Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)
Nomi Kofun Cluster
DatedEst. 4000–1200 BCE
Photo 名古屋太郎 · CC BY-SA 3.0Source file on Wikimedia Commons
Overview
About this site
Overview
The Nomi Kofun Cluster (能美古墳群) consists of five groups of kofun burial mounds in Terai, Ishikawa (now part of the city of Nomi, Ishikawa), in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Two of the groups were collectively designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1975, the Akitsuneyama Kofun Cluster was added in 1998 and expanded in 2000, and the Teraiyama and Nishiyama clusters were added in 2013.
The cluster comprises a total of 62 kofun scattered in the plains of Nomi city, from the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD.
Read on Wikipedia3 min readCC BY-SA 4.0
Where it sits in time
The site's dated range, placed against world reference points.
The scale is logarithmic: each step to the left is about ten times older than the last.
Article
Nomi Kofun Cluster
A large number of grave goods have been recovered from various of the tumuli, including six bell-mirrors, bronze weapons, armor and horse fittings, as well as Sue ware pottery.
DescriptionSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Nomi Kofun ClusterCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Nomi Kofun ClusterCC BY-SA 4.0
The tumuli are of various shapes and sizes and include two keyhole-shaped tombs (zenpō-kōen-fun, 前方後円墳), which have one square end and one circular end when viewed from above. A large number of grave goods have been recovered from various of the tumuli, including six bell-mirrors, bronze weapons, armor and horse fittings, as well as Sue ware pottery.
ArchaeologySources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Nomi Kofun ClusterCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Nomi Kofun ClusterCC BY-SA 4.0
The Akitsuneyama site consists of two kofun, on a slight elevation above the plain of the Tedori River, within view of the Sea of Japan. Kofun No.1 is a keyhole-shaped tumulus built at the end of the early Kofun period in the 4th century AD. With a length of 141 meters, it is the largest ancient tomb in the Hokuriku region. It lay within the grounds of the Aritsune Hachiman Shrine and was considered a natural hill covered by dense trees; it was not discovered until 1984, and for that reason was spared from pillaging. When the trees were cleared away it was found to have a three-trier structure. The bottom trier had a length of 141 meters, with a 108-meter circular portion, a 67 meter wide rectangular portion and a height of 19 meters. The middle trier had a length of 121.5 meters, with a 90.5 meter circular portion, a 46.5 meter wide rectangular portion and a height of 16 meters. The third trier was on the circular portion only, extending its height by 4 meters. A protrusion on the east side, measuring 8 by 16 meters, extends out from the second trier. The entire kofun was covered with fukiishi.
The interior of Kofun No.1 has not been excavated, but ground penetrating radar confirmed a burial chamber containing a wooden sarcophagus exceeding 8 meters in length, with metallic grave goods. The radar also indicated the possibility of a second burial chamber in the vicinity of the anterior part mound top and neck.
Kofun No.2 is a square tumulus (hōfun, 方墳) dating from the middle of the middle Kofun period. It was excavated in 2001 and has dimensions of 32.5 meters by 27 meters, with a maximum height of 5.4 meters. Much of it had been destroyed by farmers for dirt. Numerous haniwa and grave goods were excavated, including beads and fragments of swords and other metal objects.
Later historySources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Nomi Kofun ClusterCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Nomi Kofun ClusterCC BY-SA 4.0
The Akitsuneyama site was severely damaged by locals, who pillaged the ancient tombs for iron artifacts. These were given to the authorities to be melted down as part of the war effort.
ContextSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Nomi Kofun ClusterCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Nomi Kofun ClusterCC BY-SA 4.0
Kofun are the great burial mounds of ancient Japan, built mainly between the middle of the third century and the early seventh century CE. 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.
Tradition and region
About this kind of monument
Japanese kofun tumuli
Kofun are the great burial mounds of ancient Japan, built mainly between the middle of the third century and the early seventh century CE. The period takes its name from them. The most distinctive form is the keyhole-shaped mound (zempō-kōen-fun), with one square end and one round end seen from above, but there are also plain round mounds, double-rectangle mounds and square mounds. Orientation is not fixed: in the Mozu group at Sakai, some round parts face north and others east.
The largest is Daisenryō kofun at Sakai in Osaka, the biggest kofun in Japan, thought to have been built over some twenty years in the middle of the fifth century. By common acceptance it is the tomb of Emperor Nintoku, and the Imperial Household Agency treats it as such, but this cannot be confirmed because the mound has not been excavated. It stands in the Mozu group, which once had more than a hundred tombs of which fewer than half remain; the group and the neighbouring Furuichi cluster were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2019. The mounds were built on a plateau overlooking Osaka Bay, near the ancient coastline.
Dating rests on mound shape, pottery and grave goods. Haniwa, which means "clay circle", are terracotta cylinders and figures of houses, animals and people that were arranged in rings and rows around and on top of the mounds. Smaller kofun are very numerous and sit in groups in every region of Japan.
When visiting, look for the moat that surrounds the larger mounds, for the stepped outline of terraces, and for reconstructed haniwa in museums and parks beside the tombs.
Paraphrased from Wikipedia: Kofun, Wikipedia: Daisen Kofun, Wikipedia: Haniwa, Wikipedia: Mozu Tombs · CC BY-SA 4.0
From the article
Dated moments in the story
- 1975
Two of these kofun clusters were collectively designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1975, with the Akitsuneyama Kofun Cluster added in 1998 and expanded in 2000, and the Teraiyama and Nishiyama clusters added in 2013.
Source - 1984
However, Kofun No.1 was spared from pillaging despite its huge size, as it was not discovered until 1984. It was located within the grounds of the Aritsune Hachiman Shrine, and was considered a natural hill covered by a dense growth of trees.
Source - 2001
Kofun No.2 was excavated in 2001. It had dimensions of 32.5 meters by 27 meters, with a maximum height of 5.4 meters.
Source
See it in 3D
An interpretive reconstruction of the monument, standing on the real ground at its exact point, under the sun for that place and season. Drag to look around it.
The reconstruction is ours, not a survey: it shows what a monument of this type looks like, at the size the record gives for this one.
Photographs
1 photograph, each with its author and licence
Lore
Evidence & Lore
What the sources actually support — and, kept apart, what has been claimed.
What the evidence supports
Dates
Est. 4000–1200 BCEHow this date was established: Type comparisonTypological estimate, not a date for this site: a megalithic mound in Japan is normally dated between 4000 BCE and 1200 BCE (Atlas typological table).Source for this date
Measured facts
- Number of groups
- Five groups of kofun burial moundsSource: Number of groups
- Location
- Terai, Ishikawa, now part of Nomi, Ishikawa, Hokuriku region, JapanSource: Location
- National Historic Site additions
- Two clusters in 1975; Akitsuneyama in 1998 and 2000; Teraiyama and Nishiyama in 2013Source: National Historic Site additions
Where it stands
Japan
The pin marks the monument itself — its exact point.
- Coordinates
- 36°26′50″ N, 136°30′34″ EFor a GPS or map app: 36.44722, 136.50944
Access is as our sources describe it; we have not visited the site to check.
Nearby
The closest sites in the Atlas, by straight line.
Akitsuneyama Kofun Cluster4000–1200 BCE- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)田地古墳250–650 CE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Nagasaka Futagozuka Kofun250–650 CE
- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Kitsuneyama Kofun4000–1200 BCE
Hōōzan Cave Tombs4000–1200 BCE
Kunugi Kofun250–650 CE
Rokuroseyama Kofun Cluster4000–1200 BCE
Matsuoka Kofun Cluster4000–1200 BCE
Sources
Every record behind this page, with the link it came from.
2 sources behind this page
- 01Wikidata Q105562368wikidata.org
- 02Wikipedia (en)en.wikipedia.org
Image files
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Around this place
The ten nearest sites, by compass
Credit
Text, licence and sources
Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Nomi Kofun Cluster" (English), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; authors are listed in the page history. Reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikipedia · Edit history and authors
- Wikipedia (English): Nomi Kofun ClusterCC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikidata Q105562368CC0