Decorated kofun

Decorated kofun (装飾古墳, sōshoku kofun) is the term used for kofun or ancient Japanese tombs ornamented with painted or carved decoration. The tombs take the form of tumuli or earthen mounds piled over stone chambers as well as caves excavated from the living rock. The decoration may be on the inner walls, on stone screens, on sarcophagi or, in the case of cave tombs, around the entrance on the exterior. Of the 161,560 ancient burials identified to date, around two hundred and fifty are so decorated.[1][2][3][4][note 1]

Motifs

Decorative motifs include the chokkomon (an X-shape forming triangular zones that intersect irregular curves), circles, concentric circles, triangles, human figures, horses, birds, boats, swords, shields, and quivers.[5][note 2]

List of decorated kofun

This list is of the decorated kofun of ancient Japan, all of which are located in Fukuoka prefecture.[6][7][8]

Image Kofun Municipality Date Tomb style Decoration Designation Coordinates Database
Urayama Kofun浦山古墳Urayama kofun Kurume 450-500 keyhole incised (and red) concentric circles, chokkomon, kagitemon, triangles in a continuous pattern Historic Site 33°17′06″N 130°32′09″E
Nichirinji Kofun日輪寺古墳Nichirinji kofun Kurume 475-525 keyhole relief and incised (and red) concentric circles, chokkomon, kagitemon Historic Site 33°19′14″N 130°29′54″E
Yamanoshita Kofun山ノ下古墳Yamanoshita kofun Kurume round red; indistinct [8]
Shimobaba Kofun下馬場古墳Shimobaba kofun Kurume 575-600 round red and blue concentric circles, triangles, and shields Historic Site 33°18′50″N 130°37′22″E
Tōkō-ji Kenzuka Kofun東光寺剣塚古墳Tōkō-ji Kenzuka kofun Fukuoka 525-575 keyhole incised boats 33°34′26″N 130°25′58″E
Sakurakyō Kofun 2桜京古墳 (２号古墳)Sakurakyō nigō kofun Munakata 550-600 keyhole red and green triangles, in a continuous pattern Historic Site 33°50′38″N 130°29′43″E
Haburakan Cave Tomb Cluster埴生羅漢山横穴墓群Haburakan yokoana bogun Nakama 575-650 cave incised boats 33°48′57″N 130°41′55″E
Seto Cave 14瀬戸14号横穴Seto jūyongō yokoana Nakama cave; replica at the Nakama City Museum of History and Folklore (中間市歴史民俗資料館) red boats, human figures, horses, and birds 33°49′04″N 130°41′59″E
Doinouchi Cave土居の内横穴Doinouchi yokoana Nakama cave incised boats 33°49′08″N 130°42′01″E
Furutsuki Cave Tomb Cluster (Cave 9)古月横穴墓群 (９号横穴)Furutsuki yokoana bogun Kurate 550-650 cave whitened and incised indistinct grid pattern Historic Site 33°48′14″N 130°40′09″E
Takehara Kofun竹原古墳Takehara kofun Miyawaka 550-600 round black and red human figure, horse, dragon, fans, boat, waves Historic Site 33°43′59″N 130°36′38″E
Ōzuka Kofun王塚古墳Ōzuka kofun Keisen 525-575 keyhole red, green, yellow and black circles, concentric circles, triangles, birds, circular patterns with twin feet, vegetal motifs, quivers, bows, swords, shields, riders Special Historic Site 33°35′19″N 130°39′49″E
Togami Kannonzuka Kofun砥上観音塚古墳Togami Kannonzuka kofun Chikuzen 575-600 round red circles, boats, riders 33°28′52″N 130°36′23″E
Kitsunezuka Kofun狐塚古墳Kitsunezuka kofun Asakura 600-625 round incised circles, concentric circles, boats, horses 33°23′17″N 130°42′46″E
Miyajidake Kofun宮地嶽古墳Miyajidake kofun Asakura round red and blue circles 33°23′55″N 130°43′42″E
Gorōyama Kofun五郎山古墳Gorōyama kofun Chikushino 550-600 round red, black, and green quivers, bows, boats, houses, horses, birds, human figures, riders Historic Site 33°27′07″N 130°32′43″E

See also

Notes
  1. "Japanese terms: tumuli (墳丘墓, funkyū-bo); cave tombs (横穴墓, yokoana-bo); wall painting (彩色壁画, saishiki hekiga); incised lines (線刻, senkoku); relief carving (浮彫, ukibori); sarcophagus (石棺, sekkan)
  2. Japanese terms: chokkomon (直弧文, chokkomon); circles (円文, enmon); concentric circles (同心円文, dōshin-enmon); triangles (三角文, sankaku-mon); boats (船, fune); rings with feet (双脚輪状文, sōkyakurinjō-mon)

References
  1. Kobayashi Yukio (1964). 装飾古墳 [Decorated Kofun] (in Japanese and English). Heibonsha. pp. 124–8.
  2. Kidder, J. Edward (1964). Early Japanese Art: the Great Tombs and Treasures. Thames and Hudson. pp. 110–170, 272–324.
  3. 兵庫県の遺跡・遺物数の全国的な位置 [Numeric Comparison of Historic Sites in Hyōgo Prefecture with National Totals] (PDF) (in Japanese). Hyōgo Prefecture. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  4. 装飾古墳データベース [Decorated Tomb Database] (in Japanese). Kyushu National Museum. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  5. 文様 [Decorated Tomb Database: Motifs] (in Japanese). Kyushu National Museum. Archived from the original on 7 December 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  6. Otomasu Shigetaka (1974). 装飾古墳の文様 [Decorated Kofun and their Motifs] (in Japanese). Kodansha. pp. 152–160.
  7. 古墳一覧 [List of Kofun] (in Japanese). Kyushu National Museum. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  8. National Museum of Japanese History, ed. (1993). 装飾古墳の世界 [Special Exhibition: Decorated Tombs in Japan] (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun.
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