Photo by Kaz Kuroki
Nyutabaru Kofun Group
新田原古墳群
Nyutabaru Mound №58 (Mukadezuka Kofun)
( Photo by Shintomi Town Board of Education )
Nyutabaru Kofun Group is located on a plateau on the western side of present day Shintomi Town, Koyu District, distributed over a broad area approximately 2 km north-south and 5 km east-west at an elevation of around 70 – 90 m. This kofun group actually comprises of four ancillary groups of burial mounds: Gionbaru, Tsukabaru, Ishibune, and Yamanobo. There are a total of 197 extant mounds, including 22 keyhole-shaped burial mounds, 174 circular burial mounds, and 1 square burial mound. However, a number of mounds in this group were flattened over the years, including 3 that were levelled in 1939, and estimates suggest that over 200 mounds originally existed.
This kofun group was established from the 4th century (Early Kofun), but many keyhole-shaped burial mounds were built during the 6th century (Late Kofun), at a time when kofun construction had slowed down at Saitobaru Kofun Group on the opposite bank of the Hitotsuse River.
Human-shaped Haniwa from Nyutabaru Mound №58 (Mukadezuka Kofun)
( Photo by Shintomi Town Board of Education )
Mukadezuka Kofun (Nyutabaru Mound No.58), which belongs to Gionbaru Kofun Group, constructed in the middle of the 6th century, is a keyhole-shaped burial mound with a length of 82 m and has burial space consisting of a horizontal stone chamber. This mound is noteworthy in that excavations conducted by Shintomi Town Board of Education as part of site maintenance work unearthed cylindrical haniwa from the mound, as well as a range of figurative haniwa from an area of embankment on the western side of the mound, including humans, animals and houses.
Surprisingly, this was the first discovery in Miyazaki Prefecture of a human-shaped haniwa giving insights into the wider context at the time. In terms of composition, the figurative haniwa discovered at Mukadezuka Kofun bear many resemblances to those discovered at Imashirozuka Kofun in Takatsuki City, Osaka, regarded by many as the possible tomb of Emperor Keitai. This suggests the possibility that a new powerful clan emerged in Hyuga in the highlands of Nyutabaru linked to a new powerful clan in the Kinai region.
Nyutabaru Kofun Group was designated as a National Historical Site in 1944.
| Location | Gionbaru Ooaza, Shinden, Shintomi Town, Koyu District, etc. | |
|---|---|---|
| Access To Mukadezuka Kofun |
Train | Take a taxi from Hyuga-Shintomi Station on the JR Nippo-Main Line (15 min.) |
| Take a taxi from Sadowara Station on the JR Nippo-Main Line (25 min.) | ||
| Bus | Take a Miyazaki Kotsu bus from Saito Bus Center bound for
Takanabe Bus Center (via Icchoda)
Or, take a Miyazaki Kotsu bus from Takanabe Bus Center bound for Saito Bus Center (via Icchoda) Get off at “Gionbaru” and walk for 10 min. |
|
| Car | Exit at Saitobaru IC on the Higashikyushu Expressway and continue for approx. 15 min. | |
| Inquiries | Lifelong Learning Division, Shintomi Town Board of Education Tel: 0983-33-1022 | |
