★ World HeritageHabikino / Fujiidera, OsakaSquare mound
Nakayamazuka Kofun
Satellite Tomb No. I of the Nakatsuhime Mausoleum
Location
Habikino / Fujiidera, Osaka
Shape
Square mound
Mound length
50 m
Period
Mid-5th c.
Designation
Imperial Satellite Tomb (IHA)
World Heritage
Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group (UNESCO)
Overview
A square mound 50m on a side and 8.5m high, built south of the Nakatsuhime mausoleum alongside Suketayama and Yashimazuka Kofun. The three align their southern edges and share a moat, an unusual arrangement; the moat is preserved underground. It is dated to the middle phase of the Middle Kofun period. The Imperial Household Agency administers it as a satellite of the Nakatsuhime mausoleum, and it is a constituent monument of the Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2019.
Finds & research
Cylindrical haniwa have been recovered from the moat shared with Suketayama and Yashimazuka. In 1978 that moat, between Nakayamazuka and Yashimazuka, gave up two huge wooden sledges known as shura (Important Cultural Property): a large one 8.8m long and a small one 2.8m, thought to have been used to haul sarcophagi and chamber stones during the building of the mounds. The burial facility and grave goods are uninvestigated as a designated satellite tomb.
Two views on the occupant
Archaeological view
A square mound 50m long and 8.5m high, occupant unknown, dated to the middle of the Middle Kofun period (first half of the 5th century). It stands at the centre of the Mitsuzuka trio and, together with Yashimazuka, is the largest of the three at 50m. The IHA administers it as a satellite of the Nakatsuhime mausoleum. As the closest accessory square mound to Nakatsuyama Kofun (290m), it is presumed to be the tomb of a close relative of that mound's occupant (associated with the designated Empress Nakatsuhime; a royal or a paramount chief).
Imperial Household Agency view
The central mound of the "Mitsuzuka" trio (west to east: Suketayama, Nakayamazuka, Yashimazuka). Nakayamazuka is managed by the IHA (with Yashimazuka); only Suketayama is a national historic site. Nabezuka is separate.