Atagozuka Kofun

Atagozuka Kofun is a mounded tomb in the Kodachi area of Yao, Osaka, Japan. It is a round burial mound 22.5 meters in diameter and 9 meters tall. It was constructed in the late sixth century, during the Asuka period. The catalogue places kofun of this kind between 250 and 650 CE.

It is described as the largest scallop-shaped burial mound, a kind of kofun, although the mound itself is round. Little else is recorded about the structure, such as a burial chamber or the stones used, so those details are not known.

In the late sixth century the tomb served as a grave and received additional burials. After that it continued to exist for some 200 years as a sacred place.

The tomb was reused after the Heian period. Excavations produced two pieces of sueki, an unglazed ware, of the early Heian period, as well as black pottery, unglazed pottery, Hagi plates and hagama, a kind of kama with a wing, from the middle and later Heian and Kamakura periods.

An excavated five-ring pagoda and human bones of the Muromachi period show that the ancient tomb was used for additional burials in the medieval period as well. In this way the mound passed from a tomb to a sacred place and then to a burial ground again over many centuries.

Kofun are the great burial mounds of ancient Japan, built mainly between the middle of the third century and the early seventh century CE, and the period takes its name from them. The most distinctive form is the keyhole-shaped mound, with one square end and one round end seen from above, but there are also plain round mounds, double-rectangle mounds and square mounds.

Atagozuka-kofun existed as a grave in the late 6th century and hosted additional burials. After that it also existed as a sacred place for some 200 years. The tomb was reused after the Heian period as shown by the excavation of two pieces of sueki (unglazed ware) of the early Heian period and also of black pottery, unglazed pottery, Hagi plates and hagama (kama with wing) of the middle and later Heian and Kamakura periods. An excavated five-ring pagoda and human bones of the Muromachi period show that this ancient tomb was used for additional burials in the medieval period.