Ōta Tenjinyama Kofun

Ōta Tenjinyama Kofun (太田天神山古墳) is a Kofun period keyhole-shaped burial mound located in what is now the city of Ōta, Gunma Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. It was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1941.[1] It is the largest kofun in Gunma Prefecture and the 28th largest in the country. It is the only kofun with a length in excess of 200 meters in eastern Japan.. It is also sometimes referred to as the Dantaiyama Kofun (男体山古墳).

ŌtaTenjinyama Kofun
太田天神山古墳
Ōta Tenjinyama Kofun
Ōta Tenjinyama Kofun
Ōta Tenjinyama Kofun (Japan)
LocationŌta, Gunma, Japan
RegionKantō region
Coordinates36°17′30.04″N 139°23′27.69″E
Typekofun
History
Foundedearly 5th century
PeriodsKofun period
Site notes
Public accessYes (Park)
image from above

Overview

The tumulus is located on a fill with an elevation of approximately 40 meters, located near the center of the city of Ōta in eastern Gunma Prefecture. There was a Shinto shrine dedicated to Tenjin located on the "neck" of the tumulus, from which the name of the kofun is derived. Although the site is truncated by Gunma Prefectural Route 2 (which skirts the posterior dome) and the Tōbu Railway Tōbu Koizumi Line tracks (which crosses the outer moat) the tumulus is in good preservation, with the inner moat intact. The tumulus has a total length of 210 meters, with both the circular portion and the anterior rectangular portion in three tiers, and is orientated to the southwest. The surface was originally covered in fukiishi and both cylindrical haniwa and figurine haniwa (shaped as people and houses) have been recovered. From the design of these haniwa, the date of construction of the tumulus can be estimated to have been from the early middle of the 5th century. The tomb was robbed in antiquity and the structure of the burial chamber is unknown, but the exposed stone sarcophagus is of a design peculiar to the Kansai region and indicates a strong connection with the Yamato kingdom. The identity of the person this tumulus was constructed for is unknown, but from its size it is assumed to be that of a king or Kuni no miyatsuko of ancient Keno.

Excavated artifacts are stored and displayed at the Ōta City Nittasō History Museum.

Approximately 300 meters to the Ōta Tenjinyama Kofun is the Nyotaizan Kofun, a large scallop-shaped tumulus with has the same orientation and was built at roughly the same time. It has a separate National Historic Site designation.

  • Overall length: 210 meters
  • Posterior circular portion: 120 meter diameter x 16.5 meters high
  • Anterior rectangular portion: 126 meters wide x 12 meters high
  • Inner moat: 36 meter width (near circular portion) to 24 meter width (bottom of rectangular portion) x 1.2 meters depth
  • Outer moat: 6 to 17 meters width

The tumulus is about 15 minutes on foot from Ōta Station on the Tōbu Railway.

See also

References
  1. "天神山古墳" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved August 20, 2020.

Media related to Ōta Tenjin-yama Kofun at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.