Tangotai Kofun, Ancient burial mound in Hachinohe, Japan.
Tangotai Kofun is a burial site with over a hundred mounds, many of them circular and ranging from four to nine meters across. Each mound contains a central pit that once held wooden coffins where the deceased were placed.
The site was discovered and excavated in 1987 during construction work for a new town development project. It received the designation of National Historic Site after its archaeological importance became clear.
The burial grounds show ancient funeral customs through pottery shards, sword fragments, farm tools, and thousands of beads left with the dead. These objects reveal how people of that time honored their deceased and what crafts they had mastered.
The excavated finds are displayed at Hachinohe City Museum, where about 195 artifacts from the site are preserved. The museum is located in town and easy to reach for visitors who want to learn more about the burial grounds.
A decorated sword hilt found in Tomb 15 shows design elements similar to weapons from 6th-century Baekje in Korea. This points to close connections between the cultures of that time.
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