The is a group of middle Kofun period (late 5th century) -style round burial mounds, located in the Fujikanbara neighborhood of the city of Iwata, Shizuoka in the Tōkai region of Japan. Eight of the nine surviving kofun in the tumulus cluster were collectively designated a Shizuoka Prefecture Historic Site in 1979.
Overview The Yonezuka Kofun cluster is a group of burial mounds was constructed on the western edge of the Iwatabara Plateau, at an elevation of 100 meters on the east bank of the Tenryū River in western Shizuoka Prefecture. The location is approximately 450 meters north of the Teradani Chōshizuka Kofun, which is a National Historic Site. The cluster consisted of twelve circular burial mounds, nine of which still exist. excavations of Kofun No. 2 and No. 3 (both now destroyed) were conducted in 1969.
The largest of the burial mounds, Kofun No. 1 (also called the "Yonezuka Kofun"), is a large circular burial mound measuring 40 meters in diameter and 6 meters in height, constructed in two tiers. While it is possible that the surface of the mound was covered with fukiishi revetment stones, no haniwa clay figures have been found . A moat seven meters wide surrounds the mound. The burial facilities are unclear as they have not been investigated. The construction period is estimated to be around the latter half of the 5th century, during the middle of the Kofun period. Of the two tumuli, Kofun No. 2 (16.5-meters in diameter) and Kofun No. 3 (30-meters in diameter), which have been excavated, grave goods including beads, silver rings, iron arrowheads, horse trappings, Sue ware, and Haji ware pottery were discovered in Kofun No. 3. The surrounding burial mounds are smaller, approximately 10 meters in diameter and one meter in height, and are thought to date from the late Kofun period.
+Yonezuka Kofun clusterNameTypeSizeNotesKofun No.1（Yonezuka Kofun）Enpun40mKofun No.2Enpun16.5mExcavated 1969no longer existsKofun No.3Enpun20mExcavated 1969no longer existsKofun No.4Enpun12mKofun No.5Enpun10mKofun No.6Enpun15mKofun No.7Enpun15mKofun No.8Enpun12mKofun No.9Enpun8mKofun No.10Enpun6mKofun No.11 no longer existsKofun No.12Enpun10m
See also List of Historic Sites of Japan (Shizuoka)
References
External links Iwata City home page Shizuoka Prefecture home page