Imperial Household Agency: Hinokuma-no-Sakaai-no-Misasagi (Mausoleum of Emperor Kinmei)
Location
Asuka, Nara
Shape
Keyhole-shaped mound
Mound length
138 m
Period
Around the 6th c.
Designation
IHA-managed tomb
IHA designation
Managed by the IHA (mound closed to the public)
Overview
A large keyhole mound now managed as Emperor Kinmei's mausoleum. Some regard the attribution as likely on chronological grounds, but official visitor information also presents another candidate.
Finds & research
The central burial facility and full grave assemblage remain unknown.
Official status & archaeological view
Official status
The IHA lists its official form as zenpo-koen (keyhole). The IHA designates the mound as Hinokuma-no-Sakaai-no-Misasagi, the mausoleum of the 29th sovereign, Emperor Kinmei.
Attribution (jitei): the Imperial Household Agency's determination of whose tomb it manages — separate from heritage designation.
Archaeological view
A keyhole mound at Hirata, Asuka. The Asuka Historical National Government Park gives its length as about 138m, while an IHA report on a 1997 survey gives a reconstructed length of more than about 142m as a desk calculation. Because the central burial facility within the IHA-managed precinct has not been verified, uncertainty remains over its archaeological date and occupant. Its occupant is not archaeologically established; the Asuka Historical National Government Park also notes a hypothesis identifying Mise-Maruyama Kofun as Kinmei’s tomb.
Field notes
The IHA states that the worship area is about a seven-minute walk from Kintetsu Asuka Station. The mausoleum precinct is closed. 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).