is a group 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 mounds A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of earth and 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 throughout much of the world. ...

located in the cities of

Fujiidera 270px, The temple of Fujii-dera, after which the city is named is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 63,446 in 29501 households and a population density of 7100 persons per km². The total area of ...

and

Habikino 270px, Habikino city office is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 109,479 in 50918 households and a population density of 4100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . The city is known fo ...

Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nara ...

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 ...

. Twelve of the tumuli in this group were individually designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1956, with an additional 14 collectively added to the designation in 2001, and the area under protection expanded in 2018.

Overview

The Furuichi Kofun Cluster extends over an area of 2.5 kilometers north-to-south by four kilometers east-to-west, covering plateaus and hill with an average elevation of 24 meters above sea level. These tumuli were built between the late 4th and the mid-sixth century AD. Twenty-seven, including many of the larger tumuli, are under the control of the

Imperial Household Agency The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family, and the keeping of the Privy Seal of Japan, Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century ...

and are classified as "imperial tombs", for which

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 ...

has been prohibited. In 2010 the Furuichi kofungun cluster of tumuli, along with those of

Mozu kofungun The are a group of ''kofun'' ()—megalithic tombs—in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Originally consisting of more than 100 tombs, fewer than 50% of the key-hole, round, and rectangular tombs remain. The , the largest ''kofun'' in Japan, is ...

, were proposed for inscription on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

. On 6 July 2019, Mozu-Furuichi

Kofun are megalithic tombs or tumulus, tumuli in Northeast Asia. ''Kofun'' were mainly constructed in the Japanese archipelago between the middle of the 3rd century to the early 7th century AD.岡田裕之「前方後円墳」『日本古代史大辞 ...

Group was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under Criteria: (iii), (iv).

Decline of The Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group

After the Ichinoyama Kofun, the era of grand tomb groups began to decline. Though a few large tombs were still erected, like the , the frequency and size began to diminish. The Kawachi Otsukayama Kofun is an outlier, situated between the Mozu and Furuichi Kofun Groups, was built, measuring a staggering 355 meters in length. Its construction during this period remains a mystery, calling for further research and analysis. As the Furuichi Kofun Group progressed past its prime, the center of tomb construction transitioned to locations such as Shinagadani (also referred to as Kawachi-Asuka), near present-day Taishi Town. The primary locus for tombs in the Kawachi region shifted from Mozu and Furuichi to areas like Shinaga.

Types

* ("keyhole-shaped) : formerly 31, 26 survive * ("circular"): formerly 30, 5 survive * ("square"): formerly 48, 22 survive *indeterminate: formerly 14, 34 survive Total: formerly 123, 87 survive

Gallery

File:Kondagobyoyama Kofun air.jpg, Kondagobyoyama Kofun File:墓山古墳と陪塚.jpg, Hakayama Kofun File:Oka Misanzai Kofun, zenkei-2.jpg, , alt= File:Karusato Otsuka Kofun, funkyu.jpg, Karusato Otsuka Kofun The

is located about 10 kilometers to the west. It can be said that it was. The Furuichi Kofun group is seven to fifteen minutes on foot from Domyoji Station or Furuichi Station on the

Kintetsu Railway , referred to as and officially Kinki-Nippon Railway, is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railw ...

References

External links