marishitenzuka-kofun -2.JPG, Biwazuka Kofun and Marishitenzuka Kofun
See also
*
List of Historic Sites of Japan (Tochigi)
This list is of the Historic Sites of Japan located within the Prefecture of Tochigi.
National Historic Sites
As of 1 December 2022, thirty-eight Sites have been designated as being of national significance (including two *Special Historic Si ...
References
External links
Tochigi Tourist Information
{{in lang, ja
Kofun
History of Tochigi Prefecture
Oyama, Tochigi
Historic Sites of Japan
Shimotsuke Province