The Chōja-Sukumozuka mounded tomb group (kofun-gun) is located in Saijō-chō (Saijō Basin), Higashi-Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. It consists of three burial mounds; however, one (No. 3) has vanished. In 2021, the Hiroshima University Department of Archaeology confirmed the presence of a row of ceramic funerary sculptures (haniwa) and rows of stones during the excavation of mounded tomb No. 1. Remains of erected haniwa were detected at three locations, and the intervals between the row of haniwa were sparsely arranged. Granite stones were stuffed into the haniwa which were elaborately fixed in place.
On the other hand, in the area believed to be the square (“front”) part (zenpō bu) of a keyhole-shaped mound tomb, Haji ware like pottery of the Kamakura period (1185-1333) was unearthed, and sedimentary soil of the medieval period was mostly observed. Therefore, the existence of a square part was doubted.
In addition, based on the date of the cylindrical haniwa excavated, it was estimated that this mounded tomb was constructed in the middle third to last third of the 4th century A.D.. The cylindrical haniwa can be classified into several types from the viewpoints based on the raised clay bands (tottai) and the base modifications, and it was found that there were differences in haniwa production techniques.