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The Kitaema Cave Tombs (北江間横穴群, Kitaema Yokoana-kofun gun) is an archaeological site containing the ruins of a final Kofun period to early Nara period necropolis in what is now part of the city of Izunokuni, Shizuoka, in the Tōkai region of Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1976, with the area under protection expanded in 1985.^[1]

Overview

The Kitaema site is north of the city center of Izunokuni on the banks of the Kano River. The site consists of ten corridor-type kofun (横穴式石室, yokoana-shiki sekishitsu) with burial chambers excavated into the side of a tuff hill to the west (the "Daishiyama group") and a second set of more than 40 tombs to the east (the "Daihoku" group), and includes stone house-shaped sarcophagus made from hollowed-out stone. The largest of these cave tombs extends 6.5 meters (21 ft) into the hillside, but the average is one to three meters (3 to 10 ft), with a height of approximately one meter (3 ft). The graves indicate a period of transition between burial and cremation.^[2]

One grave contained a 1200-year-old stone coffin shaped like a house and inscribed "Wakato-nari", which was presumably the name of the person associated with the tomb. This coffin was designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1993.^[3] The National Historic Site designation was expanded due to additional finds in 1985.^[2]

The site is approximately 15 minutes by foot from Izu Hakone Railway's Izu-Nagaoka Station.^[2]

Gallery

• 
  Interior of Cave-tomb No.1
• 
  Sarcophagus from Cave-tomb No.1
• 
  Interior of Cave-tomb No.8

See also

• List of Historic Sites of Japan (Shizuoka)

References

External links

Media related to Kitaema ancient graves at Wikimedia Commons

• Izu Geopark official site (in Japanese)
• Izunokuni tourist information page (in Japanese)