Eta Funayama Kofun () is a '' kofun'', or

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

Nagomi, Kumamoto is a town located in Tamana District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The town was formed on March 1, 2006 from the merger of the towns of Kikusui and Mikawa, both from Tamana District. As of October 2016, the town has an approximate populatio ...

in Japan. The mound was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1951. The designation includes and . Several artifacts excavated from the mound have been designated National Treasures of Japan are now at the

Tokyo National Museum The or TNM is an art museum in Ueno Park in the Taitō ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the four museums operated by the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage ( :ja:国立文化財機構), is considered the oldest national museum in Japan, ...

(see

List of National Treasures of Japan Lists of National Treasures of Japan cover different types of National Treasure of Japan. They include buildings and fine arts and crafts. Buildings and structures *List of National Treasures of Japan (castles), for structures that are part of a ...

). The style of the bronze items resemble artifacts from the Korean kingdom of

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jum ...

, which had many exchanges with Japan at the time.Gilt Bronze Crown, Tokyo National Museum
/ref>

Eta Funayama Sword

The is a 5th-century ancient iron sword excavated from the mound in 1873. The inscription on the blade indicates that the sword was made during the era of

Emperor Yūryaku (418 - 8 September 479) was the 21st legendary Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 雄略天皇 (21) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order of succession. He is remembered as a patron of sericulture.Nippon ...

in the 5th century. This sword, along with other items from the mound, have been designated National Treasures of Japan in the category archaeological materials.

Inscription

The original inscription and translation is as follows:Seeley, Christopher. ''A History of Writing in Japan''.

Brill Academic Publishers Brill Academic Publishers (known as E. J. Brill, Koninklijke Brill, Brill ()) is a Dutch international academic publisher founded in 1683 in Leiden, Netherlands. With offices in Leiden, Boston, Paderborn and Singapore, Brill today publishes 27 ...

. 1991. pp 24-25. . Portions of the text are now illegible (rendered above as □ in the Japanese inscription, or ellipses in the English translation), making it difficult to interpret. The name of the ruler, Wakatakiru, is reconstructed from evidence on the Inariyama burial mound sword.

Excavated items

Periodo kofun, armatura dal tumulo Eta-Funayama, V-VI sec.JPG, Iron armor set with ''

tankō Tankō ( Jap. "short armor") is a form of Japanese armor that was common in the Kofun period. Tankō The ''tankō'' is the first uniquely definable type of Japanese armor. Other types that were used earlier such as ''Jòdai no Katchù'' (anci ...

'' style cuirass Gilt bronze crown from the Eta Funayama Tomb - Tokyo National Museum - DSC06418.JPG, Bronze crown with traces of gilding Mirror with Design of Divinities and Animals, China, from the Eta Funayama Tomb - Tokyo National Museum - DSC06414.JPG, Bronze mirror of Chinese origin Slippers from Eta Funayama Tumulus, Nagomi-machi, Kumamoto, Kofun period, 5th-6th century, gilt bronze - Tokyo National Museum - DSC05636.JPG, Bronze shoes with hexagonal pattern

Note

References

* Kofun period Old Japanese texts National Treasures of Japan Individual Japanese swords Kofun {{Japan-hist-stub