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 ...

keyhole-shaped burial mound, located in the Otake neighborhood of the city of Yao, Osaka in the Kansai region of

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 tumulus was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1966 with the area under protection expanded in 1978.

Overview

The Shionjiyama Kofun is a , which is shaped like a keyhole, having one square end and one circular end, when viewed from above. It is located on a slope at an elevation of 30 meters, in the fan-shaped land at the western foot of the

Ikoma Mountains Ikoma may refer to: * Mount Ikoma in Nara Prefecture, Japan * Ikoma (ethnic group) an ethnic group of Tanzania * Ikoma, Nara, a city in Nara Prefecture, Japan * Ikoma Station, a station in Ikoma City, Japan * Ikoma clan The was a Japanese samur ...

, which runs north and south as a watershed between

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan. Japanese his ...

and

Kawachi Province was a province of Japan in the eastern part of modern Osaka Prefecture. It originally held the southwestern area that was split off into Izumi Province. It was also known as . Geography The area was radically different in the past, with Kawachi ...

s. The tumulus has a total length of 160 meters, with a 92-meter diameter posterior circular portion, and is orientated to the south. Since it was built along the contour lines of a natural slope, the surrounding moat was divided into two embankments on the south and north sides, making it a rare structure with different water levels in the east and west. It 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 over 3000 ''

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, ...

'', which included figurative, pot-shaped and "morning-glory-shaped" versions as well as the more common cylindrical ''haniwa''. There was a protrusion on the west side of the central construction, forming a ceremonial platform. At the top of the posterior circle, there are three

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 ...

s of different lengths, of which the remains of a clay-covered wooden coffin was confirmed in the west side. Various burial items such as bronze mirrors, ''

magatama are curved, comma-shaped beads that appeared in prehistoric Japan from the Final Jōmon period through the Kofun period, approximately 1000 BCE to the 6th century CE. The beads, also described as "jewels", were made of primitive stone and eart ...

'', armor, iron swords, and iron spearheads were excavated from the surrounding area. Judging from these grave goods and the construction method, the tumulus was compiled in the middle Kofun period, or around the 5th century. During the

Asuka period The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 (or 592 to 645), although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after t ...

a Buddhist temple called Shingo-ji was constructed on the western side of the tumulus. The temple eventually disappeared, with its place name becoming distorted over time to become "Shinonji". The tumulus was first excavated in 1993, with further excavations occurring annually until 2003. The tumulus and its surroundings are now maintained as an archaeological park and replicas of ''haniwa'' have been placed on the tumulus. Artifacts excavated from the tumulus are displayed at the Yao City Shionjiyama Kofun Learning Center, located next to the tumulus. The tumulus is about a five-minute walk from the "Otake" bus stop on the Kintetsu Bus from

Kawachi-Yamamoto Station Track Layout is an interchange passenger railway station in located in the city of Yao, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Kintetsu Railway. Lines Kawachi-Yamamoto Station is served by the Osaka Line, and is lo ...

on the

Kintetsu Osaka Line ''Kintetsu'' is the abbreviation of , or Kintetsu Railway, a Japanese railway corporation. It may also refer to: Companies * Kintetsu Group Holdings, the holding corporation of the Kintetsu Railway ** Kintetsu Bus, a bus company and a subsidiary ...

. ;Total length: 160 meters: ;Anterior rectangular portion: 90 meters wide x 12 meters high, 3-tier ;Posterior circular portion: 92 meter diameter x 13 meters high, 3-tiers

Gallery

Shionjiyama Kohun, Yao04.jpg, Diorama showing original appearance 080515 Shionjiyama Kofun aerial.jpg, Aerial photograph taken in 1975. Shionziyama kohun02.JPG, Top of the tumulus

References

External links

Yao City home page

Yao City Shionjiyama Kofun Site Museum

Yao City Tourist Information
{{in lang, ja History of Osaka Prefecture Yao, Osaka Historic Sites of Japan Zenpokoenfun

Overview

Gallery

See also

References

External links