A group of ancient Japanese tombs have been judged to have universal value. This is good news to mark the start of the Reiwa era.
A UNESCO advisory panel has recommended adding the Mozu-Furuichi tumulus clusters in Osaka Prefecture to the World Cultural Heritage list. The sites are expected to be officially approved at a meeting of the World Heritage Committee to be held from June to July.
The panel praised the sites for reflecting sophisticated funerary practices during the Kofun period (ca 300-ca 710) and the stratified political and social structures of the period. It is highly significant that the sites have been recognized as representing the outstanding technology of earth structures as well as historical material evidence that symbolized power.
The recommended Mozu-Furuichi tumulus clusters comprise 49 burial mounds built in the 4th to 5th centuries. They include the country's largest keyhole-shaped mound, the Emperor Nintoku mausoleum, also known as Daisen Kofun, and the Emperor Ojin mausoleum, also known as Kondagobyoyama Kofun.
This heritage underscores the process by which Japan developed its own culture in East Asia.
Above all, Emperor Nintoku's mausoleum is comparable to the Great Pyramid of King Khufu in Egypt and the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in China, and is cited as one of the world's three largest tombs. Hence it is natural to regard Emperor Nintoku's mausoleum as a treasure of humankind.
The task to be tackled after the cultural heritage listing is how to convey the dignity and history of the ancient mausoleum to visitors, including foreigners.
Thorough preservation vital
The size of the huge keyhole-shaped tomb cannot be understood unless it is seen from above, such as from an airplane. The Sakai City Museum in Osaka Prefecture has made arrangements to show an aerial video recording of the tumulus clusters that is brought to life through virtual reality devices. Such activities must be promoted.
In the case of not a few of the mausoleums and tombs in which emperors and other dignitaries have been laid to rest, the entombed have not been identified academically. There is a great need for research and study, but the Imperial Household Agency, which supervises the administration of the mausoleums and tombs, strictly restricts entry into them for reasons of "maintaining peace of mind and dignity."
The agency and the city of Sakai last year conducted a joint survey of the bank surrounding the grave mound of the Emperor Nintoku mausoleum and obtained certain results, including the discovery of clay figures. As much effort as possible must also be made in the future to delve into the real situation of the mausoleum.
It must not be forgotten that the original purpose of listing World Heritage sites is to preserve and pass down their component assets.
The tumulus clusters are located in urban areas. Successive burial mounds in Sakai were destroyed in the postwar period due to residential land development. Amid such moves, residents launched a drive to conserve some of them, resulting in the preservation of the Itasuke mound, which is one of the tumulus clusters being recommended for listing as a World Heritage site.
The UNESCO panel has pointed out the risk of the tumulus clusters being affected by urban development. The government and municipalities concerned are called on to make continued efforts to ensure thorough preservation of the tumulus clusters, which are precious assets, in cooperation with local residents.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 18, 2019)
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