Kubizuka (首塚, literally ''neck mound'' in Japanese, often translated as ''head tomb'') is a

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 ...

built in

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 ...

with purpose of rest for the souls whose heads were severed because they were killed in battles and fights, captured, or punished by beheadings. In Japan war performances were verified by identifying the heads of those killed in the battle; in order to console those heads, many kubizuka were built. There are kubizuka enshrining a single person (like an enemy samurai commander), so they do not become a vengeful

onryō In Japanese traditional beliefs and literature, are a type of ghost () believed to be capable of causing harm in the world of the living, injuring or killing enemies, or even causing natural disasters to exact vengeance to "redress" the wron ...

later, and kubizuka enshrining many soldiers killed in one battle (huge one like the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

) together, even though they were zohyo (common soldiers); a great number of both types of kubizuka still exist throughout Japan.

Related subjects

Mimizuka The , an alteration of the original is a monument in Kyoto, Japan, dedicated to the sliced noses of killed Korean soldiers and civilians as well as Ming Chinese troops taken as war trophies during the Japanese invasions of Korea from 1592 to ...

(耳塚, ear mound, an alteration of the original ''hanazuka'' 鼻塚, ''nose mound'' ) is a tomb where the noses of the killed Korean and Chinese soldiers and civilians in the

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were gathered and buried as the substitute of heads, because it was impossible to bring back the severed heads from overseas; it has the same symbolic meaning as kubizuka. It is located near the front of present-day Toyokuni Shrine (Kyoto), and originally was in front of the gate of Hoko-ji Temple in Higashiyama Ward in Kyoto.

Kubizuka across Japan

* Kubizuka of

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: located at the side of Mochitora confectionery shop at Sanjo-Sagaru (to the south of Sanjo), Shirakawa-dori Street,

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. * Kubizuka of

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, (also being referred to as Senninzuka – memorial mound of 1000 people): located at the ruins of

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* Kubizuka of Asari Katsuyori: located at Hiyama,

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. * Kubizuka of

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: Shinjo Ankokuji Temple,

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. * Kubizuka of

Bessho Nagaharu was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period. He was the eldest son of Bessho Yasuharu. In 1578 Oda Nobunaga called on his retainers to attack the Mōri clan. Nagaharu almost decided to allied with the Oda clan, but after hearing that the ...

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. * Kubizuka for the dead in the

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: two Kubizuka inside and one outside of the Hachimanpara historic park,

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. * Kubizuka of

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: located at Yasaka-no-to Pagoda, Yasui Higashiyama, Kyoto. * Kubizuka of

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: Teramoto Kanshinji Temple,

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. * Kubizuka for the dead in the

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: located at Yazako,

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. * Kubizuka of

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: located at Hozo-ji Temple, Motojuku,

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. * Kubizuka of

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: located at Asuka, Nara. * Kubizuka of

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: located at

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Chiyoda, Tokyo is a special ward located in central Tokyo, Japan. It is known as Chiyoda City in English.Profile< ...

. * Kubizuka of

Nitta Yoshisada was a samurai lord of the Nanboku-chō period Japan. He was the head of the Nitta clan in the early fourteenth century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-chō period. He famously marched on Kamakura, besieging ...

: Sagano Takiguchi-dera, Kyoto * Kubizuka of

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: located at Moriguro, Asahi-cho, Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture. *

Oni An is a kind of ''yōkai'', demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. Oni are mostly known for their fierce and evil nature manifested in their propensity for murder and cannibalism. Notwithstanding their evil reputation, oni possess ...

Kubizuka: located along National Route 21, Oniiwa Park,

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. * Kubizuka of Munenaga Yamaguchi: Daishoji Shincho, Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture. * Kubizuka of Christian martyrs of in 1657: In front of Haraguchimachi Community Center,

Ōmura, Nagasaki is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of March 31, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 95,146 and a population density of 750 persons per km2. Its total area is 126.33 km2, and it includes Nagasaki Airport. Histor ...

References

{{reflist Death customs Mounds