Japan's largest keyhole-shaped kofun burial mound with double moat system

Tomb
Japan's Castles Have Megalithic Mysteries (Himeji, Osaka, Tokyo)
Source: Japan's Castles Have Megalithic Mysteries (Himeji, Osaka, Tokyo) by Wandering Wolf

Daisen Kofun is Japan's largest burial mound — a keyhole-shaped tomb with a double moat, measuring 486 meters long and totaling 2.8 km in circumference (roughly 7 city blocks by 5 city blocks including moats). So massive it can't be fully appreciated from ground level; an aerial view helps. A stunning example of monumental ancient engineering! ⛩️

Key facts

  • The mound is the largest kofun in all of Japan, a keyhole-shaped burial mound with a double moat system
  • The kofun covers an area approximately 10 city blocks by 10 city blocks
  • Mound and moat burial architecture appears independently in Japan, the Americas, and Cambodia according to conventional timelines
  • The scale is so large it cannot be perceived from the ground; an aerial view is required
  • The keyhole shape design is compared to similar constructions in Egypt, Greece, and India

Site mentioned

📍 Nintoku Tennōryō🗺️ More sites in JP🌍 Show on the globe

Sources

Mozu Kofun Groupen.wikipedia.org
Daisenryo Kofun, 2.8 km in circumference and the largest kofun in Japan, is thought to be the Tomb of Emperor Nintoku.
Kofunen.wikipedia.org
Daisen Kofun, the largest of all kofun, one of many tumuli in the Mozu kofungun, Sakai, Osaka Prefecture (5th century). The term is the origin of the name of ...
Unearthing the secrets of Japan's mysterious ancient tombsjapantravel.navitime.com
Daisen Kofun is 486 meters long. Located in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan's largest kofun is truly epic at 486 meters long.
Nintoku Mausoleum: Exploring the Tomb of Japan's ...mausoleums.com
The Nintoku Mausoleum, also known as Daisen Kofun, is Japan's largest tomb and a symbol of the Kofun period's architectural brilliance.
A Burial Site Fit for an Emperorscience.nasa.gov
The Daisenryo Kofun is the largest in Japan, but little is known about what lies inside. One glimpse came in 1872, when a severe storm damaged ...
Was this story useful?

Related stories

← All stories

Keep exploring

Every site on this page sits on the globe, and the people who research them are on the Discord.

3D Globe · Sites by country · Story Archive · Research Library · Weekly Journal · Search

AI-generated text · images from the original sources · always verify with the sources.