Kofun

Kofun period (Japanese: ????, Kofun-jidai) is an era in the history of Japan from around AD 250 to 538. The word kofun is Japanese for the type of burial mounds dating from this era.

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The Kofun period (c AD 250?538) takes its name, which means old tomb (??, kofun) from the culture's rich funerary rituals and distinctive earthen mounds. The mounds contained large stone burial chambers. Some are surrounded by moats.

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By the late Kofun period, the distinctive burial chambers, originally used by the ruling elite, also were built for commoners.

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538: Events...