The is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

containing 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 ...

located in the village of

Izumizaki, Fukushima is a village located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 6,265 in 2179 households, and a population density of 180 persons per km². The total area of the village was . Geography Izumizaki is located in t ...

in the southern

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains a ...

of northern

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 ...

. was granted protection as a National Historic Site in 1934.

Overview

The cave-tomb dates from the end of the 6th century to the beginning of the 7th century. It is located on the slope of a

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

hill on the northern shore of the Izumi River, and was discovered in 1933 during the prefectural road expansion work, and was the first decorative cave tomb found in the Tōhoku region. The tomb is approximately 2.1 meters square and has a 1.15 meter house-shaped opening and domed ceiling. It is significant in that it is a

decorated kofun is the term used for kofun or ancient Japanese tombs ornamented with Japanese painting, painted or Japanese sculpture, carved decoration. The tombs take the form of tumuli or earthen mounds piled over stone chambers as well as caves excavated from ...

with depictions of men, women, animals, boats, horses and eddy patterns, painted in red on the back wall, side walls, and ceiling 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 ...

. Such decorated ''kofun'' occur primary in

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

, and this is one of the northernmost example yet discovered and indicates the penetration of Kofun period culture into lands traditionally considered part of the

Emishi The (also called Ebisu and Ezo), written with Chinese characters that literally mean "shrimp barbarians," constituted an ancient ethnic group of people who lived in parts of Honshū, especially in the Tōhoku region, referred to as in contemp ...

cultural zone. A small number of

grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...

were recovered, including straight swords and copper rings The tomb is one of a group of seven which were discovered at the same time, but was the only one of the group which was decorated. The tomb does not appear in any historical records and the name of rank of the person buried within is unknown; however, as it is located only two kilometers from the Shirakawa Kanga ruins, it may have been the tomb of a leader of a ''

gōzoku , in Japanese, refers to powerful regional families. In historical context, it can refer to powerful non-royal families regardless of their area of influence, in contrast to the Imperial Family. The most powerful ''gōzoku'' families of the Yamat ...

'' clan ruling this area before it came under full Yamato control. The site is located about 30 minutes on foot from Izumizaki Station on the

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line ( ja, 東北本線, ) is a long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fukush ...

. It is normally closed, but a mural full-size photo panel is on display at the Izumizaki Museum in front of Izumizaki Station.

References

External links

Izumizaki village home page
{{in lang, ja History of Fukushima Prefecture Izumizaki, Fukushima Historic Sites of Japan Corridor-type kofun

Overview

See also

References

External links