Samurai and ancient tombs ! Shidosan Kofun - 四戸3号古墳 - Japanese Ancient Tomb

This 6th Century tomb is one of a series of many tombs in the tomb group known as 四戸の古墳群 (Shido no Kofun Gun), located in the very picturesque Higashiagatsuma (東吾妻町) area in Gunma prefecture.

Although the tomb body itself has disappeared over time, what's left behind is the wonderfully preserved stone inner burial chamber that we see today. Apparently the stones for the chamber came from the river nearby.

Of note also is the rocky mountain peak in the background called 岩櫃山 (Iwabitsuyama). As well as being spectacular to look at, it was home to Iwabitsu Castle (岩櫃城) which was related to famous samurai such as Takeda Shingen and Sanada Yukitaka.

More info (Japanese) : http://www.jpn-hayashi.com/cgi-bin/pj...

Interesting pictures of surrounding tombs in the area : http://kofunmoodys.fc2web.com/agatuma...

Music provided by the one, the only, Kevin MacLeod - if you mess with this guy you're going to come off second best, every damn time, you can't test the champion! : https://incompetech.com/music/royalty...

(Living Voyage Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...)

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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

I also have a Facebook page where I post these videos. Feel free to contact me via that page if you want to connect regarding anything about kofun, particularly their promotion to tourists to Japan. Ideally I'd like to build a kofun appreciation community of sorts, but that is just a dream right now -   / japankofun