One of the Miidani tombs preserved in Tsurugigaoka Park in Yoka, Yabu. Its inscribed sword provides important evidence for dating Kofun-period blades and burial goods.
Finds & research
103 finds designated Important Cultural Properties, including a copper-inlaid Boshin-year sword (usually interpreted as AD 608; AD 668 has also been proposed). Corridor-type stone chamber lacking a distinct shoulder between chamber and passage.
Two views on the occupant
Archaeological view
A round mound measuring 12m east–west and 14m north–south, with an 8.6m corridor-type chamber lacking a distinct shoulder between chamber and passage. The national designation account dates its construction to the late 6th–early 7th century, with at least two later burials through the mid-7th century. Yabu City’s park account instead dates the cluster to the 630s–660s. A copper-inlaid sword inscribed with the Boshin year is thought to accompany a later burial. AD 608 is the leading interpretation; AD 668 has also been proposed. The 103 finds are designated Important Cultural Properties.
Imperial Household Agency view
Not designated by the IHA. Part of the National Historic Site "Miidani Kofun Group" (1992; mounds 2–5).
Field notes
In Tsurugigaoka Park. Yabu City says visitors can enter the No.2 stone chamber, where replicas including the inscribed sword are displayed; the original designated finds are held by the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Archaeology.