Kinreizuka— The "Golden Bells Tomb 



of Japan ^ 



By MoTOSABURO HiRANO and 

 HiROSHi Takiguchi 



[With 4 plates] 

 THE ANCIENT TOMBS OF JAPAN 



Among the most interesting man-made features found throughout 

 Japan are the burial-mound tombs. They are found in many places, 

 and are not only of general interest, but their scientific value to the 

 archeologist who is reconstructing the past history of the people of 

 Japan is tremendous. The Kinreizuka (Golden Bells Tomb) is of 

 unusual significance, for it was erected when the custom of building 

 elaborate burial tombs was beginning to decline, and it contained a 

 quantity and quality of grave offerings never before found in a single 

 tomb. Before going into the details of the excavation of this mound, 

 the tomb's construction, and a description of some of the more signifi- 

 cant objects discovered, a brief account of the burial-mound complex, 

 its position and meaning in Japanese history, will be worthwhile. 



Burial-mound tombs were first constructed in Japan at the end of 

 the second century A. D. and continued to be a popular means of 

 disposal of the dead until about the middle of the seventh century 

 A. D. The introduction of Buddhism, with a shift in religious beliefs, 

 was the main cause of their decline, and their construction stopped 

 entirely in the ninth century A. D. Although burial-mound tombs 

 are found over most of Japan, the main concentration of this burial 

 custom was in Nara and its environs, in Easarazu and its neighborhood 

 in the Chiba Prefecture, in the northern districts of Kanto, and in 

 the northern and eastern districts of Kyushu. 



The tombs were of different shapes, each characteristic of a certain 

 period, thus helping to establish the historical development of the 



1 In 1951 a monographic study entitled "Kinreizuka, Old Tonil) at Kisarazu in the Province 

 of Kaznsa (Chiba Prefecture)" was published in Japanese with English captions to the 

 Illustrations and a three-page English summary. In order that an English reading pulillc 

 might appreciate the significance of these finds, this longer summary was prepared, trans- 

 lated by Kazuo Hirano, and edited by Dr. ClilTord Evans, Jr., division of archeology, U. S. 

 National Museum. — Ed. 



437 



