Fujinoki Tumulus Day

What Is Fujinoki Tumulus Day?

Every September 25th is "Fujinoki Tumulus Day" (藤ノ木古墳記念日, Fujinoki Kofun Kinenbi). On September 25, 1985, archaeological excavation of the stone burial chamber of the Fujinoki Tumulus (藤ノ木古墳) began in Ikaruga Town, Nara Prefecture — adjacent to the famous Hōryūji Temple. The excavation revealed an extraordinary array of burial goods from the late Kofun period (6th century CE), making the Fujinoki Tumulus one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of 20th-century Japan.

The Fujinoki Tumulus

The Fujinoki Tumulus is a circular burial mound (円墳, enmochi) approximately 48 meters in diameter, built during the late Kofun period (around the late 6th century CE). When the sealed stone burial chamber was opened in 1985, it contained a lacquered wooden coffin, the remains of two individuals, and an extraordinary collection of burial goods: gilt-bronze horse trappings decorated with intricate arabesque and animal designs, crown fragments of gilt bronze, a sword with a gold-and-silver-decorated scabbard, bronze mirrors, jewelry, and other artifacts. The quality and quantity of the burial goods indicated that the occupants were members of the imperial or highest aristocratic circle.

What the Artifacts Reveal

The Fujinoki artifacts are particularly significant for what they reveal about cultural exchange in 6th-century Japan. The decorative motifs on the horse trappings — Persian arabesques, Central Asian animal imagery, and Chinese design elements — demonstrate that Japan in this period was deeply connected to the international cultural currents flowing along the Silk Road and through the Korean Peninsula and China. The artifacts now housed at the Nara National Museum are considered some of the finest examples of Kofun-period metalwork in existence.

Ikaruga Town and Hōryūji

The Fujinoki Tumulus is located just a few hundred meters from Hōryūji (法隆寺), the Buddhist temple complex founded by Prince Shōtoku in 607 CE and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site containing the world's oldest surviving wooden structures. Together, the Fujinoki Tumulus and Hōryūji illustrate the extraordinary concentration of historical significance in this small area of Nara Prefecture during the Asuka and early Nara periods.

Fun Facts

• Mysterious occupants: Despite decades of study, the identities of the two individuals buried in the Fujinoki coffin have not been definitively established, though scholars have proposed candidates including Prince Anahobenohashibito and Prince Yakabe, both killed in political struggles of the late 6th century.
• Preservation: The gilt-bronze artifacts from the Fujinoki Tumulus have been preserved in extraordinary condition due to the sealed, oxygen-limited environment of the stone chamber — a reminder of how much historical information can survive millennia under the right conditions.