Also known as: Musa-no-Tsukisaka Tomb (Prince Yamatohiko)
Location
Nara Pref.
Shape
Square mound
Mound length
90 m
Period
Early 5th c.
IHA designation
IHA-managed (no public entry)
Overview
Japan's greatest square mound, lying southeast of Kashihara High School in Toriyacho. Closed as an IHA tomb, its sheer mass can still be felt from the perimeter — and the question of why the apex of the square form stands here endures.
Finds & research
Haniwa (surface finds); burial uninvestigated.
Two views on the occupant
Archaeological view
Japan's largest square mound: ~90m per side (also 85m or 96m × 90m per source), ~15m high, three-tiered. Haniwa finds suggest the early 5th century (later datings exist as it is unexcavated). Burial and goods unknown.
Imperial Household Agency view
Managed by the IHA as the Musa-no-Tsukisaka Tomb of Prince Yamatohiko, whose burial the Nihon Shoki links to the abolition of live interment and the origin of haniwa. A front-like extension was added in the Bakumatsu–Meiji repairs; the original body is square.
Field notes
Walkable from Kashihara-Jingumae Station; view from the perimeter and oratory.