A terminal-period tomb at the tip of a ridge running northeast from Mt. Kaibuki in Kashihara City. A fine Iwayama-type ashlar chamber still holding its Tatsuyama-tuff house-shaped sarcophagus — an excellent place to observe a chamber-and-coffin set. The interior is visible through the fence at the opening.
Finds & research
Corridor-type chamber (~11.6m, granite ashlar, Iwayama-type) preserving a Tatsuyama-tuff monolithic house-shaped sarcophagus (~2.4m, rounded boss-less lid). Unexcavated; no artifacts known.
Two views on the occupant
Archaeological view
Heavily eroded, the mound is reconstructed as a square (or possibly round) mound ~30m across and ~8m high, built in the 7th century. The megalithic corridor-type chamber (granite ashlar, opening south, ~11.6m total, main chamber ~5m) follows the same "Iwayama-type" design as Iwayama Kofun (id:267). Inside rests a monolithic house-shaped sarcophagus of Tatsuyama tuff with a rounded lid of the new boss-less type, displaced by looters. Unexcavated, with no known grave goods; the quality of chamber and coffin suggests an occupant of the highest elite, possibly imperial kin.
Imperial Household Agency view
Not designated by the IHA; a Nara Prefectural Historic Site (sources give the designation year as 1975 or 1977). An Edo-period treatise (1696) identified it as Empress Saimei's mausoleum, but scholars today favor Kengoshizuka Kofun (id:266) for that attribution.
Field notes
About 9 min on foot from Kintetsu Okadera Station (also walkable from Kashiharajingu-mae). Tucked behind the Shirakashi-cho residential area with little signage — use a map app. Entry into the chamber is not permitted.