Shiragayama Kofun, Imperial mausoleum in Habikino, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
Shiragayama Kofun is a keyhole-shaped mound in Habikino, Osaka Prefecture, at the southwestern edge of the Furuichi Kofun Group. Its 115-meter-long mound has a 128-meter-wide, 11-meter-high front section and a 63-meter-diameter, 10.5-meter-high rear circle. The front section is about twice as wide as the rear circle.
Shiragayama Kofun was built in the first half of the 6th century, as dated by fragments of cylindrical haniwa. The Imperial Household Agency designates it as the mausoleum of Emperor Seinei, the 22nd emperor, under the name Kōchi no Sakadonohara no Misasagi. The Fukuoka Prefecture site Yatsuraki Kofun is thought to have been built as a reduced-scale version of its design.
The burial ground expressed social rank through the scale of its construction and the arrangement of its spaces. People used such sites to demonstrate where individuals stood within the ancient power structure.
The Imperial Household Agency manages the site as Emperor Seinei's mausoleum, and the worship point (haisho) lies outside the moat at the front of the front square section. Visitors view the mound from this spot rather than entering it. The tomb sits at the southwestern edge of the Furuichi Kofun Group in Habikino.
The name Shiragayama comes from Emperor Seinei, who according to the Kojiki was born with white hair and was called Shiraga no Ōyamato Neko no Mikoto. The Fukuoka Prefecture Inukai City's Hachirai Kofun is thought to have been built as a scaled-down version of this mound's design.
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