Satellite Tomb Ko of the Mausoleum of Emperor Nintoku
Location
Sakai, Osaka
Shape
Round mound
Mound length
56 m
Period
Early 5th c.
Designation
Imperial Satellite Tomb (IHA)
World Heritage
Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group (UNESCO)
Overview
Satellite tomb "Ko" of Daisen Kofun: a round mound 56m across and 9.3m high, built into its middle embankment where that bank widens into a stage-like platform toward the outer moat. Raising a mound on a bank between two moats is highly unusual: in the whole Mozu-Furuichi complex only this mound and Daianjiyama Kofun do so, which is why both are seen as bound especially closely to Daisen. The mound appears to have been built in two tiers. It is a constituent monument of the Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2019. General entry is not permitted because the mound is managed by the Imperial Household Agency.
Finds & research
Details of the burial facility and grave goods are unknown.
Two views on the occupant
Archaeological view
Satellite tomb "Ko" of Daisen Kofun: a round mound 56m across and 9.3m high, built in two tiers as part of Daisen's middle embankment, and dated to the middle of the Middle Kofun period (first half of the 5th century). The human and horse figures among the haniwa recovered from Daisen's outer moat are said to have come from just north of this mound, and may originally have stood on it. The only other mound on the middle embankment is Daianjiyama (62m), catalogued as "Otsu".
Imperial Household Agency view
Managed by the IHA as "Satellite Tomb Ko (No. 1 in the ko-otsu sequence)" of the Nintoku Mausoleum. The IHA uses both the iroha syllabary and the ko-otsu-hei order to catalog satellite tombs; "Ko" designates the first in this second catalog. Daisen Kofun has numerous satellite tombs.