270px, inside the Mori-Shōgunzuka Kofun The is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

containing three keyhole-shaped burial tumulii from the

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 ...

located in what is now part of the cities of Chikuma and Nagano,

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

, 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 site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1971. The site includes the , , , and . In addition to the four large tombs which have National Historic Site protection, the surrounding area has many smaller ''kofun'' dating from the late fourth to early sixth centuries indicating that this was a center for the pre-Yamato Shinano kingdom. At the base of the hill containing the Mori Shōgunzuka Kofun is the an

archaeological park An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and ...

containing faux reconstructions of

pit dwelling A pit-house (or pit house, pithouse) is a house built in the ground and used for shelter. Besides providing shelter from the most extreme of weather conditions, this type of earth shelter may also be used to store food (just like a pantry, a lar ...

s and raised floor dwellings. It is about 25 minutes on foot from Yashiro Station on the Shinano Railway.

Mori-Shōgunzuka Kofun

The Mori-Shōgunzuka Kofun is located on a ridge of Mount Ariake at an elevation of 490 meters on the right bank of the

Chikuma River The , known as the in its upper reaches, is the longest and widest river in Japan and the third largest by basin area (behind the Tone River and Ishikari River). It is located in northeastern Honshu, rising in the Japanese Alps and flowing g ...

, which flows through the southern part of the Nagano Basin in what is now part of Chikuma city. It is the larges (which is shaped like a keyhole, having one square end and one circular end, when viewed from above) in Nagano Prefecture with a total length of over 100 meters. However, it is not bilaterally symmetrical due to being built on a curved ridge with a height of 130-140 meters, and the posterior circular portion is nearly elliptical. The tumulus was once covered ''

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, and had many cylindrical ''

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 ...

''. The anterior portion has a length of 40 meters and width of approximately 30 meters, with a height of four meters. The posterior circle has a diameter of 45 meters and height of four meters. From the style, it was constructed at the end of the fourth century AD, and is assumed to be the tomb of a local king prior to the establishment of

Shinano Province or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture. Shinano bordered Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces. The ancient capital was located near modern-day Matsumoto, whi ...

. The mound contains a double stone walled

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 ...

, 7.6 meters wide, with a height of 2.3 meters. This is the largest burial chamber in eastern Japan, but the tomb was robbed in antiquity. Remaining

grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are items buried along with a body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into an afterlife, or offerings to gods. Grave goods may be classed by researche ...

include broken

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 indicating a connection with the

imperial dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

and numerous pottery shards which also indicate a connection with the

Kansai region The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropol ...

. Other artifacts included swords, spears, iron agricultural implements, jade jewelry and other items. On the outside periphery of the tomb were over 13 smaller () ''kofun'' and over 76 smaller graves from the latter half of the fifth century to the end of the sixth century. The ''kofun'' was extensively reconstructed from 1981 to 1992 to restore to what archaeologists consider to be its original appearance, complete with ''fukiishi'' and ''haniwa''. The interior is open to the public, and many of the artifacts discovered are on display at the located at site.

Ariakiyama Shōgunzuka Kofun

The Ariakeyama-Shōgunzuka Kofun is located on the same ridge as the Mori-Shōgunzuka Kofun, but was much smaller, with a length of 37 meters. It dated from the end of the fifth century to the early sixth century, and has also been robbed in antiquity. Some small bronze mirrors, pottery shards and beads have been found. It was backfilled after a complete excavation survey in 1999, and no trace of it remains today.

Kurashina Shōgunzuka Kofun

The Kurashina-Shōgunzuka Kofun is the third largest ''kofun'' in Nagano Prefecture, with a length of 83 meters. It has a vertical pit-type burial chamber in the posterior circular portion and a box-type sarcophagus in the anterior rectangular portion. Although it was robbed in antiquity, a fragment of a triangular plate of leather-bound armor was found in the ruins of the burial chamber, indicating that it was built later than the Mori-Shōgunzuka Kofun and the Ariakeyama-Shōgunzuka Kofun in the first half of the 5th century. It was partially demolished to provide building materials for the early Washio Castle in the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

. It is not open to the public.

Doguchi Shōgunzuka Kofun

The Doguchi-Shōgunzuka Kofun is contemporary with the Kurashina-Shōgunzuka Kofun, dating from the mid-Kofun period. It has a length of 67.7 meters, and is located on the border between the cities of Nagano and Chikuma. It was excavated from 1982 to 1986 and was found to also have two burial chambers, which were side-by-side in the posterior circular portion. It had been robbed in antiquity, but fragments of armor, pottery and glass beads were found.

Gallery

Mori-shogunzuka-kofun sekishitsu (inside).JPG, Mori-Shōgunzuka Kofun Burial Chamber reconstruction Shogunzuka IMG 20161013 100138.jpg, Mori-Shōgunzuka Kofun with ''haniwa'' Shogunzuka IMG 20161013 102106.jpg, Haniwa Shogunzuka IMG 20161013 093555.jpg, Grave goods

References

External links

Nagano Museum guide

Chikuma City official website

{in lang, ja History of Nagano Prefecture Chikuma, Nagano Nagano (city) Historic Sites of Japan Tourist attractions in Nagano Prefecture Museums in Nagano Prefecture Kofun clusters