Imperial Household Agency: Mausoleum of Empress Jingu
Location
Nara
Shape
Keyhole-shaped mound
Mound length
267 m
Period
Late–end of 4th c.
Designation
IHA-managed tomb
IHA designation
Managed by the IHA (mound closed to the public)
Overview
A representative giant keyhole mound of the Saki group.
Finds & research
Surveys of the maintenance-work areas and of the mound exterior reported stone cladding, three tiers on the front section and four on the rear circle, and cylindrical, morning-glory-shaped, lid-shaped, shield-shaped and house-shaped haniwa. The central burial facility and grave goods are unknown.
Official status & archaeological view
Official status
The Imperial Household Agency designates and manages it as Saki-no-Tatanami-no-Ike-no-E Mausoleum of Empress Jingu 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
A keyhole mound at Misasagicho, Nara, about 267m long according to Nara City and an Imperial Household Agency survey of the mound exterior, or about 275m in the Nara Palace Site Historical Park guide, assigned to the early phase of the Saki Kofun Group in the latter part of the Early Kofun period. Imperial Household Agency surveys of the maintenance-work areas and of the mound exterior reported stone cladding, three tiers on the front section and four on the rear circle, and cylindrical, morning-glory-shaped, lid-shaped, shield-shaped and house-shaped haniwa, but the central burial facility remains unexcavated. The occupant has not been archaeologically verified.
Field notes
The mound is closed as an Imperial mausoleum. View it from the worship area and surrounding public roads or other authorized places.