Zenpokoenfun
[3] Generally, large Kofun are front and rear circular tombs, widely distributed in Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu with Gokishichidō as the center.
[15] The term "Zenpokoenfun" can be found in the "Annals of the Mountains" written by Pusheng Junping in the 5th year of the Bunka (1808), which recorded: "Just like a palace carriage, the front and rear circular tombs are three stories high and surrounded by Moat" (必象宮車。而使前方後圓。為壇三成。且環以溝。).
In addition, the original Koushu people also proposed the idea of imitating the family house, believing that the tomb as the post-death residence was a common concept in different cultures, and compared the Xuan room to the main part, reproducing the appearance of the pre-life residence through envy and vice rooms.
Umehara Sueji [ja] and Rokuji Morimoto also agree with this statement and believe that the central details of the house-shaped disc wheel unearthed are reminiscent of ancestral halls.
Kita Sadakichi believes that the front part is the place where the coin bearer is used to declare his destiny above it, and Hamada Farming also mentioned this, pointing out that during the Edo period, some people had already named the front part the declaration field, reflecting the function of the altar.
On the other hand, in support of this statement, Saiichi Goto also mentioned that due to the lack of ritual objects such as earthenware and Sakurai in the front section, this viewpoint cannot be confirmed.
At the same time, Takahashi Kenji believed that the front part also had accompanying burial situations and should not be regarded as an altar.
The most powerful statement to date is that the front section was referred to as the altar in a book written by Akira Chongmatsu in 1978.
Nishijima Tsuyoshi advocated that Himiko was crowned as Cao Rui by Emperor Ming of Wei in the 39th year of Empress Jingū reign (239).
[19]: 18–33 [20]: 88–94 At the time of the Western Jin Dynasty, the suburban worship was held by the emperor alone on a square and circular mixed altar built naturally according to the hilly terrain, offering sacrifices to the heavens and ancestors.
It was pointed out that after the envoy returned to Japan, the front circular tomb suddenly appeared in the middle of the 3rd century.
[20]: 77–82 At the same time, Mihara Moji and Suzuki both believed that the front and rear circular tombs were related to the Noin-Ula burial site.
And it is advocated that Zenpokoenfun are derived from the Tianyuan place of Taoism, built on the basis of Han tombs such as Dahuting.
In addition, Mihara Moji also inherited William Gowland's statement that Zenpokoenfun was formed by combining circular and square graves.
Saito Tadao and Hamada Genshin proposed the idea that the front and rear circular graves were naturally formed based on the terrain of the hills.
Although the mound tombs with a front and back circular shape were already scattered throughout Japan during the Yayoi period, the early forms of the Zenpokoenfun were mostly vertical cave-style stone chambers with bamboo-shaped wooden coffins, which were different from the mound tombs during the Yayoi period.
Regarding this, Taiichiro Shiraishi believed that at that time, various forces in Kino, led by the Yamatai Kingdom, and the Seto Inland Sea formed an alliance, and obtained iron and various cultural relics from Korea by defeating forces such as Nukoku and the Ito Kingdoms, which controlled the Genkai Sea.
In addition, bronze mirrors from mainland China and the "Wajinden" from the same period indicate that there was an exchange between the two countries at that time.
[25] Among them, tomb 5 is the earliest Kofun in Eastern Japan's history, indicating a possible connection between the Kazusa Province and the Yamatai Kingdom at that time.
Regarding this, Yamato Takeru pointed out that although the "Kojiki" and "Nihon Shoki" mentioned that the Four Generals and Japanese Takezun and others had merged East Japan into the territory of the Japanese monarchy through multiple expeditions, he believed that it was actually Kununokuni located in the Nōbi Plain that formed an alliance in East Japan mainly consisting of rear graves in the past and that after the death of Himiko, they lost the battle with the Yamatai Kingdom or negotiated peace under the leadership of the Yamato Kingship.
[28]: 142–146 On the other hand, Hirose Kazuo proposed that the structures of the Sasaki, Koji, Shizuki, and Makino ancient tomb groups were similar, and from the late 4th century to the second half of the 5th century, the heads of the four ancient tomb groups jointly played a role in the Yamato Kingship.
After death, they deified as the guardian deity of the Yamato royal power and also proposed that the construction of the large Zenpokoenfun had a deterrent effect on various regions.
According to the inscriptions on Ji Ji, the iron sword unearthed from the Inawa Mountain Kofun, and the large sword unearthed from the Eta Funayama Kofun, Emperor Yūryaku at that time regarded himself as the king of the world, and his authority was reflected in the fact that only he continued to build large Zenpokoenfun in the Japanese archipelago.
As both Kino and Oizhang decreased, Only the Kanto region continued to construct large Zenpokoenfun throughout the 6th century, indicating that the Yamato monarchy at that time relied heavily on the Eastern Kingdom in both economic and military aspects.
Regarding the reason for the cessation of construction of Zenpokoenfun, Taiichiro Shiraishi believes that it is related to the reforms of Crown Prince Shōtoku and Soga no Umako, as well as the establishment of the national manufacturing system,[30] while the final Zenpokoenfun are believed to be Asama Mountain Kofun, and Rongmachi claims that tKofun were built in the first half of the 7th century.
The scale of the mounds of ancient tombs in the later period generally decreased in the Gyeonggi area, while the practice of constructing large Zenpokoenfun is still maintained in other places.
On the other hand, the number given by the database of Nara Women's University is 4764, which is distributed in all parts of Japan except Hokkaido, Akita, Aomori and Okinawa.
