Kofun Information

The 3rd century

Back to Top

The 4th century

Back to Top

The 5th century

Back to Top

The 6th century

Back to Top

My Summary

I am interested in the relationship between Wa and the Korean Peninsula countries because the connection must have directly influenced Iwase-senzuka leaders.

I need to properly understand itself before I look into the Japanese association with the peninsula and I feel that this distribution of large-sized kofun contains clues about that.

What I have found in this list are as follows.

• Considering the size and the number of kofun in the 5th century, population growth must have occurred in the period. I think there were at least two reasons.
  • Spread of iron farm implements which led to agricultural land expansion and increase in the yield.
  • Introduction of new cooking ware such as steamers and stoves which led to nutritional improvement.
• The distribution of large-sized kofun makes me imagine that the early imperial family branched out into several lineages. Bitter factional struggles might have taken place, but the burial mounds themselves indicate nothing about that.
• Locations of the large-sized kofun, however, might present the succession race results. Taking imperial mausolea positions into account, the transition seems to be as follows.
• An area around Yanagimoto kofun cluster in the south-eastern part of the Nara Basin from the mid-3rd C to the 2nd half of the 4th C. (The first central power of )
• An area around Saki Tatanami kofun cluster in the northern part of the Nara Basin between the 2nd half of the 4th C and the beginning of the 5th C. (Leaders from Umami kofun cluster area in the south-western part of the Nara Basin must also have played important roles in the administration.)
• An area around Mozu and Furuichi kofun clusters in the southern part of present Osaka Prefecture from the 1st half of the 5th C until the mid-6th C.
• Asuka in the most southern part of the Nara Basin after the mid-6th C.

Back to Top