Japan’s ancient funerary haniwa statues tended to be large, but a recent find is overshadowing others, not only for its giant size, but also because it’s a rare wooden specimen.
The Legacy Of Emperor Ojin: Deified As Hachiman
Tradition has it that Ojin’s grave is in Habikino not far from Osaka. The emperor’s grave is of a type known in Japanese as a “ kofun” meaning “old mound,” about 160000 of which have been identified around Japan. Ojin’s kofun is the second largest kofun in Japan, measuring 425 m (1394 ft) in length. The only other kofun larger than Ojin’s is the one belonging to Emperor Nintoku, his immediate successor, which is 486 m (1594 ft) in length, excluding the surrounding moat and ramparts.
It should be mentioned, however, that there is no solid evidence to prove that either kofun contains the tomb of an emperor. Still, the two ancient mounds are impressive, and, along with 47 others in the area, have been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List as the “Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group: Mounded Tombs of Ancient Japan.”