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 ...
''
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 Yamahigashi neighborhood of
Tenryū-ku, Hamamatsu,
Shizuoka Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...
in the
Chūbu region
The , Central region, or is a region in the middle of Honshū, Japan's main island. In a wide, classical definition, it encompasses nine prefectures (''ken''): Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama, and Ya ...
of
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 2020.
Overview
The Kōmyōsan Kofun is a , which is shaped like a keyhole, having one square end and one circular end, when viewed from above. It is located at the tip of a tongue-shaped hill of the
Tenryū River
The is a river in central Honshū, Japan. With a length of , it is Japan's ninth longest river.
Its source is Lake Suwa in the Kiso Mountains near Okaya in Nagano Prefecture. It then flows through Aichi Prefecture and western Shizuoka Prefec ...
plain in western Shizuoka prefecture, and is one a group of several tumuli. The cluster is named for Kōmyō-ji, a
Buddhist temple
A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...
in the vicinity.
The tumulus was discovered in 1939, and was made a Shizuoka Prefectural Historic Site in 1955. An
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 ...
was conducted from 2017 to 2018. The tumulus is orientated to the south, and has an overall length of 83 meters, making it the largest in Hamamatsu City. The anterior circular portion has a diameter of 45 meters and a height of 7.5 meters and is constructed in two tiers. ''
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 been found on the surface of the mound, and the tumulus's unusual in that ''the fukiishi'' on the north side of the posterior circular portion remained in almost perfect condition with a height of about 6.8 meters from the base to the top of the mound. 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 ...
remains undiscovered, as the main body of the mound was not excavated. The construction period is estimated to be around the middle of the 5th century, or the middle of the Kofun period based on the shape of the mound and the characteristics of the ''haniwa''.
This is the only known ''zenpō-kōen-fun'' in the Tenryū region. The Akiba Kaidō, an ancient highway connecting southern
Tōtōmi with
Shinano and inland reaches of
Mikawa runs immediately adjacent to the tumulus. The design of the mound is common to that of the
Kinki region
The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metrop ...
of Japan, an dit is assumed to be the tomb of a local king who controlled this transportation route, and who had some connection with the
Yamato Kingdom.
The tumulus is located a ten-minute walk from the "Kōmyōguchi" bus stop on the Entetsu Bus from
Hamamatsu Station
is a railway station on the Tōkaidō Main Line and the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan, operated by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). The local Enshū Railway Line terminus of Shin-Hamamatsu Station is 3 minu ...
.
The Kōmyōsan No.2 Kofun located to the south was am -style circular tumulus with a diameter of 33 meters, but it has now been destroyed.
Gallery
File:Komyosan Kofun, funkyu-2.jpg, Anterior rectangular portion to right, posterior circular portion to left
File:Komyosan Kofun, kouenbu-1.jpg, Posterior circular portion
:File:光明山古墳出土 円筒埴輪・朝顔形埴輪.JPG, ''Haniwa'' from the Kōmyōsan Kofun
File:Komyosan Kofun, kouenbu-2.jpg, ''Fukiishi'' in situ
See also
*
List of Historic Sites of Japan (Shizuoka)
References
External links
Hamamtsu city official home page{{in lang, ja
History of Shizuoka Prefecture
Hamamatsu
Historic Sites of Japan
Zenpokoenfun