Mozu Kofungun

This is an interactive google map (under construction) showing part of the Mozu Kofungun (百舌鳥古墳) - a group of ancient tombs located in Sakai. The first group, categorized in red color, is the 17 of the total 44 tombs that surround the center tomb, the Daisen Kofun. They consist of various shapes: keyhole-shaped, rounded, and squared. The second group, grouped in blue color, is all the other keyhole-shaped tombs (including scallop-shaped ones) in the Mozu Kofungun.

With their size ranging from several dozen of meters to more than 2 kilometers in extension, walking around the city will easily notice them. All the tombs are numbered in a sequence according to their size. The largest one (1) is the Daisen Kofun.

It is worth noting that, despite the smallest keyhole-shaped tomb is only 25 meters in diameter, the size of all keyhole-shaped tombs are larger than tombs with other shapes. This reflects the fact that the size and the shape of kofun represents the political status of the one who is buried.

This graph shows the positive correlation between the size and the shape of tombs and the authority of the buried

This is the travelling route shown in the video on the left that provides you a brief tour around the Mozu Kofungun

This tour video is created by the Sakai Municipality to promote the Mozu Kofungun as a tourist spot striving to be included on the World Heritage List (see more about the whole campaign here and here). This is an example of how cultural heritage can be used for economic benefits, or even as a political tool. To be inscribed as a World Heritage site is significant that enables the country to show the other "what I have, but you don't", just as the famous Discourses about the Japanese (nihonjinron 日本人論) had long been promoting the uniqueness of Japanese themselves.

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