Ayazuka Kofun

Ayazuka Kofun

綾あや塚づか古墳こふん
Ayazuka Kofun
Ayazuka Kofun Ayazuka Kofun (Japan)
Location	Miyako, Fukuoka, Japan
Region	Kyushu
Coordinates	33°42′18″N 130°54′59″E
Type	Kofun
History
Founded	c.6th century
Periods	Kofun period
Site notes
Public access	Yes (no facilities)
National Historic Site of Japan

The Ayazuka Kofun (綾あや塚づか古墳こふん) is a Kofun period burial mound, located in the Katsuyama Kuroda neighborhood of the town of Miyako, Miyako District, Fukuoka Prefecture Japan. The tumulus was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1973.

Overview

The Ayazuka Kofun is located on the hilly edge of the inland Miyako Plain facing the Gulf of Suo on the Seto Inland Sea. It is an enpun (円えん墳ふん)-style circular tumulus, with a diameter of 41 meters and height of eight meters, built in two stages. It has a surrounding moat of 4.5 meters in width. The internal structure is a multi-room horizontal stone burial chamber made of megaliths. The horizontal-passage burial chamber has a total length of 21 meters, which is the third largest in Japan after the Mise Maruyama Kofun in Nara Prefecture and Miyajidake Kofun in Fukuoka Prefecture. The almost square rear chamber contains a house-shaped sarcophagus 2.5 meters long, 1.6 meters wide, and 1.2 meters high, placed parallel to the back wall, and there are three rope hanging protrusions on each side. No grave goods have been found inside, but celadon fragments thought to be from the Kamakura period were found in the back chamber, so it is possible that the tomb was robbed during the Kamakura period. The structure and size of the burial chamber suggest that the tumulus was built in the late 6th century, or the late Kofun period.

The tumulus is approximately 20 minutes by car from JR Kyushu Nippō Main Line Yukuhashi Station.

See also

• List of Historic Sites of Japan (Fukuoka)

External links

• Cultural Properties of Fukuoka(in Japanese)
• Miyako Town home page (in Japanese)
• Fukuoka Tourism Web(in Japanese)