Imperial Household Agency: Mausoleum of Emperor Sudo (Prince Sawara)
Location
Nara
Shape
Round tumulus
Designation
IHA-managed tomb
IHA designation
Managed by the IHA (mound closed to the public)
Overview
At Yashimacho, Nara, this is designated as the mausoleum of Prince Sawara, posthumously Emperor Sudo. The Nara City Tourism Association describes it as the tomb of the prince who, suspected of involvement in the assassination of Fujiwara no Tanetsugu, is said to have starved himself to death on the way into exile.
Finds & research
An IHA watching brief during the rebuilding of the guardhouse recovered Haji-ware dishes and other items from the fill, which the report treats as material mixed into the fill.
Official status & archaeological view
Official status
Managed by the IHA as the Yashima Mausoleum of Emperor Sudo (Prince Sawara, Emperor Kanmu's younger full brother; posthumously titled and reburied at Yashima in Yamato). The IHA lists its official form as a round tumulus (enkyu).
Attribution (jitei): the Imperial Household Agency's determination of whose tomb it manages — separate from heritage designation.
Archaeological view
Its archaeological date, burial facility, and finds are not known from published sources. The "Eight Stones" before the tomb are exposed ceiling slabs of a late Kofun-period horizontal stone chamber belonging to a separate mound, the Yashima-ryo-mae Kofun, not to the designated mausoleum.
Field notes
About 20 minutes on foot from JR Obitoke Station; worship from the oratory.