Nara Pref. Square mound

Akasakatennozan Kofun

LocationNara Pref.
ShapeSquare mound
Mound length50 m
PeriodLate 6th–early 7th c.

Overview

Trapezoidal square mound in Kurahashi, Sakurai City. A leading candidate for the tomb of Emperor Sushun, assassinated by Soga no Umako — one of the most dramatic episodes in early Japanese history.

Finds & research

Surveys by Sakurai City Board of Education and the Kashihara Archaeological Research Institute (national historic site). Burial facility: double-aisle horizontal stone chamber (>18m total length) containing a large house-shaped tuff stone coffin — a representative 7th-century terminal-period coffin. While definitive occupant identification is impossible, the chamber scale, coffin, and date are consistent with imperial-class burial of Emperor Sushun (died 592 CE). Sakurai City Board of Education continues conservation and investigation.

Two views on the occupant

Archaeological view
Trapezoidal square mound ~50m, 3-tiered. Double-corridor stone chamber (18m+). Widely proposed among researchers as the tomb of Emperor Sushun (32nd), who was assassinated by Soga no Umako.
Imperial Household Agency view
Not managed by IHA. National historic site. Archaeologically favoured over the IHA-designated Sushun mausoleum.

Field notes

Emperor Sushun was assassinated by Soga no Umako in 592 CE. The IHA-designated mausoleum lies about 1.7km to the southwest of this mound.

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Sources

Wikipedia桜井市教育委員会奈良県立橿原考古学研究所文化庁 国指定文化財等データベース

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