Takasaki Tomb Walk ~ JAN,2025

Watanuki Kannonyama Kofun in the southern part of Takasaki City is a miraculously unlooted keyhole-shaped tumulus. Excavation work began in 1967, and a huge number of burial goods were unearthed, but what is noteworthy is its connection to the Yamato royal authority and its deep exchange with East Asia (the Northern Wei dynasty of China, the Northern Qi dynasty, and the Korean Peninsula). The period corresponds to the late Kofun period in the second half of the 6th century, and corresponds to the children (Emperor Ankan, Senka, and Kinmei) of Emperor Keitai (the fifth-generation descendant of Emperor Ojin) and the generations after him (Emperor Bidatsu, Yomei, Sushun, Suiko, and Prince Shotoku).

The burial goods are about 1 km away at the Gunma Prefectural Museum of History, where many of the national treasures excavated from the burial mound can be viewed. Because the tomb was not looted, a huge amount of grave goods were found, and the quality of the goods, such as the mirror identical to that found in the tomb of Baekje's King Muryeong, a copper water jar from the Northern Qi Dynasty, and top-quality accessories, weapons, and horse equipment, suggests that it belonged to a person of considerable rank and status.

When I was about to climb the burial mound, an old man from an adjacent office appeared and offered to show me inside the stone chamber. He had a magnificent beard and looked like he loved ancient history, so I felt like I was from the same type of man. The entrance was narrow and about 1 meter high, so I had to squat down to enter, but it became wider as I went further in, and it was about 2 meters high, so it was a room that seemed quite relaxing. What surprised me was the precision of the stonework that covered the sides, and I was surprised that it was really a 1,500-year-old technique, but it was said that it was made from amphibole andesite, an eruption product of Mt. Haruna that erupted from the end of the 5th century to the first half of the 6th century. The ceiling stone was a 22-ton slab-shaped sandstone that was transported from Fujioka City, 15 km away, and it seems that the reason that the grave robbery was avoided was because part of the ceiling had collapsed, and many of the grave goods were buried.

Although I did not ask the name of the "man from the office," he was very knowledgeable and I enjoyed talking to him. He seems to think that the buried person was the son of Emperor Kinmei. He points out that the design of the stone chamber of the tomb of Emperor Kinmei is very similar to that of this tomb, and that the contents of the grave goods indicate that the buried person could only have been a first-class member of the imperial family. He speculates that the buried person was a major member of the imperial family who was sent to the Midono Miyake (a Miyake was a territory directly controlled by the emperor) that was set up around Fujioka City at the time. Emperor Kinmei was the son of Emperor Keitai and the daughter of Emperor Ninken, and after Emperor Keitai, who came from Echizen, ascended to the throne in the early 6th century, rebellions against the new government occurred in Kyushu, such as the Iwai Rebellion, and in Kanto, the Musashi no Kuni no Miyatsuko Rebellion. After the rebellions were suppressed, the number of Miyake increased and the foundation of the Keitai dynasty was strengthened, but Kamitsuke (Gunma Prefecture) was the entrance to Kanto on the Tosando, which was the main official road connecting Kinai and Kanto, and was an important strategic base for the Yamato royal authority.

梅山古墳（奈良県明日香村）

By the way, there are two theories about the location of Emperor Kinmei's tomb: Umeyama Tomb in Asuka Village and Maruyama Tomb in Kashihara City. There are two cases of wives being reburied in the tombs of ancient emperors: Emperor Kinmei and Katashiohime (Soga no Iname's daughter), and Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jito. The Imperial Household Agency currently identifies the former Umeyama Tomb as the tomb of Emperor Kinmei, but it has not yet been excavated and no conclusion has been reached.

丸山古墳（奈良県橿原市）

The latter, Maruyama Tomb, was investigated in 1991 when a local child accidentally found the entrance to a stone chamber, and is estimated to date from the end of the 6th century to the beginning of the 7th century, and the stone chamber that the "man in the office" was referring to is the one in Maruyama Tomb. This is an interesting example of a correlation between the ancient tombs in the Kanto region and those in the Kinai region, and the progress of this research will be worth watching.

The copper water bottle found in Kannonyama Kofun is said to be the same as the one at Horyuji Temple, and since Prince Shotoku was the son of Emperor Yomei and the grandson of Emperor Kinmei, he would have been the nephew of the person buried there, and it is possible that uncle and nephew shared the same water bottle.

八幡塚古墳（保渡田古墳群、群馬県高崎市）

In the northern part of Takasaki City, there is the Hodota Tomb Group at the foot of Mt. Haruna. The excavated items here can be seen at the adjacent Kamitsuke no Sato Museum, but they are about 100 years older than the Kannonyama Tomb, and are ruins that were buried by two major eruptions of Mt. Haruna. What's interesting here is that not only are there tombs, but also rice paddy plots and the king's palace (Mitsudera ruins) from that time have been uncovered, allowing us to see relics that give us insight into the life and rituals of that time, but it seems that excavation is still in progress. It's exciting to see what will come out when we dig up the volcanic ash, and it could be said to be a Japanese mini-Pompeii. The period is the 5th century, the time of the Five Kings of Wa, who appear in the Song Shu.

There are many interesting ancient tombs in the Kanto Plain, especially in the Joshu area, and I would like to continue to walk around the ancient tombs. The ancestor of the Kamitsukeno clan was Toyokiirihiko-no-Mikoto, the son of Emperor Sujin, and the "man in the office" estimated that it was around the time of Christ. Japanese history is gradually losing its prejudiced allergy to the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, and with the help of scientific approaches, it seems that the mysteries of ancient history are gradually being solved. Professor Seki Yuji and Professor Tanaka Hidemichi are still publishing books energetically, and the number of other books related to ancient history is increasing, so I can't keep up with reading them :).

On the way home, I visited Myohoji Temple in Fujioka City. It is said to be the place where Saicho made a pilgrimage, and the large golden statue of Prince Dengyo is impressive. It seems that the temple once prospered after receiving the Midorino District as temple land from Emperor Saga, and was called Midorino Temple. Midorino is probably derived from the Midorino Miyake mentioned above.