The Kofun period.

Name-Hemanth D C
Sem-1st
ISA
 Introduction
 The Kofun period is an period in the history of
japan from 250 to 538
 The definition of Kofun is the type of burial

mounds dating back from this era

 Kofun and Asuka are referred to as Yomoto.
Map of Kofun
ARCHITECTURE

 During the Kofun period, buildings became a symbol of status,

and many tombs and dwellings were built for the elite.
 Funerary architecture
 The architecture for the dead was an important form of art.
Kofun burial structures were impressive in size and number.
Over 100,000 tombs have been found all over Japan.
 The kofun was the main burial structure. It was a mound built
for burying members of the royalty. The form and size of the
tomb represented power and wealth. The main shapes were
round, square, and the distinctive keyhole-shape, basically a
circle combined with a triangle. The sizes varied from about 15
feet to over 1,200.
 If you were someone with some wealth, you would probably
have a small, rounded kofun, but if you were the king, you could
expect a huge keyhole-shaped tomb. The largest tombs were
often surrounded by water ditches.
The Goshiki-zuka Kofun in Kobe
 HOUSES

 Forthe common people, housing didn't change

much. The pit houses from the previous periods
continued to be built. These were wooden
elongated structures with gable roofs. One
significant advance, however, was the
incorporation of stoves, improving interior air
quality by eliminating much of the smoke from
the preceding fireplaces, while still providing heat
and a place to cook.
House in kofun architecture
Tombs and Burial
 The Kofun period is named after the burial
mounds in Japan.
 These large, distinctive earth mounds contained large
stone burial chambers containing the dead.
 These burial chambers can come in many shapes, such as
round and square
 Kofuns ranged largely in size, from just a few metres, to
over 400 metres in length.
 Pottery figures called Haniwa were buried alongside the
corpse to show what type of person they were.
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