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 Chitose neighborhood of the city of

Kameoka, Kyoto is a city in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 87,518 in 29,676 households and a population density of 390 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kameoka abuts Kyoto to the east and is loca ...

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 tumuli was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1982. It is estimated to have been built in the first half of the 6th century (the first half of the late Kofun period), and is the largest tumulus in the Tamba region. Per local legend, it is the tomb of King Yahiko (the 14th grandson of

Emperor Chuai An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

Overview

The Chitose-Kurumazuka Kofun is located on a small hill extending from Mt. Inatsuki in the northeastern part of the Kameoka Basin, on the left bank of the Oi River. It is a , which is shaped like a keyhole, having one square end and one circular end, when viewed from above. The tumulus is orientated to the northwest and has a current overall length of 82 meters, but may have been up to 88 meters long. It is somewhat unusual in shape in that the width of the anterior part exceeds the diameter of the posterior circle. The left constriction of the mound may have a ceremonial platform. The tumulus was once 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 ...

'' and had rows 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'' technique, ...

''. The tumulus was surrounded by two concentric moats, of which traces of the inner moat still remain. Another unusual feature of the tumulus is that the moats are asymmetrical with respect to the main axis of the burial mound, for unknown reasons. 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 ...

has not been excavated, so details remain uncertain. The design of the tumulus resembles that of the Imashirozuka Kofun in

Takatsuki, Osaka is a city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is located in northern Osaka's Hokusetsu region. As of 2020, the city had an estimated population of 347,944 and a population density of 3,300 persons per km². The total area is 105.31 km². The c ...

, which is believed to be the true tomb of

Emperor Keitai (died 10 March 531) was the 26th legendary emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 継体天皇 (26)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but h ...

, and to date from the same period, leading to the theory is that the person buried here was a candidate for succession to the throne of the same rank as Emperor Keitai. Analysis of the clay used indicates that the ''haniwa'' were produced at the Shinike Hanawa Production Site in Takatsuki. This indicates a strong connection between the Yamato kingship and the person buried in this tumulus. The tumulus was designated as a Kameoka City Historic Site in 1970 and was elevated to a National Historic Site in 1982. In the surrounding area are the ''

ichinomiya is a Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth. ''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retrieved 2013-5-14. The term gave rise t ...

'' of Tanba Province,

Izumo-daijingū is a Shinto shrine in the Chitose neighborhood of the city of Kameoka in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It is the ''ichinomiya'' of former Tanba Province. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on the October 21. Enshrined ''kami'' The prim ...

and the ruins of the

Tanba Kokubun-ji is a Jōdo-shū Buddhist temple in the Chitose neighborhood of the city of Kameoka, Kyoto, Japan. It claims to be the successor to one of the provincial temples established by Emperor Shōmu during the Nara period (710–794). Due to this co ...

and Tanba Kokubun-niji. ;Total length: 82 meters (original length: 88 meters) ;Anterior rectangular portion: 49 meters wide x 7 meters high, 3-tier (original width: 54 meters) ;Posterior circular portion: 46 meter diameter x 7.5 meters high, 3-tiers (original diameter: 54 meters)

Gallery

Chitose Kurumazuka Kofun zenkei.JPG, Chitose-Kurumazuka Kofun Chitose Kurumazuka Kofun zenkei-3.jpg, Chitose-Kurumazuka Kofun after grass is burned off in spring Chitose Kurumazuka Kofun haniwa.jpg, Fragments of ''haniwa'' in situ.

References

External links

Kameoka City Tourist Information
{{in lang, ja History of Kyoto Prefecture Kameoka, Kyoto Historic Sites of Japan Kofun

Overview

Gallery

See also

References

External links