①Inariyama Kofun

　The Inariyama Kofun is a keyhole-shaped mound, with a length of 120 meters, and is the second largest of the Sakitama Kofun cluster. It is estimated that the burial mound was built in the late fifth century, making it the oldest in the cluster.

　During excavation in 1968, two coffin chambers were found in the rounded rear of the mound, one featuring a gravel floor and the other a dirt floor. The graveled chamber was found to be in excellent condition, and many artifacts were able to be excavated. Among them was an iron sword, inlaid with 115 golden kanji characters. Any written language discovered from such an early period is considered invaluable, and the characters on the iron sword are currently being thoroughly studied in order to learn as much as possible about life and society at the time. The iron sword and other burial artifacts from the Inariyama Kofun, including a bronze mirror, a ‘magatama’ bead, arms and harnesses, were designated as National Treasures in 1983.

Inariyama Kofun gravel chamber

Gold-inlaid Iron Sword	Owake-no-shin	Waka Takeru Okimi(Emperor Yuryaku)

Bronze Mirror

Magatama bead

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