A Yayoi-to-Early-Kofun burial complex in the Kaya valley of Tango. The Hiyoshigaoka square stone-clad mound (about 32×20m) is among the largest of its kind in Japan, marking the emergence of powerful chieftains in Tango. It documents the transition in local burial practice that led on to the large tombs of the valley such as Ebisuyama Kofun (id:297).
Finds & research
Yayoi pottery and related artifacts recovered from the mounds provided the dating evidence.
Two views on the occupant
Archaeological view
The square stone-clad mound in the Hiyoshigaoka sector measures about 32m by 20m with over 2m of surviving height, its slopes faced with flat stones. Built in the middle of the Middle Yayoi period, it is among the largest such mounds known in the San'in–Tango distribution. The Akeshi sector, on a ridge 40–96m in elevation, holds 28 mounds dating from the end of the Late Yayoi to the first half of the Early Kofun period.
Imperial Household Agency view
Not an Imperial Household Agency mausoleum. Designated a National Historic Site in 2005. A burial complex in the Kaya valley of Tango spanning the Yayoi to Early Kofun periods, comprising a huge square stone-clad mound in the Hiyoshigaoka sector and 28 burial mounds in the Akeshi sector behind it.
Field notes
Yosano, Yosa District, Kyoto (former Kaya). Best understood together with the Kaya valley tombs such as Ebisuyama Kofun and the Tsukuriyama group.