Also known as: Yoraku Kansuzuka / Yoraku Kanjo / Terasaki Shirakabezuka
Location
Nara Pref.
Shape
Tumulus cluster
Mound length
36 m
Period
Late 6th–mid 7th c.
Overview
A tomb cluster in Yoraku and Terasaki, Takatori Town, linked to the immigrant Yamato no Aya clan. The three core mounds — including Yoraku Kanjo with its dome-like megalithic chamber boasting the prefecture's highest ceiling — are maintained as a National Historic Site. A first-rate window on the immigrant families who underpinned the Asuka court.
Finds & research
Yoraku Kanjo yielded gilt-bronze earrings, a silver ring, iron nails, miniature cooking-stove sets, and Sue/Haji ware; Terasaki Shirakabezuka yielded iron nails, miniature stove sets, and Haji ware. Yoraku Kansuzuka remains unexcavated.
Two views on the occupant
Archaeological view
A cluster of ~100 late-to-terminal-period tombs on the south slope of hills spreading from Mt. Kaibuki. Of the three core mounds, Yoraku Kanjo (a 36m square mound, 10m high) has a corridor-type chamber whose 5.27m ceiling is the highest in Nara Prefecture — exceeding even Ishibutai (id:268). Yoraku Kansuzuka is a 28m round mound; Terasaki Shirakabezuka has a corridor-type stone chamber of dressed diorite. The dome-like chambers with extremely high ceilings, miniature cooking-stove sets, and gold/silver ornaments (silver rings, gilt-bronze earrings) are hallmarks of immigrant-lineage burial customs; the cluster is widely attributed to chieftains of the Yamato no Aya clan, whose base at Hinokuma (Asuka) lies nearby.
Imperial Household Agency view
Not designated by the IHA. The three core mounds (Yoraku Kansuzuka, Yoraku Kanjo, Terasaki Shirakabezuka) are a National Historic Site (designated 2013).
Field notes
Coordinates mark Yoraku Kanjo Kofun. About 20 min on foot from Kintetsu Asuka Station, also walkable from Tsubosakayama Station. Chambers are viewed through protective fences. Combines well with Tsukamyojin (id:577) and Kitora (id:278) on a Hinokuma–Sada walk.