Sekijin sekiba

is the inclusive term for sculptures in stone from the ancient burial mounds of Kofun-period Japan. It includes not only the stone figures of humans and horses denoted by the kanji, but also depictions of other animals and objects. For this reason, these sculptures are sometimes referred to alternatively as .

Overview are found mainly in northern and central Kyūshū (Chikugo, Higo, and Bungo) and date from the mid- to late-Kofun period (C5–C6). Ranging in height from around to , they are understood to have been erected in front of the stone coffin or on top of together with or in place of clay . These may have influenced their development—as did, in all likelihood, the statues lining the spirit paths of tombs in China. More than a hundred are known from Iwatoyama Kofun in Yame, Fukuoka Prefecture, and sixteen from Hime-no-jō Kofun in Kumamoto Prefecture; elsewhere, they are found singly or in low numbers. Most are carved from ignimbrite from Mount Aso, though an example from Yonago in western Honshū is of andesite from Mount Daisen. Some retain traces of red and green pigments.

Over forty examples had been catalogued by the early 1900s and in 1929 archaeologist published his monograph Sekijin Sekiba. Suggestions as to their function include propitiation of the spirits of the dead, comforting the same through the accompaniment of familiar figures and things, protection of the tomb and the symbolic punishment of robbers, and, in the case of Iwatoyama Kofun with its "sixty stone men and sixty stone shields" per Chikugo , the expression of power. Perhaps for this reason, after the Iwai Rebellion they appear to have declined somewhat in popularity, perhaps supplanted in part by the paintings of the so-called decorated .

Types include sculptures of men, many of them armed, and, less commonly, women, in one instance with a child on her back; animals, including horses, boar, chickens, and waterfowl; and other armour, shields, swords, quivers, headpieces, vases, lids, a house, a chair, and a boat.

Distribution are known from over twenty-five sites, all but one of them in Kyūshū, the exception being in Yonago, Tottori Prefecture. Within Kyūshū, all but four are in the prefectures of Fukuoka and Kumamoto, two being in Ōita (Shimoyama Kofun and in Usuki), with Saga ( in Saga) and Miyazaki (Nobeoka) having one apiece. Of the ten sites in Fukuoka Prefecture, there is a concentration in Yame (Iwatoyama Kofun, Noriba Kofun, , Dōnanzan No. 3 Kofun, Dōnanzan No. 22 Kofun, Toyofuku), the others being in Hirokawa (Sekijinsan Kofun), Kurume (Ontsuka Kofun), Miyama (Sekijinsan Kofun), and Ōmuta. The eleven sites in Kumamoto are in Arao (), Hikawa (Amazutsu Kofun and Hime-no-jō Kofun), Kikuchi ( and Onozaki), Kumamoto (), , and Kitahara No. 1 Kofun), Nagomi (Eta Funayama Kofun), and Yamaga (Chibusan Kofun and Usuzuka Kofun).

Important Cultural Properties Several have been designated Important Cultural Properties: Sekijin (stone man) from Iwatoyama Kofun, Fukuoka Prefecture (Tokyo National Museum) Armed sekijin from Sekijinsan Kofun (Hirokawa), Fukuoka Prefecture Armed sekijin from Sekijinsan Kofun (Miyama), Fukuoka Prefecture Armed sekijin from , Fukuoka Prefecture (Iwatoyama Historical and Cultural Community Center) 62 pieces from Iwatoyama Kofun, Fukuoka Prefecture (Iwatoyama Historical and Cultural Community Center) Sekiba (stone horse) from in Yonago, Tottori Prefecture (Amenokamigaki Jinja)

Gallery

Sekijin sekiba

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