Description
AkatsukaTumulus is a 57.5-meter-long keyhole-shaped tumulus, located on the hill of Takamori in Usa City, Ôita Prefecture. Built in the early fourth century, it is one of the oldest tumuli in the Kyûshû region. Archeological research in 1921 turned up numerous artifacts from the stone chamber with side entrance in the back of the tumulus, including five mirrors with triangular rims and motifs of animals and gods, cylindrical beads, and fragments of iron swords. The mirrors were all made in China. Similar examples produced from the same cast have been found in other tumuli such as Ishizukayama Tumulus in Fukuoka Prefecture, Tsubai Ôtsukayama Tumulus in Kyoto Prefecture, and Tsutsuno Tumulus in Mie Prefecture.
Data source
ColBase
"ColBase: Integrated Collections Database of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan" is a service that enables a multi-database search of the collections in the four national museums (To...
Contents holder/Provider
Aggregator
National Institutes for Cultural Heritage
The National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH) comprise four National Museums (Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum, and Kyushu National Museum) and two National Research Institutes for Cultural Properties (Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, and Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties), as well as the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) in Sakai City, for a total of seven institutions.
Last updated
September 14, 2026