Imperial Household Agency: Furuchi-no-Takaya-no-Oka-no-Misasagi (Mausoleum of Emperor Ankan)
Also known as: Mausoleum of Emperor Ankan
Location
Habikino, Osaka
Shape
Keyhole-shaped mound
Mound length
122 m
Period
Early 6th c.
Designation
IHA-managed tomb
IHA designation
Managed by the IHA (mound closed to the public)
Overview
A 122m-long keyhole mound at the northern end of the Takaya hills. The rear circle is 78m across and 13m high, while the front section is 100m wide and 12.5m high. A moat about 15m wide encircles it. Heavy alteration of the terrain makes the scale of the outer embankment unclear. Construction of medieval Takaya Castle and later mausoleum works substantially changed the original mound; it is not known whether the right-angled north corner of the front section is original. Haniwa, Sue ware and the dating of a Persian glass bowl traditionally said to have come from this mound place construction around the first half of the 6th century. The Imperial Household Agency administers it as the Furuchi no Takaya no Oka mausoleum of Emperor Ankan.
Finds & research
Details of the burial facility and grave goods are unknown. Haniwa and Sue ware have been recovered. A Persian glass bowl of the same type as an example in the Shosoin is traditionally said to have come from this mound. A moat about 15m wide surrounds the mound.
Official status & archaeological view
Official status
The IHA lists its official form as zenpo-koen (keyhole). Administered by the IHA as the mausoleum of Emperor Ankan (27th Emperor). A 2010 Cabinet answer to a Diet question gives its archaeological name as Takayatsukiyama Kofun, and Habikino City calls it the Ankan-tenno-ryo Kofun (Takayatsukiyama Kofun). The IHA's mausoleum name is Furuchi-no-Takaya-no-Oka-no-Misasagi. Access is controlled by the IHA's Shoryobu bureau. Part of the surrounding bank was added to the National Historic Site "Furuichi Kofun Group" in 2024 as the "Ankan-tenno-ryo Kofun surrounding bank".
Attribution (jitei): the Imperial Household Agency's determination of whose tomb it manages — separate from heritage designation.
Archaeological view
It stands in the southern part of the Furuichi group. Haniwa and stone covering (fukiishi) have been confirmed, demonstrating late-Kofun construction techniques. The occupant has not been identified. Habikino City dates the mound to around the first half of the 6th century from the features of its haniwa and Sue ware and the dating of a Persian glass bowl traditionally said to have come from this mound.
Field notes
General entry is prohibited as an IHA mausoleum (worship is from the oratory). The mausoleum is at 5-chome Furuichi, Habikino, Osaka. Per the IHA, it is about a 10-minute walk from Kintetsu Furuichi Station, and worship is generally possible year-round from 8:30 to 17:00. The goryoin (mausoleum seal) is kept at the Furuichi Mausolea Office in Habikino, Osaka, 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).