Mozu-Furuichi World Heritage Kofun
A Visitor's Guide to the 49 Tombs

Daisen Kofun

Also known as: Mausoleum of Emperor Nintoku

Keyhole-shaped mound | 486m | Early–mid 5th c. | Osaka

At 486m in the published Sakai City and Agency for Cultural Affairs figures, this is Japan's longest burial mound. An IHA survey measured 525.01m at the present floor of the first moat, but does not treat that figure as the original mound length. The three-tiered keyhole mound rises to about 35.8m at the rear circle (about 249m across) and 33.9m at the front section (about 307m wide) in Sakai City's figures. It is the only giant keyhole mound ringed by triple moats, and the total area including water reaches about 47 hectares — roughly 12 Koshien Stadiums. Stone-paved slopes (fukiishi) once covered the mound, and rows of cylindrical haniwa were set on the summits, at the waist and at the end of the front section. Its length exceeds even that of the Great Pyramid of Giza (230m), though its volume (about 1.4 million m³) is smaller than the pyramid's (about 2.6 million m³). Inscribed in July 2019 as part of the "Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group" UNESCO World Heritage Site (Japan's 23rd WHS). Note: "Nintoku Tenno-ryo" is the name based on the IHA's attribution; archaeologists distinguish it as "Daisenryo Kofun" or "Daisen Kofun." Some rank this alongside the Great Pyramid and the First Emperor's Mausoleum as one of the world's three greatest tombs.

Visiting: A moat-side promenade circles the outer moat in about 2.8km (40 min walk). The Sakai City Museum in adjacent Daisen Park displays haniwa and related finds. The free observation lobby (MI-TE Sakai) on the 21st floor of the Sakai City Hall high-rise building gives a view of the mound's general outline, though Sakai City notes that the whole mound is hard to take in with the naked eye. The mausoleum is at Daisen-cho, Sakai-ku, Sakai, Osaka. Per the IHA, it is about a 7-minute walk from JR Mozu 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).

Konda Gobyoyama Kofun

Also known as: Mausoleum of Emperor Ojin

Keyhole-shaped mound | 425m | Early 5th c. | Osaka

A 425m-long keyhole mound, the second longest in Japan and reportedly the largest by mound volume. The three-tiered mound has its front section facing north, and the rear circle rises 36m. Projections stand on both sides of the waist, and a square earthen platform occupies the summit of the front section. Two moats and an outer embankment surround it. The sharp bend in the inner moat on the east is interpreted as avoiding the earlier Futatsuzuka Kofun. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that the collapse of the north-west side of the front section is now widely attributed to an earthquake. The Imperial Household Agency administers it as the mausoleum of Emperor Ojin. It is a constituent monument of the Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2019.

Visiting: A green corridor links the mound to Konda Hachimangu shrine, which adjoins it to the south, creating a distinctive landscape in which mound and shrine form a single whole. The official World Heritage site gives about a 16-minute walk southwest from Kintetsu Hajinosato Station (Minami-Osaka Line). The mausoleum is at 6-chome Konda, Habikino, Osaka. Per the IHA, it is about a 17-minute walk from Kintetsu Hajinosato or Domyoji 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).

Kamiishizu Misanzai Kofun

Also known as: Mausoleum of Emperor Richu

Keyhole-shaped mound | 365m | Early 5th c. | Osaka

365m long (3rd largest in Japan, 2nd in the Mozu group). The 3-tiered mound rises to about 27.6m at the rear circle; a second, outer moat (confirmed in 1994 and now preserved underground) once encircled it. Together with Daisen Kofun it anchors the Mozu group. Like Daisen it faces south, sited on the western edge of the plateau with the view from Osaka Bay in mind. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes projections (tsukuridashi) on both sides of the waist, while Sakai City's database mentions one on the west side only; and circular platforms on both summits are thought to cover the burials. The perimeter borders residential areas, and a walk along the moat reveals an impressive waterside landscape framed by greenery. Designated a constituent monument of the "Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group" UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019. The name "Kamiishizu Misanzai" combines the place name Kamiishizu with "Misanzai," said to be a local corruption of misasagi (imperial tomb). Located about 800m southwest of Daisen Kofun, the two super-scale keyhole mounds aligned on the Mozu plateau evoke the grandeur of the ancient landscape.

Visiting: The IHA manages it as Emperor Richu's mausoleum; visitors view it from the worship place at the front and from the path along the moat. The mausoleum is at Ishizugaoka, Nishi-ku, Sakai, Osaka. Per the IHA, it is about a 6-minute walk from JR Uenoshiba 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).

Haze Nisanzai Kofun

Imperial Household Agency: Higashimozu Ryobo Sankochi (reference site)

Also known as: Nisanzai Kofun

Keyhole-shaped mound | 300m | Late 5th c. | Osaka

300m long (7th nationally, 3rd in Mozu group). 3-tiered, with the front section rising to 25.9m — wider and taller than the rear circle, a late trait in keyhole-mound design. Sakai City and the IHA have investigated the site; Sakai City excavated the inner moat in 2012–2015. It stands at the south-eastern edge of the Mozu group, in Mozunishinocho, Kita-ku, Sakai. Constituent monument of the "Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group" UNESCO World Heritage Site (2019). The IHA manages the mound as a reference site rather than a confirmed imperial mausoleum.

Visiting: The official World Heritage site gives about a 15-minute walk southwest from Nakamozu Station (Nankai Koya Line / Osaka Metro Midosuji Line). The mound is managed by the IHA and cannot be entered; view it from the surrounding streets.

Itasuke Kofun

Keyhole-shaped mound | 146m | Early 5th c. | Osaka

146m keyhole-shaped mound. Around 1955 the mound faced destruction by earth-removal for housing development, and a bridge for hauling soil was built across its moat; a citizens’ movement led by archaeologists secured its preservation, and Sakai City purchased the site. It was provisionally designated a historic site on 14 November 1955 and became a National Historic Site on 15 May 1956. Sakai City Museum regards it as a forerunner of site-preservation movements across Japan, and the bridge footings left in the moat are a relic of that episode. A haniwa modeled on a keel-fronted helmet (shokaku-tsuki kabuto), collected from the rear circle during the preservation campaign, is the symbol mark of Sakai City’s cultural property protection. The mound is also nationally known for its colony of wild tanuki (raccoon dogs). Constituent monument of the UNESCO World Heritage "Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group" (2019).

Visiting: The moat retains water and is also known as a habitat for wild tanuki.

Tsudoshiroyama Kofun

Imperial Household Agency: Fujiidera Ryobo Sankochi (reference site)

Also known as: Shiroyama Kofun

Keyhole-shaped mound | 210m | Late 4th c. | Osaka

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.

Visiting: 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.

Komuroyama Kofun

Keyhole-shaped mound | 150m | Late 4th c. | Osaka

A keyhole mound 150m long with a rear circle 15.3m high. It was built on the western edge of a north-south plateau, with its front section facing north-east. The mound has three tiers and a projection on the east side of the waist. Its moat is preserved underground; on the west side there is no evidence that it held water. It is assigned to the early Middle Kofun period. 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.

Visiting: One of the few mounds in the Furuichi group where the public may walk onto the mound itself, within the publicly owned area.

Gobyoyama Kofun

Imperial Household Agency: Mozu Ryobo Sankochi (reference site)

Also known as: Mozu Gobyoyama Kofun

Keyhole-shaped mound | 203m | Early 5th c. | Osaka

A large keyhole mound (203m, 4th largest in the Mozu group) in Mozuhonmachi, Kita-ku, Sakai City. The three-tiered mound, 18.3m high at the rear circle, faces west and has a single projection on the south side of its waist. One moat is visible today, but a second, outer moat once encircled it and is preserved underground. Access to the mound itself is restricted as an IHA reference site. Located only about 500m southeast of Daisen Kofun, the two giant mounds together form the dominant landscape of the Mozu plateau. One of the 49 constituent monuments of the "Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group" UNESCO WHS (2019).

Visiting: About a four-minute walk southeast of JR Mozu Station. The front and rear sections can be observed from the moat-side path; convenient to combine with nearby Daisen Kofun and the Sakai City Museum.