The is the name for four groups of

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 ...

s located in the Nitta neighborhood of the town of Shintomi and the Umatsu neighborhood of the city of Saito,

Miyazaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,028,215 as of 1 January 2025 and has a geographic area of 7,735 Square kilometre, km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefectur ...

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

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 group was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1944.

Background

The Nyūtabaru Plateau is at an elevation of about 70 meters on the left bank of the Hitotsuse River that flows southeast from Hitotsuse Dam through Saito City and into the

Hyūga Sea The Hyūga Nada () is the part of the Pacific Ocean that lies off the eastern shore of the island of Kyushu, to the south-west of the island of Honshu, off the south coast of Japan. Its name is derived from the former province of Hyūga, which co ...

. The plateau contains 207 known burial mounds of various sizes and types. These are divided into four groups based on their distribution and construction period, and from the east to west are name the Tsukahara Kofun Cluster, Ishifune Kofun Cluster, Yamanobo Kofun Cluster, and Gionbara Kofun Cluster. The Gionbara group, where the ''kofun'' are most concentrated, consists of 139 -style round tumuli, 14 keyhole-shaped , one square -style tumulus, and one tumulus of unknown shape. One of the '' zenpō-kōen-fun'', the Mukadezuka Kofun (Nyūtabaru No.58) has a length of 80 meters, and had one 1000 ''

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 ...

'', and of unique designs not found in other burial mounds. It is thought to have been built in the 6th century (late Kofun period). The area is approximately 15 minutes by car from

Hyūga-Shintomi Station is a passenger railway station located in the town of Shintomi, Miyazaki, Japan. It is operated by JR Kyushu and is on the Nippō Main Line. Lines The station is served by the Nippō Main Line and is located 320.0 km from the starting poin ...

on the

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...

Nippō Main Line The is a railway line in Kyushu, in southern Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). Also known as the Fukuhoku Nippo Line, The line connects Kokura Station in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima, Kagoshima, K ...

References

External links

Miyazaki Prefecture hone page
{in lang, ja Archaeological sites in Japan Kofun period Saito, Miyazaki Shintomi, Miyazaki Historic Sites of Japan Kofun clusters

Background

See also

References

External links