Shinmeiyama Tomb 神明山古墳

Official explanation

The Shinmeiyama Tomb is a keyhole-shaped burial mound created sometime between the late fourth and early fifth century, presumably built for the ruler of an ancient Tango kingdom. It is the second-largest keyhole-shaped tomb along the Sea of Japan, which attests to the great wealth of the Tango kingdom during this period. Researchers estimate the 190-meter-long tumulus took at least five years to construct, requiring considerable labor from throughout the region. The structure resembles the other large Tango tombs: it is three-tiered, has sides overlaid with round stones (fukiishi), and was adorned with an estimated 2,000 terra-cotta funerary objects (haniwa). A large stone burial chamber is likely located in the round section, as found in similar keyhole-shaped tombs from this period.

At the time of its construction, the burial mound overlooked a lagoon that connected this civilization with its maritime trading partners on the Asian continent. The mound would have been a dominant figure in the landscape, manifested as a well-sculpted hill of gray rocks on the waterfront. Today, the lagoon is gone and the mound is covered with vegetation; however, you may still find loose fukiishi rocks scattered in the forest undergrowth.

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Because the site has not been excavated, few artifacts have been recovered from the Shinmeiyama Tomb. One notable artifact from the site, a terra-cotta fragment engraved with an illustration of a person rowing a boat, is on display at the nearby Ancient Tango Village Museum.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.