Shizuhatagayama Kofun

Shizuhatayama Kofun (賤機山古墳) is a dome-shaped kofun burial mound located within the grounds of the Shizuoka Sengen Shrine complex in Aoi-ku, Shizuoka, Japan. in the Tōkai region of Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1953.[1]

Shizuhatayama Kofun
賤機山古墳
Interior of the Shizuhatayama Kofun
Shizuhatayama Kofun
Shizuhatagayama Kofun (Japan)
LocationAoi-ku, Shizuoka, Japan
RegionTōkai region
Coordinates34°58′58.3″N 138°22′29.9″E
Typekofun
History
Founded6th century AD
PeriodsKofun
Site notes
OwnershipNational Historic Site
Public accessYes
exterior

Overview

The Shizuhatayama Kofun is located on a 50-meter hilltop immediately behind the Honden of the Ohtoshimioya Shrine within the Shizuoka Sengen Jinta complex. Its existence has been known since ancient times and Edo period documents indicate that the burial chamber was exposed after a tree fell in a storm during the Tenmei or Bunsei era. The first modern survey was conducted in 1955, at which time the structure of tumulus was found to consist of a stone dome, approximately 32 meters in diameter and seven meters in height. Within is a horizontal chamber of cut stones with a length of 6.5 meters, height of 2.3 meters and width of 1.8 meters. A rock-lined tunnel 18.2 meters long connects the burial chamber to an opening in the hillside. Some 600 head-sized boulders from the nearby Abe River were used in its construction.

The burial chamber contains a stone sarcophagus made of tuff from Izu peninsula. Although pillaged in pre-modern times, the burial chamber was found to contain numerous shards of Hagi ware and Sue ware, and remnants of armor, swords and bronze horse fittings were found within the sarcophagus, indicating that the burial dates from around the 6th century AD. The name or rank of the person buried in the tomb is unknown and no human remains were discovered. The site came under government protection in 1953, and many of the artifacts uncovered are displayed at a small museum within the grounds of the Shizuoka Sengen Shrine.

See also

References
  1. "賤機山古墳" [Shizuhatayama kofun] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs.
  • Goto, Ken’Ichi. The Breakup and Unification of Regional Distribution, as Seen in Sue Ware Recovered from Kofun: An Example using Sue from Sixth and Seventh Century Tombs of Western Suruga. NIHON KÔKOGAKU. No. 9, May 2000, 149p; ISSN 1340-8488, ISBN 4-642-08979-9
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