Artifacts from the Ōmaruyama Kofun The is a 4th century

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 ...

tumulus A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

located in the Nakamichi neighborhood of the city of Kōfu, Yamanashi 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 ...

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 2013.

Overview

The Ōmaruyama Kofun is located on the southeastern edge of the Kōfu Basin on the ridge of a 310 meter mountain which extends to the left bank of the

Fuefuki River is a river located in the Yamanashi Prefecture of Japan. It is a tributary of the Fuji River. Geography The Fuefuki River has its source the neighboring mountains of Mount Kobushi on the southern slope of Mount Kobushi in the north of Yama ...

. The area has a high concentration of Kofun period remains and is located immediately above the Chōshizuka Kofun - Maruyamazuka Kofun. The Ōmaruyama Kofun was discovered in 1920, and is a , which is shaped like a keyhole, having one square end and one circular end, when viewed from above. It has an overall length of 105 meters, and is aligned in along an east-west axis, taking advantage of the natural topography. The posterior circular portion has a diameter 48 meters, and the anterior rectangular portion has a width of 34 meters. No ''

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 ...

'' or ''

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 ...

'' have been found. The site was excavated in 1970 and again in 1976, during which time 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 ...

was uncovered and found to be a peculiar two-tied structure with length of 2.2 meters and width of 0.8 meters. The interior of the

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 ...

was painted in

vermillion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color family and pigment most often used between antiquity and the 19th century from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide). It is synonymous with red orange, which often takes a modern ...

, and contained the remains of two adult men and women along with many burial goods. These included an almost intact set of armor made from iron plates, iron weapons and swords, agricultural implements, three

bronze mirror Bronze mirrors preceded the glass mirrors of today. This type of mirror, sometimes termed a copper mirror, has been found by archaeologists among elite assemblages from various cultures, from Etruscan Italy to Japan. Typically they are round a ...

s, beads and jewelry. One of the bronze mirrors, or ''

Shinju-kyo A is an ancient type of Japanese round bronze mirror decorated with images of gods and animals from Chinese mythology. The obverse side has a polished mirror and the reverse has relief representations of legendary Chinese '' shén'' ( "spirit; g ...

'' was of especial interest, as it was identical to mirrors found at the Uchikoshi Kofun in

Gifu is a Cities of Japan, city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. Durin ...

and the Teradani Chōshizuka Kofun in

Iwata, Shizuoka former Mitsuke School in Iwata is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 169,897 in 68,215 households and a population density was 1,000 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Iwata is ...

. Many of the excavated artifacts are now preserved at the

Tokyo National Museum The or TNM is an art museum in Ueno Park in the Taitō wards of Tokyo, ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the four museums operated by the , is considered the oldest national museum and the largest art museum in Japan. The museum collects, prese ...

References

External links

Kofu city official home page

{{in lang, ja History of Yamanashi Prefecture Kōfu, Yamanashi Historic Sites of Japan Zenpokoenfun

Overview

See also

References

External links