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 ...

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 the Kanbayashi neighborhood of the city of

Sōja file:Bitchu Kokubunji, zenkei.jpg, 270px, Bitchū Kokubun-ji is a Cities of Japan, city located in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 69,428 and a population density of 330 persons per km2. The total area of the ...

Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,826,059 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefecture ...

, in the

San'yō region The San'yō Region (山陽地方 ''San'yō-chihō'') is an area in the south of Honshū, the main island of Japan. It consists of the southern part of the Chūgoku region, facing the Seto Inland Sea. The name ''San'yō'' means "southern, sunny ( ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The tumulus was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1968. It was formerly known as the .

Overview

The Kōmorizuka Kofun is located on a hill in-between the

Bitchū Kokubun-ji Bitchū Kokubun-ji Pagoda (ICP) The is an Omuro-branch Shingon Buddhist temple located in what is now the Kamibayashi neighborhood of the city of Sōja, Japan. Its main image is a statue of Yakushi Nyorai. It claims to be the successor to on ...

temple ruins and the Bitchū Kokubun-niji nunnery ruins. It is a , which is shaped like a keyhole when viewed from above. It is estimated that the tumulus was about 100 meters long and had a posterior circular portion with a diameter of about 55 to 60 meters. The tumulus is constructed in two stages. ''

Fukiishi ( or "roofing stone") were a means of covering burial chambers and Tumulus, 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 consi ...

'' and ''

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 ...

'' have not been confirmed. On the southern side of the posterior portion is a horizontal entry stone

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 ...

constructed of megalithic blocks of

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

. The burial chamber has a total length of about 19.4 meters, which is the third largest size among the confirmed corridor-style stone chambers in Japan. It contains a hollowed-out house-shaped

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

measuring 2.38m long, 1.4m wide, and 1.31m high. The sarcophagus is made of shell

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

quarried at Mount Namigata in

Ibara, Okayama is a city located in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 37,835 in 16,677 households and a population density of 160 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Ibara is located in west-central O ...

.The 1978

archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

found fragments of a tortoise shell-shaped

Haji ware is a type of plain, unglazed, reddish-brown Japanese pottery or earthenware that was produced during the Kofun, Nara, and Heian periods of Japanese history. It was used for both ritual and utilitarian purposes, and many examples have been found ...

coffin and iron nails, indicating that the stone sarcophagus contained both a pottery and a wooden coffin, possibly from multiple burials. Although the tumulus had been robbed in antiquity, some

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

were discovered, including pommels of iron swords with a phoenix design, iron arrowheads, horse trapping and ornaments, such as small glass beads and gold rings. The tumulus is named "Komorizuka" from bats living in the open burial chamber. The name "Kurohimezuka" comes from a legend that this is the tomb of Kurohime, a beautiful woman from the

Kingdom of Kibi was a kingdom of fourth century Western Japan. The Kingdom of Kibi covered most of what is today Okayama Prefecture. Today, the Kibi Road crosses the plain between Okayama and Soja, what was once the heartland of ''Kibi no kuni''. Etymology In Ja ...

who was favored by

Emperor Nintoku , also known as was the 16th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Due to his reputation for goodness derived from depictions in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, he is sometimes referred to as the . While his existence ...

. However, as the tumulus was built in the latter half of the 6th century, and the reign of Emperor Nintoku is said to be in the 4th century, the dates do not match the legend. Koumorizuka Kofun, zenkei.jpg, Panoramic view File:Koumoridzuka Kofun 05.jpg, Anterior rectangular portion File:Koumoridzuka Kofun 07.jpg, Posterior circular portion File:Koumorizuka Kofun, sekishitsu-1.jpg, Entry File:Koumorizuka Kofun, sekishitsu-2.jpg, Passage File:Koumorizuka Kofun, sekishitsu-3.jpg, Inside the burial chamber

References

External links

Sōja city home page
{in lang, ja History of Okayama Prefecture Sōja, Okayama Historic Sites of Japan Zenpokoenfun

Overview

See also

References

External links