Imajuku Kofun Group: A Kofun-Period Burial-Mound Cluster in Japan
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 3.8
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Japan
- Primary era
- Classical
- Eras represented
- Classical, Medieval
- Civilizations
- Yamato
- Site type
- Burial
- Remains
- Necropolis
History
The Imajuku Kofun Group is a cluster of burial mounds in Fukuoka, Japan, on the Imajuku Plain west of Hakata Bay and in the hills behind it. Its keyhole-shaped mounds were built over about 150 years, from the mid-4th century to the early 6th century, during the Kofun period, an era associated with the construction of large burial mounds. The continued building of keyhole-shaped mounds in the same region across this period is rare in Japan.
Three mounds received individual National Historic Site designations in 1928. In 2004, they were grouped with four additional mounds as the Imajuku Kofun Cluster.
Remains
The group extends across an area about three kilometers from east to west and 1.5 kilometers from north to south, covering parts of the Imajuku Plain and the hills behind it. More than 350 burial mounds are spread across this area. Eleven are identified as keyhole-shaped, with a square section joined to a circular one when viewed from above. Marukumayama Kofun and Imajuku Otsuka Kofun are among the mounds in the group.
