The easternmost of the three Unai Maiden mounds in Higashinada Ward, Kobe. The mound itself was mostly lost to railway construction — only a monument and slight rise remain in the park — but its triangular-rimmed mirrors live on at the Tokyo National Museum. Walk the legend together with Otomezuka (id:582) and Nishi-Motomezuka (id:583).
Finds & research
Six bronze mirrors (four triangular-rimmed), curved beads, a sword, and a jasper wheel-stone, collected c. 1872 and held by the Tokyo National Museum.
Two views on the occupant
Archaeological view
Reconstructed from a 1982 excavation as a keyhole mound ~80m long with a ~47m rear circle (one source calls it square-type), built in the late 4th century. Around 1872, six bronze mirrors — four of them triangular-rimmed — plus curved beads, a sword, and a jasper wheel-stone were recovered; they are now in the Tokyo National Museum. Legend makes it the grave of the Chinu suitor in the Unai Maiden tale.
Imperial Household Agency view
Not designated by the IHA nor as a historic site. The mound was mostly destroyed by railway construction in the Meiji era; a monument now stands in Motomezuka-higashi Park on the site.
Field notes
Motomezuka-higashi Park, ~3 min from Sumiyoshi Station (Hanshin). As the mound no longer survives, the visit centers on the monument and information board. The pin marks the recorded original location.