Imperial Household Agency: Sugawara-no-Fushimi-no-Higashi-no-Misasagi (Mausoleum of Emperor Suinin)
Location
Nara
Shape
Keyhole-shaped mound
Mound length
227 m
Period
End of 4th–beginning of 5th c.
Designation
IHA-managed tomb
IHA designation
Managed by the IHA (mound closed to the public)
Overview
A large keyhole mound sometimes included in the Saki Kofun Group. It is about 227m long (about 230m in the Nara City cultural-property guide) and dated to the end of the Early Kofun to the beginning of the Middle Kofun period.
Finds & research
A chest-shaped sarcophagus is inferred from observations during late-Edo-period looting. Of six surrounding features described as satellite tombs, some may not be kofun.
Official status & archaeological view
Official status
The Imperial Household Agency designates and manages it as Sugawara-no-Fushimi-no-Higashi Mausoleum of Emperor Suinin, the 11th emperor, and classifies it as a keyhole mound.
Attribution (jitei): the Imperial Household Agency's determination of whose tomb it manages — separate from heritage designation.
Archaeological view
An approximately 227m (some guides give 230m), three-tiered keyhole mound with a water-filled moat at Amagatsuji Nishimachi, Nara. Nara City dates it to the end of the Early Kofun to the beginning of the Middle Kofun period, from the end of the 4th to the beginning of the 5th century. The occupant has not been archaeologically verified.
Field notes
The Imperial Household Agency gives access as about an eight-minute walk from the Amagatsuji Station bus stop. Worship is generally 8:30–17:00. The goryoin (mausoleum seal) is kept at the Unebi Mausolea Office in Kashihara, Nara, where visitors can use it free of charge (reception 8:30–17:00; staff may be unavailable on weekends, holidays, 29 Dec–3 Jan and some other days).