The tradition of monumental constructions in ancient cultures of the Japanese archipelago: the Kofun period

This article is a continuation of a series of studies of the traditions of monumental constructions in the ancient cultures of the Japanese Archipelago. The main aim of the article is to determine the principal stages in the development of the tradition of monumental constructions on the territory of the Japanese Archipelago during the Kofun period (late 3rd - 7th centuries AD), the areal distribution of megalithic kofun and local variations of their structures. The investigation is based on materials from archaeological reports about different types of mounded tombs. Also it leans on the results of the study of raw materials for building stone chambers, stone coffins, funerary equipment and grave goods using research methods of natural sciences. Funerary complexes of the Kofun period are represented by mounded tombs with various shapes of mound. For building large-scale kofun the following main types of mounds were most frequently used: keyhole-shaped mounds (with square front, round back), keyhole tombs with a square mound, square-shaped mounded tombs and circular-shaped mounded tombs. Most of the huge kofun, from 200 to 486 meters long, are represented by keyhole-shaped mounds and are concentrated within modern Nara and Osaka Prefectures. In total, the concentration of monumental kofun, especially over 100 meters long, are mainly found on the territory of two areas - in the central part of Honshu Island and in the northwestern part of Kyushu Island. During the Early Kofun period, the dominant practice was to build a vertical or a pit-style stone chamber within the mound. Vertical stone chambers were typically built around the coffin after it was put in place. The walls demonstrate limited stone-work. A decrease in the external mound size occurred from the middle of the 5th century AD. At the same time there was a gradual increase in the size of the inside structure of stone chambers. At the end of the Middle - Late Kofun Period horizontal or corridor-style stone chambers appeared. Megaliths were often used for their construction. The practice of using megaliths for building chambers spread over a wide area - from Niigata Prefecture, in the north, to the southern part of Kyushu. Within the common system of funeral practice represented by kofun, there are some regional features. For example, the Kansai region is characterized by the largest monumental constructions and "megalithic kofun" with chambers from polished tuff rock slabs. In Kyushu, since the end of the Early Kofun Period (end of 4th century AD), the tradition of decorated kofun had been developing: walls of stone chambers were ornamented with painted or geometric pattern. In the central part of Honshu, only two decorated kofun with ornament (similar to Buddhist frescoes) are known for that time. The authors believe all these ritual features reflect the crystallization of the unified pre-state formation and the intensive processes of social stratification.

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