広島県神石高原町高蓋塚谷古墳の紹介

Takafuta-Tsukatani mounded tomb (kofun) was located in Jinseki-kōgen Town, Hiroshima Prefecture. However, immediately after World War II the site was reclaimed as farmland and the mound disappeared. In 2010, some of the finds unearthed by the landowner of the tomb were donated to Jinseki-kōgen Town. Furthermore, other relics from the Takafuta-Tsukatani mounded tomb were also held at the Hiroshima Prefectural Fuchū High School, but are now in the possession of the Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of History. In this article, all unearthed finds are presented in their entirety.
Takafuta-Tsukatani mounded tomb was built during the Late Kofun period (latter half of the 6th century A.D.). Many objects were unearthed, including iron swords, a hand guard of a sword (tsuba), horse bits (kutsuwa), stirrups (abumi), beads of necklaces, Haji ware (hajiki), and Sue ware (sueki). In particular, horse bits with gourd-shaped iron rings (hisagogata kanjō kagami itatsuki kutsuwa) are characteristic for mounded tombs in the Kibi region (ancient province consisting of Okayama Prefecture and the eastern part of Hiroshima Prefecture). In the latter half of the 6th century the first iron manufacture sites appeared in the Bingo region (eastern part of Hiroshima Prefecture). It is highly probable that the person buried in the Takafuta-Tsukatani mounded tomb was involved in horse harness and trappings production, iron manufacture and blacksmithing unique to the Kibi region.