Part 2 - Stone Kofun Tombs Ainoshima "cat island" Fukuoka - Ainoshima Stone Tumuli - 相島積石塚群

#catisland #kofun #kofunperiod #traveljapan

This is Part 2 of the Ainoshima Kofun Tombs. Part 1 is here:    • Part 1 - Stone Kofun Tombs Ainoshima ...  

This video was filmed on an island off the coast of Fukuoka, Kyushu called Ainoshima (相島), which has a population of around 300 people. The island can be accessed via a short ferry ride from the mainland at a place called Shingu Port (新宮町) - which is located a short distance from Fukuoka City. I've been wanting to come here for a long time, and I finally found a small window of opportunity to do so (as in I managed to spend a couple morning hours here within a very tight schedule).

The drawcard for most tourists that come to the island is the rather large community of stray cats, and at least when I was there most were cat lovers who hung around the port to see the cats, which left me having this kofun site to myself as it was a further walk away from the popular area.

Aside from the kofun already shown in Part 1 here:    • Part 1 - Stone Kofun Tombs Ainoshima ...  , this video features the best of the remaining 253 stone tombs (built during the 4th to 7th Century) along a roughly 500 metre stony beach stretch of coastline on the island.

The tombs are made entirely of piled stones, which isn't all that common in Japan, and when it does occur it seems to often be linked to ancient Korean societies who may have been present in Japan back in those days as immigrants or envoys. This link hasn't actually been proven in the case of the tomb/s in this video though, it's just a theory.

Even more rare is the seaside aspect of these tombs, I've never seen anything like this before in Japan and I can't find evidence of any other such site in existence today.

Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/qFbLdSrsHvsoe...

More info:
(English) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ainoshi...
(Japanese) - http://ja6atl.my.coocan.jp/kankou/ain...

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Q: What am I watching here ?

A: You are watching footage of a "kofun/古墳" - kofun are tombs in Japan that were created during the Kofun Period (roughly between the 3rd and 7th Century AD) - this era was preceded by the Jomon and Yayoi periods, and followed by Asuka, Nara and so on. These tombs were built as burial chambers for people from Japanese imperial families and other people of higher status in society during those days. The most well-known and generally largest tombs are found around Kyoto and Osaka, but they are found all over Kansai, Kanto, Tohoku etc., and even in other parts of Japan such as Shikoku and Kyushu. Figures vary greatly, but some sources state there are over 160000 of these kofun in Japan. At times you will see haniwa on and around kofun - haniwa are terracotta figures which were made in various shapes, including being formed as people and animals.
Have a read of the the Wikipedia article for more information : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofun

Ideally I'd like to build a kofun appreciation community of sorts, but that is just a dream right now. You can hit me up on:

  / japankofun  
  / japankofun