Artifacts Excavated from Shibagahara Tomb in Kyoto: Grave Goods from Japan's First Tombs
The Artifacts Excavated from Shibagahara Tomb in Kyoto (京都府芝ケ原古墳出土品) are an early Kofun-period group of bronze bracelets, a bronze mirror, beads and other grave goods from the Shibagahara Tomb in Joyo City, Kyoto Prefecture, and were designated an Important Cultural Property in 1990.
The Shibagahara Tomb stands on the right bank of the Kizu River in the middle of the Yamashiro basin. Two seasons of excavation in 1986, carried out ahead of housing development, revealed its form and the full range of its finds. The tomb itself was designated a Historic Site in September 1989 as a key to burial customs at the time the first mounded tombs appeared.
The artifacts were designated on 29 June 1990. They belong to Joyo City, and the agency gives their location as Higashinokuchi, Terada, Joyo.
Why They Are Protected
The burial was a wooden coffin placed directly in a pit 4.74 metres long, 2.45 metres wide and 0.7 metres deep. Grave goods, led by the bronze bracelets, came from the pit, and above it a spread of gravel 4.4 metres long and 2.5 metres wide contained broken offering pottery. The designation covers this whole group.
The agency singles out the two bronze bracelets (doku). The only comparable find elsewhere is a fragment from the Bandogaoka No. 1 Tomb in Gobo, Wakayama, so the Shibagahara examples are the only ones that show the complete form, and they are of great value for tracing how such bracelets developed.
Among the beads, the jadeite comma-shaped magatama and slender jasper tube beads, together with the offering pottery, show clearly what early Kofun burials contained. The agency ranks the Artifacts Excavated from Shibagahara Tomb in Kyoto as a group of high scholarly value for understanding the first tombs of the Kinki region.
What to Look For
The designation lists 2 bronze bracelets, 1 mirror with four beasts, 8 jadeite magatama, 187 jasper tube beads, glass beads including fragments, fragments of iron objects, iron needles and an iron arrowhead, and earthenware fragments, with earthenware and haniwa fragments as attached items.
If you get to see them, start with the overall shape of the bronze bracelets: objects known elsewhere only as fragments survive here as complete rings. Then compare the slender form of the 187 jasper tube beads with the colour of the 8 jadeite magatama.
Joyo City presents a design based on the chieftain buried at Shibagahara holding up a bronze bracelet as a symbol of authority, a sign of how closely these finds are tied to local identity.
Visiting
The artifacts belong to Joyo City and are recorded at the same address as the Joyo City Museum of History and Folklore in Terada. The museum is open 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (last entry 4:30 p.m.), closed on Mondays (open if a holiday), the day after a holiday (open if a weekend) and from December 28 to January 4.
No information on which items are on display could be found. If you want to see a particular piece, check with the museum in advance (0774-55-7611).
The Shibagahara Tomb itself is being laid out as a historic site park. According to Joyo City, it is about 10 minutes on foot east of Kutsukawa Station on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line.
Q&A
- What do the Artifacts Excavated from Shibagahara Tomb include?
- 2 bronze bracelets, 1 four-beast mirror, 8 jadeite magatama, 187 jasper tube beads, glass beads, iron fragments and earthenware fragments.
- Why are the Shibagahara bronze bracelets important?
- The only comparable find is a fragment from a tomb in Wakayama, so these are the only examples that show the complete form.
- When were the artifacts designated an Important Cultural Property?
- On 29 June 1990.
- Where can I see the Artifacts Excavated from Shibagahara Tomb in Kyoto?
- They belong to Joyo City and are recorded at the address of the Joyo City Museum of History and Folklore. Check display status with the museum (0774-55-7611).
- How do I get to the Shibagahara Tomb?
- According to Joyo City, about 10 minutes on foot east of Kutsukawa Station on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line.
Basic Information
| Name | Artifacts Excavated from Shibagahara Tomb in Kyoto |
|---|---|
| Location | 16-17 Higashinokuchi, Terada, Joyo City, Kyoto Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (Archaeological Materials) |
| Year Designated | Designated 1990/06/29 (Heisei 2) |
| Quantity | 1 set (2 bronze bracelets, 1 mirror, beads and others) |
| Dimensions | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Owner | Joyo City |
| Public Access | Joyo City Museum of History and Folklore, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; check display status |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs Database: Artifacts Excavated from Shibagahara Tomb
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/201/10078
- Joyo City: The chieftain holding a bronze bracelet (Shibagahara Tomb, Japanese)
- https://www.city.joyo.kyoto.jp/0000003939.html
- Joyo City Museum of History and Folklore: Hours and Fees (Japanese)
- https://www.city.joyo.kyoto.jp/0000003339.html
Last verified: 2026.09.27