★ World HeritageHabikino / Fujiidera, OsakaKeyhole-shaped moundIHA imperial tomb
Konda Gobyoyama Kofun
Mausoleum of Emperor Ojin
Location
Habikino / Fujiidera, Osaka
Shape
Keyhole-shaped mound
Mound length
425 m
Period
Early 5th c.
Designation
Imperial Tomb (IHA)
World Heritage
Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group (UNESCO)
IHA designation
IHA-managed (no public entry)
Overview
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, while the collapse on the north-west side of the front section is 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.
Finds & research
A pit-style stone chamber recorded on the summit of the front section may lie within the square earthen platform. Cylindrical and figural haniwa have been recovered from the mound and moats, including many water-bird figures. More than 20,000 cylindrical haniwa are estimated to have stood on the mound. Clay objects shaped as fish, whales and octopuses have also been found.
Two views on the occupant
Archaeological view
Occupant archaeologically unknown. At 425m it is the 2nd longest mound in Japan, but first by the volume of the mound itself (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Dated to the middle of the Middle Kofun period (first half of the 5th century). A pit-style stone chamber is recorded as having once been exposed on the summit of the front section, possibly built inside the square platform there. Until the Meiji era a hexagonal hall stood on the rear circle as the inner sanctuary of Konda Hachimangu, the shrine immediately to the south. The adjacent Kondamaruyama Kofun is the reputed source of the gilt-bronze horse trappings, now National Treasures, said to have come to light in 1848. Some scholars connect the mound with one of the "five kings of Wa" named in Chinese histories, but nothing archaeological identifies the occupant.
Imperial Household Agency view
Officially designated "Ega-no-Mofushi-no-Oka-no-Misasagi" (Mausoleum of Emperor Ojin) by the IHA's Shoryobu bureau. Public access is restricted.[IHA Visiting Info] Address: 6-chome Konda, Habikino, Osaka / Access: about 17 min walk from Kintetsu Hajinosato or Domyoji Station / Hours: 8:30–17:00 in principle (open year-round). Stamp: Furuichi Imperial Mausolea Office.
Field notes
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 Furuichi group is easily accessed by the Kintetsu Minami-Osaka Line, making it a convenient base for kofun tourism.