Hiruiōzuka Kofun

Hiruiōzuka Kofun

昼飯大塚古墳
Hiruiōzuka Kofun
Hiruiōzuka Kofun Hiruiōzuka Kofun (Japan)
Location	Ōgaki, Gifu, Japan
Region	Chubu region
Coordinates	35°23′14″N 136°34′17″E
Type	kofun
History
Founded	late 5th to early 6th century AD
Periods	Kofun
Site notes
Ownership	National Historic Site
Public access	Yes

Hiruiōzuka Kofun (昼飯大塚古墳, Hiruiōzuka Kofun) is a kofun burial mound located in what is now part of the city of Ōgaki, Gifu in the Chubu region of Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 2000.

Overview

The Hiruiōzuka Kofun is the largest keyhole-shaped tumuli in Gifu Prefecture and dates from the mid-4th century. The mound is a three-tiered structure, and found to contain three separate burial chambers, one with a stone sarcophagus in the north, one with a clay sarcophagus in the south and one with a wooden coffin in the west. The bottom tier of the structure and its surrounding moat is now underground due to generations of agricultural activity in the area. The site is also being encroached upon by residential housing developments. The kofun was first excavated in 1980 by Nagoya University. The stone sarcophagus had been looted in the Meiji period, and the clay sarcophagus was not excavated. The wooden coffin was found to contain iron and steel swords and tools made from iron, along with jade balls, glass ornaments and pottery fragments on the outside. The inside of the coffin was not excavated. Haniwa recovered from the site was in various forms, including cylindrical-shaped haniwa, and haniwa in the shape of houses, human figures and in the form of tools and shields.

The kofun has been restored to what archaeologists believe to be its original appearance, covered in fukiishi with haniwa and a moat.

• Total length: 150 meters
• Circular portion diameter: 99 meters
• Height: 13 meters

See also

• List of Historic Sites of Japan (Gifu)

External links

Media related to Hirui Otsuka Kofun at Wikimedia Commons

• Ogaki city home page (in Japanese)