“The king’s tomb!” you exclaim, pointing towards the majestic, earthen mounds that rise before us. “They called it the u5f01u5929u5c71u53e4u58b3, the u5f01u5929u5c71 Ancient Mound, but nowadays, people just call it the u5f01u5929u5c71 Tomb.”
The u5f01u5929u5c71 Tomb is one of the most important Kofun, burial mounds, in all of Japan. It was built in the latter half of the 3rd century AD. The mound was made of earth, and its front was square while its back was round. It resembles the shape of a keyhole; the type of Kofun tomb that is considered unique to Japan!
The u5f01u5929u5c71 Tomb wasn’t built on flat ground. The builders had to dig a surrounding trench to get the earth that was then used to build the mound. A fascinating fact that you might not know is that the u5f01u5929u5c71 Tomb is part of a sprawling complex of Kofun tombs that stretched over 100 meters and served as the resting place of a powerful dynasty!
Take a moment to envision the scene. There’s the mound before us, rising up from the earth like a giant earthwork. Imagine the bustling activity going on around it. The laborers sweating under the sun, carrying baskets of earth, the clan leaders overseeing the project with pride, and the sacred rituals that accompanied the construction.
The u5f01u5929u5c71 Tomb is a window to the past. Standing here, we can almost hear the voices of the people who built it. They built it over 17 centuries ago, and it continues to tell us the story of ancient Japan.