Azuma Kofun
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 on the border of the town of Mibu, Shimotsuga District, and the city of Tochigi in
Tochigi Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,897,649 (1 June 2023) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi ...
in the northern
Kantō region The is a geography, geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefe ...
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 ...
. It received protection as a National Historic Site in 1970.


Overview

The Azuma Kofun is located on a narrow plateau between the Ogawa and Sugata rivers, which run north and south through the northern
Kantō Plain The , in the Kantō region of central Honshu, is the largest plain in Japan. Its 17,000 km2 covers more than half of the region extending over Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Tochigi Prefe ...
. As a result of 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 ...
from 2007 to 2010, it was determined that the tumulus is a built in two tiers. The lower tier (base) is wide, and with a total length of about 128 meters was found to be the largest in the prefecture. The second tier is about 86 meters long with a height of about 10 meters. The two-tiered mound is set on a base of similar shape, and is surrounded by a moat with a width of about 20 meters and a depth of about three meters.
Pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of extremely vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicula ...
deposits from the 1108 AD eruption of
Mount Asama is an active complex volcano in central Honshū, the main island of Japan. The volcano is the most active on Honshū. The Japan Meteorological Agency classifies Mount Asama as rank A. It stands above sea level on the border of Gunma prefecture ...
were confirmed from the soil filling the moat. The burial facility is a horizontal hole type stone chamber with dimensions of 2.4 meters long x 1.7 meters wide x 2.0 meters high; however, during the
Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
, the front part of the rectangular portion of the tumulus was destroyed, and the entrance stone and one of the ceiling stones were removed by the ''
daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...
'' of
Mibu Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Tsuga District of Shimotsuke Province (modern-day Tochigi Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Mibu Castle in what is now part of the town of Mibu, To ...
for use as ornamental stones in the gardens of Mibu Castle, where they can still be seen. The entrance stone was of cut
tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...
with a rectangular opening for a door, whereas the ceiling stone (and remaining stones in the walls and remaining ceiling of the burial chamber) are of monolithic
diorite Diorite ( ) is an intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is Intermediate composition, inter ...
. Red pigment was applied to the walls of the burial chamber, which was backfilled for preservation after the 2010 excavation. The surface of the tumulus is covered with ''
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 ...
'' stones. Fragments of cylindrical and house-shaped ''
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 recovered. The tumulus is a representative example of a ''kofun'' of the late Kofun period, from around the latter half of the 6th century. Recovered artifacts, including small objects of gold and copper found in the burial chamber, are on display at the Shimotsuke Fudoki-ga-oka Museum at site, which is located approximately eight minutes by car from Mibu Station on the
Tōbu Railway is a Japanese commuter railway and '' keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second lon ...
Tōbu Utsunomiya Line.


Gallery

Azuma Kofun genmon.JPG, Entrance monolith to Azuma Kofun now relocated to Mibu Castle Azuma Kofun tenjou.JPG, Ceiling monolith to Azuma Kofun now relocated to Mibu Castle


See also

*
List of Historic Sites of Japan (Tochigi) This list is of the Monuments of Japan, Historic Sites of Japan located within the Prefectures of Japan, Prefecture of Tochigi Prefecture, Tochigi. National Historic Sites As of 24 June 2024, thirty-nine Sites have been Cultural Properties of Ja ...


References


External links


Tochigi Tourist Information


{{in lang, ja History of Tochigi Prefecture Mibu, Tochigi Tochigi, Tochigi Historic Sites of Japan Shimotsuke Province Zenpō-kōhō-fun