A rare pairing in Tondabayashi where an Asuka-period temple and tomb share tiles of the same type — the moment the building of Buddhist temples and the end of the kofun tradition crossed paths.
Finds & research
Monolithic house-shaped sarcophagus of white Mount Nijo tuff (six bosses); flat roof tiles of the same type as the temple's. The 2001–02 survey of the mound's shape and size yielded tile fragments and Sue ware (per the Tondabayashi City Board of Education report abstract).
Official status & archaeological view
Official status
Part of the National Historic Site "Shindo Temple Site, with the Oganji Pond Tile Kiln Site and Okameishi Kofun" (designated 2002).
Archaeological view
A ~21m square mound dated by Tondabayashi City to the early 7th century (the Tondabayashi city history places it around 640). Its hollowed-out (kurinuki-type) house-shaped sarcophagus of white Mount Nijo tuff — six bosses giving it a turtle-like look and its name — sits at the core of a side-entry chamber packed on three sides with flat tiles of the same type used to found the adjacent Shindo temple — an arrangement not known at other tombs (the Tondabayashi city history regards these tiles as fired specially for the tomb). Tondabayashi City regards it as the likely tomb of a person involved in founding the temple.
Field notes
About 10 min on foot from Tondabayashi Station on the Kintetsu Nagano Line (per the Tondabayashi tourism association); the long-exposed sarcophagus is viewable from outside.