438 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 



burial-mound tomb complex throughout Japan. The three types of 

 tombs are: 1, the round or spherical tomb (Enfun) ; 2, the square- 

 front, round-back tomb (Zenpokoenfun) ; and 3, the square tomb 

 (Hofun), The round tomb is considered not only the earliest type 

 constructed but also the simplest. Although it represents the earliest 

 period, dating to the second century A. D., a fev/ round, simple tombs 

 were built until the end of the Kofun (Ancient Tomb) period of Japan 

 in the eighth centurx'- A. D. The most complex type is the square- 

 front, round-back, which represents the climax of perfection during 

 the peak of this burial complex in the middle of the fourth century 

 A. D. All the tombs of this type are much larger than the round 

 variety and were supposed to have been constructed only for men 

 of high social or political position. As a result the architecture and 

 construction are not only good, but the grave offerings and objects 

 inside are usually of greater number and finer quality. Perhaps one 

 of the largest tombs ever built in this style, and an excellent example 

 of the typical features of the square-front, round-back tomb is the 

 famous Nintoku Ryo built for the Emperor Nintoku in the fifth cen- 

 tury A. D. Kinreizuka (Golden Bells Tomb) belongs to this class. 

 The last group, square tombs with a flight of stairs in front, is very 

 rare and was constructed only occasionally during the middle and 

 late part of the Hofun period of Japan. 



Kinreizuka (Golden Bells Tomb), once a beautiful burial-mound 

 tomb 6 meters high and 110 meters long with a water-filled moat 

 surrounding it, today stands only as a rounded mound 5 meters high 

 and 35 meters in diameter (pi. 1). Local people have constantly dug 

 away the mound, taking the dirt for modern house or road construc- 

 tion, so that today only a small part of the square front still remains. 

 The Golden Bells Tomb is on the outskirts of the city of Kisarazu, 

 Chiba Prefecture, 70 kilometers south of Tokyo. It appears that 

 thousands of years ago the coastline of this area had been about a 

 kilometer inside the present line, as evidenced by several ranges of 

 sand dunes in the region. Taking advantage of these dunes, the early 

 inhabitants constructed their burial mounds here. Kinreizuka was 

 constructed during the middle of the seventh century A. D. on one 

 of these dunes closest to the coast, at which time the city of Kisarazu 

 was only 300 meters from the water's edge. The geographical features 

 of the coast must be considered in this discussion of the setting of 

 the burial-mound tombs of the Kisarazu area. The River Obitsu 

 drains the area, running not over 1 kilometer from the Golden Bells 

 Tomb, and empties into the Bay of Tokyo at a point about 1^/^ kilome- 

 ters from the mound. With good drainage, good agricultural lands, 

 and the availability of a river, this area supported large populations 

 in the past. Here once occurred one of the main concentrations of 



