Artifacts from Daisen Kofun’s 1872 opening identified in old collection

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Key facts

• Japan has more than 160,000 kofun tombs. About 130 are thought to be imperial tombs, and 47 are officially designated; none of the designated imperial tombs has been fully excavated because of Imperial Household Agency restrictions.
• Daisen Kofun in Osaka is officially designated as Emperor Nintoku’s mausoleum. His traditional reign dates are 313–399 CE, while excavated pottery and haniwa date the mound to the early 5th century.
• The 1872 collapse exposed a stone chamber and its objects were recovered; those objects were later identified in an old collection, with the finding announced in June 2025.
• The collection contains an iron knife with a copper sheath covered in gold and iron armor fragments with gold-covered copper outer fittings.
• Researchers from Kokugakuin University, Sakai City and Nippon Steel Engineering used X-ray CT and X-ray fluorescence analysis.
• Hashihaka Kofun in Nara, sometimes proposed as Himiko’s tomb, was dated to 240–260 CE by a 2011 radiocarbon study; a February 2026 report described an earthen barrier in the adjacent moat.

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