Mori Shogunzuka Burial Chamber

The Mori Shogunzuka Kofun (森将軍塚古墳^?) is a keyhole-shaped tumulus within the Hanishina Kofun Cluster (埴科古墳群, Hanishina kofun-gun^?) located in Chikuma, Nagano Prefecture Japan. The kofun has been restored to what modern archaeologists believe to represent its original form, with reproduction haniwa on top of the mound. Its burial chamber is closed and inaccessible to the public. There is also a museum on site, the Mori Shogunzuka Museum, which displays a reproduction of the burial chamber as well as artifacts unearthed during archaeological investigations. The cluster of four tombs has been designated a National Historic Site by the Japanese government.

The Mori Shogunzuka Kofun measures approximately 100 meters long. The circular burial chamber has a diameter of approximately 30 meters and a height of 4 meters, and is slightly offset from the rectangular portion of the tomb, indicating that the contours of a natural hill were used in its construction. It dates from the late 4th century, or the early Kofun period.

During excavations, a pit-style stone chamber was found in the rear mound, with dimensions of 15 meters in length, 9.3 meters in width, and 2.8 meters deep. The floor space of the chamber is one of the largest in eastern Japan, and contained a double-walled stone sarcophagus. Although the tomb had been plundered at some point in antiquity, the chamber still contained fragments of bronze mirrors, iron swords and farming utensils, beads, and a large number of haniwa fragments, indicating both the high status of the occupant and connections to the Yamato culture of central Japan. The tomb was designated as a National Historic Site in 1971. The exterior of the kofun was reconstructed from 1981-1991. In the surrounding area are 13 smaller round tumuli and at least 76 smaller tombs dating from the 5th through 7th centuries.

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