Chikatsu Asuka Museum The 2004 Chikatsu Asuka Special Spring Exhibition
The tenth anniversary of the opening
Change in Tomb-building Institution
From the Kofun period to the Nara period
The practice of tomb-building in Japan went through its most significant
transformation during the 7th and 8th centuries.
In the late 6th century, the keyhole-shaped mounded tombs and large-scale
tombs prevalent for many centuries were replaced by square and circular
burial mounds.
The institution of mounded-tomb building dwindled further during the 7th
century, with the emergence of a new style, called gfunboh in Japanese
archaeology. Finally in the early 8th century, the tradition of mounded
tombs ceased entirely.
Various factors must have contributed to this change in tomb building.
Why did ancient peoples abandon the tomb forms which they adhered to so
energetically for almost 400 years?
Why this substitution for the gigantic mounded tombs of the past? These are
simple and significant questions which our exhibit intends to address.
While the appearance of mounded tomb forms has been studied quite actively,
the significance of their disappearance has been neglected. With this in
mind, we hope to consider every aspect of the transformation and adaptation
of burial tradition as we study the transition from mounded tombs to gfunboh
as aspects of social and ideological change.
Concretely, this exhibit allows us to track the development of an ancient
state, with codified penal and administrative laws, through the transition
in its burial institutions and traditions.
Chronologically, our exhibition deals principally with 7th and 8th
centuries, and is a continuation of the special exhibition gHakuso-ryoh(a
646 AD decree limiting the resources used to construct burials, other than
the emperorfs, accordingly to rank) held in our museum in 1998.
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Information
@April 20 to June 20, 2004
@Special Admission : 600 / 400
@Hours : 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
