Hidden Areas and Burial Mounds

Preserved locations, incredible scenery that has fused to become a part of Japanese history. This page is your handy little guide to traversing these ancient tombs and remote points all on your own.

Akasaka-Imai Tomb

The Akasaka-Imai Tomb is the burial site of a powerful leader of an ancient kingdom of this area, historically known as Tango. Measuring 51 by 45 meters, it was one of the largest tombs in Japan at the time it was constructed around the turn of the third century. The size of the mound indicates that the person entombed had great economic power in what must have been a stable agrarian society.

     A total of 25 graves have been discovered on this site, six of which, located on the upper level, belong to the former ruler and presumably close family members. The largest burial chamber has not yet been fully excavated, but the wooden coffin found in the second largest was opened in 2000. The deceased had deteriorated inside, leaving behind a red silhouette and the remnants of a glass and jasper beaded headdress. A pair of earrings, an iron sword, and a yariganna planing tool were also unearthed. Some of the glass beads contained an imported blue pigment, and the iron instruments were made with technology nonexistent in Japan, evidence that this civilization traded with the Asian continent.

     Postholes located west of the main chamber indicate that funeral rites were held there. Although it is unclear what rituals were performed, approximately 300 rocks and pieces of crushed earthenware were recovered from the surface; these were perhaps scattered during funeral ceremonies.

     Artifacts from the tomb, including the original beads and a replica headdress, are on display at the Ancient Tango Village Museum.

Shinmeiyama Tomb

The Shinmeiyama Tomb is a keyhole-shaped burial mound created sometime between the late fourth and early fifth century, presumably built for the ruler of an ancient Tango kingdom. It is the second-largest keyhole-shaped tomb along the Sea of Japan, which attests to the great wealth of the Tango kingdom during this period. Researchers estimate the 190-meter-long tumulus took at least five years to construct, requiring considerable labor from throughout the region. The structure resembles the other large Tango tombs: it is three-tiered, has sides overlaid with round stones (fukiishi), and was adorned with an estimated 2,000 terra-cotta funerary objects (haniwa). A large stone burial chamber is likely located in the round section, as found in similar keyhole-shaped tombs from this period.

            At the time of its construction, the burial mound overlooked a lagoon that connected this civilization with its maritime trading partners on the Asian continent. The mound would have been a dominant figure in the landscape, manifested as a well-sculpted hill of gray rocks on the waterfront. Today, the lagoon is gone and the mound is covered with vegetation; however, you may still find loose fukiishi rocks scattered in the forest undergrowth.

            Because the site has not been excavated, few artifacts have been recovered from the Shinmeiyama Tomb. One notable artifact from the site, a terra-cotta fragment engraved with an illustration of a person rowing a boat, is on display at the nearby Ancient Tango Village Museum.

Ubusunayama Tomb

The Ubusunayama Tomb is a large round burial mound that was built in the mid-fifth century. Researchers believe the entombed is the successor to the ruler of the Tango kingdom interred at Shinmeiyama Tomb. The shape and scale of the mound, which is 55 meters in diameter, indicate that this region was still powerful, but not as prosperous as it had been one generation earlier.

            The mound overlooks the Sea of Japan, where the ancient kingdom engaged in maritime commerce. The entombed was likely a strong military leader in a position to oversee trade with the Asian continent. The mound was covered in round stones called fukiishi, and was decorated with haniwa (terracotta funerary objects). Today, grass covers the mound, and a very small shrine is located at the top.

            During 1939 excavations, researchers discovered a stone coffin and many burial goods, including a terra-cotta pillow holding hair remnants. Additionally, the king’s coffin contained a bronze mirror; a comb; beads of jade, jasper, agate, and glass; wooden bows; a sword with deer antler inlaid in the handle; and a number of other artifacts. Inside the burial chamber, body armor, an iron sword, and iron arrowheads were found. The Ubusunayama Tomb and its well-preserved contents were of great value to researchers.

The king’s coffin has been reinterred and lies within the burial mound today. Replicas of some burial goods from the Ubusunayama Tomb are on display at the nearby Ancient Tango Village Museum.

Hiding Place of Hosokawa Gracia

This mountaintop was likely the hiding place of historical figure Hosokawa Gracia (1563–1600). Oral history from the nearby town of Midono, together with war chronicles recorded a century after Gracia’s lifetime, suggests this was the location where she spent two years in confinement.

Gracia was born Akechi Tama, daughter of samurai general Akechi Mitsuhide (1528–1582). At the age of 16, she was married to Hosokawa Tadaoki (1563–1646), a samurai who eventually gained control of Tango Province (present-day northern Kyoto Prefecture). In 1582, Gracia’s father, Mitsuhide, betrayed Japan’s first great unifier, Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582), at Honnoji Temple in Kyoto. This became known as the Honnoji Incident and culminated in Nobunaga’s death. Gracia’s life was then in danger, so she was separated from her children and banished to live in isolation.

Eventually she was sent to Osaka, where she converted to Christianity and took the baptismal name Gracia. When the city was captured by her husband’s enemies in 1600, samurai code demanded she die rather than be taken hostage.

Little remains of Gracia’s time on this mountaintop, except the two-tiered clearing. A stone monument was erected in her memory on the upper level in 1936. There is another visible clearing in the distance where historians believe guards were stationed to protect Gracia in case of an attack.

Kisaichi Maruyama Tomb

The Kisaichi Maruyama Tomb is a large three-tiered, round burial mound from the mid-fifth century. It measures 70 meters in diameter with a 10-meter protrusion where burial ceremonies would have been held, making it one of the largest round burial mounds in Japan. The site is now a public park.

Excavations revealed two graves belonging to rulers of an ancient agricultural civilization that once thrived in the Yura River basin. The bodies and wooden coffins had decomposed, but armor, swords, mirrors, beads, agricultural instruments, and other burial goods were retrieved from the tomb. Most notably, gold was found in the buckles on arrow cases, which would have been extremely valuable at the time. Although mysteries remain regarding the relation between these two rulers—perhaps parent and child, or siblings—due to the grave contents and the scale and position of this mound, researchers believe the entombed were powerful rulers engaged in trade with other regions.

Forgotten over the years, the Kisaichi Maruyama Tomb was rediscovered in 1987 during preparations to build the Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway. The site was then excavated, and the mound was restored as close as possible to its original state. Approximately 60,000 stones (called fukiishi) cover the sides of the mound, and 1,000 replica cylindrical haniwa, terracotta funerary objects, line the three tiers and the entrance. Artifacts from the tomb can be viewed at the Ayabe City Museum.