Sakuradani Kofun


Sakuradani Kofun Cluster is a group of kofun burial mounds located in what is now part of the city of Takaoka, Toyama in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Two of the burial mounds at the site were designated as a National Historic Site of Japan in 1934, and the objects uncovered during archaeological investigations are designated as Important Cultural Properties of Takaoka City.

Overview

The group of kofun was constructed on the margin of a hill overlooking Toyama Bay in northwestern Toyama Prefecture. The site consisted of a keyhole-shaped tumuli and a scallop-shaped tumuli and ten or more smaller dome-shaped tumuli and were discovered in 1918 when a tree was being planted at a local Shinto shrine. Tombs No.1 and No.2 have not been surveyed internally in detail, but are presumed to date from the beginning of the fifth century in the late Kofun period. These two tombs were protected as a National Historic Site since 1934; however, the remaining tombs were destroyed when the area was developed for agricultural land after World War II.
Tomb No.1 has a total length of 62 meters, with a 35 meter diameter x 7 meter high round portion and 30 meter wide rectangular portion with height of 5.45 meters.
Tomb No.2 has a total length of 50 meters and diameter of 33 meters with a height of 6 meters. It was found to contain a bronze mirror, stone tolls and cylindrical beads.
Despite the protected status, a portion of Tomb No.2 was destroyed during the construction of a prefectural highway from 1976-1977, during which time a stone sarcophagus and numerous grave goods were discovered.