Eta Funayama Kofun () is a ''

kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Northeast Asia. ''Kofun'' were mainly constructed in the Japanese archipelago between the middle of the 3rd century to the early 7th century CE.岡田裕之「前方後円墳」『日本古代史大辞典� ...

'', 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 ...

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 n ...

. 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 Some of the National Treasures of Japan A is the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs (a special body of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science ...

are now at the Tokyo National Museum (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 J ...

, 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 in the 5th century. This sword, along with other items from the mound, have been designated

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 ...

. 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'' 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