Two Square Tombs in a Quiet River Basin
About 2.5 kilometers northeast of central Ayabe, in the northern hills of Kyoto Prefecture, two earthen mounds rise from a patchwork of rice paddies. They sit roughly 120 meters apart in the Kimi Basin, a small valley carved by the Hatta River, a tributary of the larger Yura. The Japanese call them Hijirizuka and Ayamezuka, and together they make up one of the most informative pairs of square tombs to survive from the Kofun period.
Most large tombs from this age, the burial-mound centuries that ran from roughly the third to the seventh century, were built as keyhole shapes or as simple circles. Square tombs of real size are uncommon. Hijirizuka measures about 54 meters along each side and stands 7 meters high, which places it among the largest square tombs anywhere in Japan. Its neighbor, Ayamezuka, follows the same plan at roughly 32 meters per side. Both were raised in the early fifth century, and both have kept their original profile to a degree that few tombs of their age can match.
From a Village Dig to a National Site
The story of how these mounds came to be studied begins with a disturbance. In 1891, villagers dug into the summit of Hijirizuka and brought up a quantity of metal and stone. Years later the archaeologist Umehara Sueji interviewed people who remembered the find and recorded what he could. His account lists a fragment of a bronze mirror, pieces of an iron helmet and body armor, an iron spear, around ten fragments of swords and blades, iron arrowheads, a single comma-shaped magatama bead, and more than thirty glass beads. From the descriptions of those present, the burial chamber appears to have been a clay-packed coffin enclosure sheathed in a stone-built structure.
A formal measured survey followed in 1917, clarifying that Hijirizuka had been built in two tiers, with cladding stones across its surface and rows of clay figures along its terraces. For decades after that the tombs simply stood in the fields. The decisive moment came in 1983, when a land-improvement project threatened to reshape the surrounding paddies. The Ayabe Board of Education carried out an excavation of the ground around the mounds, and what had lain hidden beneath the rice fields finally emerged: the full extent of the moats and the precise scale of each tomb.
The findings persuaded the community to leave the paddies untouched. With local cooperation the land was spared the planned consolidation, the city gradually brought the area into public ownership, and in 1992 the two tombs were designated a National Historic Site.
Why the Pair Matters
The designation, granted on 6 May 1992, rests on more than the size of a single mound. Hijirizuka's 54-meter sides make it a rare survival, since few square tombs were ever built on that scale. But the deeper value lies in the pairing. The two tombs share an orientation, a basic form, and a repertoire of grave goods, and they sit within sight of one another in the same small basin.
That combination lets archaeologists read them as a sequence rather than as isolated monuments. The shape of certain features suggests Ayamezuka was raised first and Hijirizuka second, which would make the pair a record of how authority and burial custom developed across one or two generations in the middle reaches of the Yura River. For a region with many tomb groups but few of comparable importance, Hijirizuka in particular stood as a central monument of its time.
What to Look For on the Ground
Hijirizuka was built in two tiers. Cladding stones were laid from the base of the moat upward across the whole surface, and clay cylinders stood in rows along the terraces. On the southern side a square platform projects from the mound. If it sat at the center of the south edge, as the excavators believe, it measured about 17.5 meters across and 4.6 meters deep. The surrounding moat is 12 to 13 meters wide at its upper edge.
This projecting platform is where the most interesting finds appeared. Alongside plain cylindrical figures and the flared, morning-glory-shaped variety, the excavation recovered clay models of objects, including a ceremonial parasol and a piece of body armor rendered in fired clay. Many of these pieces carry dark scorch marks on their outer walls, a trace of the open-pit firing used before kilns became standard, and a useful clue for dating.
Ayamezuka repeats the formula at a smaller scale, but with one striking difference. Its southern projection does not simply jut out. At its base sits an additional raised platform, roughly 4.5 by 3.2 meters, that gives the feature a stepped, two-stage profile. Whether this extra platform was matched on both sides or built only on the east remains unknown, since that section has not been excavated. Either way it is an unusual design, and standing beside the mound it is the detail most worth seeking out.
Visiting the Tombs
The two mounds stand in open farmland, and a visit here is a quiet experience. Rice paddies stretch around them, grass and small trees cover the slopes, and the basin keeps much the same agricultural character it has held for centuries. Low fences enclose the mounds themselves, with interpretive panels set inside, so visitors view the tombs from the farm roads and the prefectural road that pass close by. There is no admission gate and no fixed opening time. This is a landscape to walk through rather than a managed attraction.
Reaching the site is easiest by car. From the Ayabe or Fukuchiyama interchange on the Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway the drive takes about 20 minutes. Visitors relying on public transport should plan around the limited local bus service from Ayabe Station and allow extra time.
Before or after the visit, the Ayabe City Museum is worth a stop. It displays reconstruction drawings that imagine the two tombs as they looked when new, with cladding stones bright and clay figures ranked along the terraces. The drawings make the grassy mounds in the fields far easier to picture.
Around the Site
The Yura River basin holds a dense scatter of ancient tombs, and one in particular pairs well with a visit here. Kisaichi Maruyama Kofun, a large round tomb preserved within its own park elsewhere in Ayabe, offers a contrast in form and a chance to compare two approaches to fifth-century burial within a single day.
Ayabe itself rewards a slower pace. The city lies among forested hills and gentle rivers, and its older districts retain a calm that suits an afternoon with no fixed schedule. Combining the tombs with the city museum and a drive through the Kimi Basin makes for an unhurried day in a part of Kyoto Prefecture that most travelers never reach.
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Q&A
- Can I go inside the tombs?
- No. Low fences surround both mounds, with interpretive panels set inside. You view the tombs from the surrounding roads and farm paths, and the mounds have not been opened for public entry.
- How much time do I need?
- The two mounds and the walk between them take under an hour. Adding the Ayabe City Museum makes a comfortable half-day outing.
- Is there an entrance fee?
- No. The tombs stand in open farmland with no gate or ticket. The Ayabe City Museum charges a separate, modest admission.
- What is the difference between Hijirizuka and Ayamezuka?
- Hijirizuka is the larger of the two, about 54 meters per side. Ayamezuka is roughly 32 meters per side and is thought to be the earlier tomb. Ayamezuka also has an unusual stepped projection on its southern side.
- When is the best time to visit?
- The site is open year round. The surrounding paddies shift with the farming year, mirror-bright when flooded in early summer and gold before the autumn harvest, so any clear day suits a visit.
Basic Information
| Name | Hijirizuka and Ayamezuka Kofun (聖塚・菖蒲塚古墳) |
|---|---|
| Location | Tada-cho, Ayabe City, Kyoto Prefecture |
| Designation | National Historic Site (designated 6 May 1992; notification no. 70) |
| Form | Two square tombs, each with a projecting platform on the south side |
| Scale (Hijirizuka) | Approx. 54.2 m (E-W) by 54.0 m (N-S), 7.0 m high; about 59.0 m long including the projection |
| Scale (Ayamezuka) | Approx. 32.3 m (E-W) by 32.0 m (N-S), 5.1 m high; about 38.0 m long including the projection |
| Period | Early 5th century (middle Kofun period) |
| Ownership | Land progressively brought into public ownership by Ayabe City |
| Access | About 20 minutes by car from the Ayabe or Fukuchiyama interchange, Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Hijirizuka and Ayamezuka Kofun), Agency for Cultural Affairs
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/401/1752
- Cultural Heritage Online (Hijirizuka and Ayamezuka Kofun)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/138774
- Ayabe City Official Website
- https://www.city.ayabe.lg.jp/
- Kyoto Shimbun, "Site Series (41): Hijirizuka and Ayamezuka Kofun, Ayabe"
- https://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/articles/-/36423
Last verified: 2026.05.22