Kakegi Kofun(Tumulus) (かけぎこふん)

Area
Iki
Category
History&Culture
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This is a kofun, which is an ancient tomb known as a tumulus, that was built sometime between the last half of the 6th century to the first half of the 7th century. The burial site currently measures 22.5 meters or roughly 74 feet long north to south, 18 meters or just over 59 feet east to west, with a height of 7 meters or almost 23 feet, but the original mound is said to have had a total diameter of approximately 30 meters, which is over 98 feet. The interior comprises 3 stone vaults, which are the anteroom, the middle compartment, and the burial chamber. Inside the burial chamber lies a house-shaped stone coffin made of tuff, with a length of 1.9 meters or around 6.2 feet on the outside and 1.5 meters or almost 5 feet on the inside. It is an extremely valuable archeological artifact, as it is the only coffin of its kind in Nagasaki Prefecture. 
Literature from the 17th- to the 19th-century Edo period recorded 340 kofun on the island, but only 280 of them remain today. Of these, Kakegi Kofun is considered to be very significant in learning about the history of the era and is designated as a Historic Site of Japan. 
Other similar tombs are also found around Kakegi Kofun, including Sasazuka Kofun, Sōroku Kofun, and the Yurihata Kofun Cluster. The size of Kakegi Kofun indicates that the individual who had been buried here may have been somehow connected to those who had been entombed in Sasazuka Kofun and Sōroku Kofun.

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Information

Address 811-5544 長崎県壱岐市勝本町布気触323
TEL (Ikifudoki Hill)
Parking Parking lot available
Access 15 minutes by car from Gonoura Port
Note Restroom (multipurpose) available

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