A large mound noted for the detailed excavation of its front-section clay burial.
Finds & research
The front clay burial yielded three bronze mirrors, three stone boxes, five large tubular stone objects, 133 bracelet-shaped stone objects, more than 2,500 beads, iron swords and knives, and combs. The scarcity of weapons has prompted a female-occupant hypothesis, but it is unconfirmed.
Official status & archaeological view
Official status
It was designated a National Historic Site in 2002, and the assemblage from the front-section clay burial was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1998.
Archaeological view
A 200m, three-tiered keyhole mound at Toin, Kawanishi, built at the end of the 4th century. A clay burial on the front summit held a split-bamboo-shaped Japanese-umbrella-pine coffin with three bronze mirrors, 133 bracelet-shaped stone objects, more than 2,500 beads, and other goods. The rear summit has a looters' pit; a pit-style stone chamber is thought originally to have existed there but cannot currently be confirmed (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Field notes
Kawanishi Town has renewed the protective fence and installed a board explaining the excavations.