BURIAL CHAMBERS OF THE KOFUN PERIOD MOUNDS IN THE CENTRAL AREA OF THE KANSAI REGION, JAPAN

Abstract

The Kofun period is named after the tomb mounds or kofuns that were built for the members of the ruling class of that time in the 3-7 centuries AD. Among the main types of tumuli differing in their external structure, the large square-round mounds were supposedly built for the Emperors. Mounds of various shapes and sizes were constructed for the high-ranking officials, local chieftains, and clan representatives. There is a certain difference in the structure of the mounds and in the sarcophagi used for buring. The origins of stone cist construction in kofuns can be traced back to the funkyubo burials in late period of the Yayoi era. The transformations of burial chamber structure can be observed at different stages of the Kofun period. On the initial stage, “tateana sekisitsu” or vertical burial chambers with a wooden coffin fixed on a clay floor were constructed. The walls were made of stone slabs tightly fit together. Ceiling rocks were laid to close the chamber. Then the holes were filled with soil or hermetically sealed with clay mass. Drainage channels were constructed inside the chamber to prevent the ingress of water on the coffin. On the next stage, stone sarcophagi were used in the vertical burial chambers. The tradition to construct horizontal stone chambers is thought to have been borrowed from the Korean peninsulat the end of the 4^th - beginning of the 5^th century. The horizontal burial chamber (“Yokoana sekishitsu”) was constructed in a round part of the square-round mounds. In the late Kofun period, when square-round kofuns were not constructed any more, such chambers were built in round and square tumuli. Stone sarcophagi were used in the horizontal burial chambers. On the late stages, megaliths were used in the construction of horizontal chambers. The introduction of Buddhism and strengthening of the cremation practice stopped the practice of Kofuns construction.