★ World Heritage Sakai, Osaka Scallop-shaped mound

Hatazuka Kofun

(Not designated by the IHA)
LocationSakai, Osaka
ShapeScallop-shaped mound
Mound length58 m
PeriodEarly–mid 5th c.
DesignationNational Historic Site
World HeritageMozu-Furuichi Kofun Group (UNESCO)

Overview

A scallop-shaped mound, 58m long with a rear circle 3.8m high, built between Daisen Kofun and Kamiishizu Misanzai Kofun. Its front section faces west and the rear circle is built in two tiers. It carries no Imperial Household Agency designation and is managed by Sakai City as part of the National Historic Site Mozu Kofun Group. Its pebble-paved terrace carried standing figural haniwa—an unusual arrangement in the Mozu-Furuichi complex—and a projection sits on the south side of the waist near the rear circle. The World Heritage site dates it to the first half of the 5th century, while Sakai City dates it to the middle of that century. It is a constituent monument of the Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2019.

Finds & research

Figural haniwa were set up on a pebble-paved terrace, an arrangement rarely seen in the Mozu-Furuichi complex. Around the projection, cylindrical haniwa and a wide variety of figural haniwa have been found, and are thought to have stood on the projection itself. The original moat is preserved underground; the moat seen today was laid out when the park was built.

Two views on the occupant

Archaeological view
A scallop-shaped mound 58m long, its rear circle 3.8m high and built in two tiers, standing between Daisen Kofun and Kamiishizu Misanzai Kofun with its front section facing west. Dated to the first half of the 5th century by the World Heritage site and the Agency for Cultural Affairs (whose own term is the middle of the Middle Kofun period), and to the middle of the century by Sakai City. The occupant is unknown. Figural haniwa stood on its pebble-paved terrace — unusual in the Mozu-Furuichi complex — and cylindrical haniwa together with a wide variety of figural pieces have been recovered around the projection.
Imperial Household Agency view
Not designated by the IHA. Preserved and managed by the Sakai City Board of Education. Not an IHA-designated mausoleum or reference site. Protected by Sakai City as a World Heritage constituent monument.
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Sources

百舌鳥・古市古墳群 公式サイト文化庁 文化遺産オンライン(世界遺産構成資産解説)

Related kofun

Daisen Kofun (486m) Kamiishizu Misanzai Kofun (365m) Haze Nisanzai Kofun (300m) Gobyoyama Kofun (203m) Tadeiyama Kofun (148m) Itasuke Kofun (146m)
← Nagatsuka Kofun Zenizuka Kofun →