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 numerous

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 what is now part of the town of

Futaba, Fukushima is a town in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an actual population of zero, although as of 2017, the official registered population was 6,093 in 2,301 households. The total area of the town is . As of March 2011, the entire population ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is significant in that it is tomb No.76 is a highly

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 geometric patterns, human figures and animals painted in red on the walls 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 ...

. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1968.

Overview

The site dates from the first half of the 7th century and consists of over 300 graves located on hilly land. The existence of these tombs has been known since ancient times, but they were only excavated in 1968, as part of

rescue archaeology Rescue archaeology, sometimes called commercial archaeology, preventive archaeology, salvage archaeology, contract archaeology, developer-funded archaeology or compliance archaeology, is state-sanctioned, archaeological survey and excavation car ...

during construction work on the Futaba Minami Elementary School. Most were destroyed by the construction; however, tomb No.76 was found to contain well preserved mural paintings. The tomb has a rectangular opening facing southeast and is 3.15 meters in length, 1.56 meters in height and 2.34 to 2.8 meters in width. The murals include spiral designed in red iron oxide, with a crowned human figure wearing a ''

hakama are a type of traditional Japanese clothing. Originally stemming from (), the trousers worn by members of the Chinese imperial court in the Sui and Tang dynasties, this style was adopted by the Japanese in the form of in the 6th centur ...

'' and shoes, and another figure with a helmet and a raised left hand next to a horse. Other designs include figures with bows and arrows representing a hunting scene, with wild boar, deer and dogs. The site was damaged by the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...

and since the

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 and ...

has been in an area off limits to the public due to radiation. In February 2017,

Tohoku University , or is a Japanese national university located in Sendai, Miyagi in the Tōhoku Region, Japan. It is informally referred to as . Established in 1907, it was the third Imperial University in Japan and among the first three Designated National ...

received special permission to revisit the site, and to make a detailed three-dimensional scan of the interior of the tomb, in order to have a detailed record of the dimensions of the tomb and its interior decorations just in case future damage should occur. The site is about 20 minutes on foot from Futaba 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 ...

Jōban Line The Jōban Line ( ja, 常磐線, ) is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line officially begins at Nippori Station in Arakawa, Tokyo before the line officially ends at Iwanuma Station in Iwanuma, ...

References

External links

Futaba Tourist information home page
{{in lang, ja History of Fukushima Prefecture Futaba, Fukushima Historic Sites of Japan Corridor-type kofun

Overview

See also

References

External links