| Location | Fujiidera, Osaka |
|---|---|
| Shape | Keyhole-shaped mound |
| Mound length | 210 m |
| Period | Late 4th c. |
| Designation | National Historic Site |
| World Heritage | Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group (UNESCO) |
A keyhole mound at the northern end of the Furuichi area, 210m long (208m in some sources) with a rear circle 16.9m high. The three-tiered mound has its front section facing south-east and projections on both sides of the waist. Broad double moats and embankments surround it. Reuse as a castle in the Muromachi period altered the mound, but its original scale and form can be reconstructed. Part of the rear-circle summit is administered by the Imperial Household Agency as the Fujiidera Mausoleum Reference Site; the remainder is open as part of the National Historic Site Furuichi Kofun Group. It is a constituent monument of the Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2019.
In 1912 an attempt to quarry stone from the summit of the rear circle exposed the burial: a pit-style stone chamber holding one of the largest chest-shaped sarcophagi known in Japan. Bronze mirrors, iron arms and armour, bracelet-shaped stone objects and various ornaments came from the chamber and coffin. The coffin was reburied on the spot and the mirrors, swords and other grave goods were bought by the state; it was this discovery that led the IHA to add the rear-circle summit to its register as the Fujiidera Mausoleum Reference Site (Fujiidera City Board of Education). The capstones of the chamber, removed at the time, are now gathered and displayed in the site's guidance building. Cylindrical and large figural haniwa have been recovered from the mound and moats. Square island-like platforms stood in the inner moat on either side of the front section; the eastern one, 17m per side, carried three strikingly lifelike waterfowl haniwa.
Apart from the part of the rear-circle summit designated a mausoleum reference site, this is one of the very few large mounds visitors may walk on freely within the publicly owned area. A guidance building, Mahora Shiroyama, stands on the north side of the inner moat, displaying screen-shaped and cylindrical haniwa and a reconstructed sarcophagus. About a 17-minute walk north of Kintetsu Fujiidera Station.
World Heritage guide featuring this kofunMozu-Furuichi World Heritage Kofun A Visitor's Guide to the 49 Tombs →Last updated:
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