is a group of

Yayoi period The Yayoi period (弥生時代, ''Yayoi jidai'') (c. 300 BC – 300 AD) is one of the major historical periods of the Japanese archipelago. It is generally defined as the era between the beginning of food production in Japan and the emergence o ...

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 Shijukan and Mukaeda neighborhoods of the city of

Miyoshi, Hiroshima 270px, Panorama of central Miyoshi 270px, Aerial photo of central Miyoshi is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 49,106 in 23154 households and a population density of 63 persons per km2. The ...

in the

San'yō region The San'yō Region (山陽地方 ''San'yō-chihō'') is an area in the south of Honshū, the main island of Japan. It consists of the southern part of the Chūgoku region, facing the Seto Inland Sea. The name ''San'yō'' means "southern, sunny ( ...

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 collectively designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 2000.

Overview

Jinyama Tumulus Cluster consists of five burial mounds built from the top to the east side of a hill. The style of construction is known as , which is square or rectangular, with protrusions on each of its four corners. The slopes of the burial mounds are lined with stones. This style is unique to the late middle Yayoi period (1st century AD), and is most prevalent in western Japan in areas influenced by the Izumo culture. Each of the five tumuli are approximately 40 meters long from north-to-south and about 8 meters wide from east-to-west. Tumuli No. 2 to No. 5 are arranged regularly within the same area, but Tumulus No. 1 was built under the embankment of Tumulus No. 2 and has a different main orientation from the other tumuli. Based on the Shiomachi-style

Yayoi pottery Yayoi pottery (弥生土器 Yayoi doki) is earthenware pottery produced during the Yayoi period, an Iron Age era in the history of Japan traditionally dated 300 BC to AD 300. The pottery allowed for the identification of the Yayoi period and ...

, which is an indicator of the late middle Yayoi period (1st century), unearthed from each of the tombs, it is believed that these tombs were built for a limited period of time. The site is about 11 minutes by car from Miyoshi Station on the

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

Geibi Line.

References

External links

Miyoshi City home page
{in lang, ja History of Hiroshima Prefecture Miyoshi, Hiroshima Historic Sites of Japan Yayoi period

Overview

See also

References

External links