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Ancient tombs (Kofun 古墳) are large artificial mound tombs built during the Kofun Period of Japanese history which covers 250 to 538 CE. The period is characterized by the massive construction of kofun, and this is how the name of the period is given.
For Kofun period, watch from 3:15
This video briefly introduces the three earliest historical eras of Japanese history. They are related as they show a progress of prosperity from the development of a class society to the emergence of the Yamato state.
This video briefly introduces the three earliest historical eras of Japanese history. They are related as they show a progress of prosperity from the development of a class society to the emergence of the Yamato state.
Kofun are build for deceased members of the ruling elite during the period. Ranging in size from several dozens of meters to more than two kilometers in extension, these tombs are the greatest source of information showing us the social and political organization, and also material culture of the Kofun period (Lee, 2014).
The largest of all kofun is the Daisen Kofun in Sakai.
The largest of all kofun is the Daisen Kofun in Sakai.
It is a keyhole-shaped tomb (zenpō kōenfun 前方後円墳) which is considered to be a distinctive feature of kofun. This shape, a round component constituted with a trapezoidal component, shows the highest prestige and power of the buried.
The Daisen Kofun covers an area of 470,000-sq-meter and is at 486 meters long and with a 35 meters high mound.
Now the tomb is covered by trees and seems to be a dense forest with a moat in-between the inner and the outer part of the tomb as it has been off-limit to prevent further damage from natural disasters since the typhoon in 1872 (Magli, 2009). This is also the reason why no one actually knows who is being buried in the tomb, and here is where the controversy starts.
The Torii gate at Daisen Kofun - the furthest point where visitors can approach to the tomb
An aerial photo of the Daisen Kofun
A miniature model of the Daisen Kofun displayed at the Sakai City Museum
Now you have an basic understanding of the Kofun period and the largest keyhole-shaped tomb - the Daisen Kofun. It is time to dig deeper into the serious topic.
Scholarly References
- Giulio Magli, Mysteries and Discoveries of Archaeoastronomy: From Giza to Easter Island (Springer New York, 2009).
- Dennis Hyun-Seung Lee, Keyhole-shaped Tombs and Unspoken Frontiers: Exploring the Borderlands of Early Korean-Japanese Relations in the 5th -6th Centuries (ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2014).
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