The “Musashi Fuchu Kumano Jinja Kofun” is in Fuchu City, Tokyo, and is the third known example of a jōen kahōfun (a mound with a round upper tier on a square base), a shape with only six examples in all of Japan. While the other four examples outside Tokyo are dated to the late 7th to early 8th century, the “Musashi Fuchu Kumano Jinja Kofun” and the fourth example, the “Tenmondai Kōnai Kofun” in neighboring Mitaka City, are dated to the mid-7th century, which makes them rare. Also, until the latest, sixth example, the “Sannōzuka Kofun”, was discovered in Kawagoe, Saitama in 2013, this was the largest and one of the oldest jōen kahōfun in Japan, making it a precious burial mound. In July 2005, it was designated a national cultural property (historic site). It lies just north of the back of the main hall, on the grounds of “Fuchu Kumano Jinja” along the Koshu Kaido, an important highway since the Edo period. The mound has a three-tier structure, with each tier built of piled earth. Seen from above, the first and second tiers are square and the third tier is round. The second and third tiers are entirely covered with river stones. The 32 m side length of the first tier is twice the 16 m diameter of the round upper tier. The 23 m side length of the second tier's square is built to be almost the same as the diagonal of a square that the round upper tier fits snugly inside. The exhibition hall on the south side of the mound displays a peeled soil-layer cross-section of the mound, actual materials such as the mound's covering stones (fukiishi), facing stones (hariishi), and burial chamber stones, a replica of a sword scabbard-end fitting (sayajiri kanagu), a model of the burial chamber entrance, and more.

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The Musashi Fuchu Kumano Jinja Kofun is a jōen kahōfun (round on top, square at the base), a very rare shape, and is designated a national historic site. This is the exhibition hall for that burial mound. It's not a very big hall, but there's a life-size reconstruction of the burial chamber, and you can even go inside it, which is fun. Note that opening hours vary by season: 9:00–17:00 from April to the end of October, and 10:00–16:00 from November to the end of March.

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2025.108 (Wed)☀ I visited Fuchu Kumano Shrine on a kofun tour. There's no parking🅿️ here, but you can get off at Fuchu Station on the Keio Line, take a bus bound for Kunitachi Station to the Nishifu 2-chome bus stop, and walk about 2 minutes. You can visit the kofun exhibition hall for free. Visiting hours: (April–October) am9:00–17:00) (November–March) am9:00–16:00) Closed: (Mondays). The Musashi Fuchu Kumano Jinja Kofun was designated a national historic site in July Heisei 17. The mound is a special shape called jōen kahōfun, and it has been restored and landscaped. Inside the hall there are displays of a scabbard-end fitting (replica), glass beads, small knives (tosu), and other items excavated from the mound. A kofun festival will be held on 2025.10.12 (Sun), so please come, everyone. If you'd like to see the reconstructed burial chamber exhibition room built inside the mound, please ask the exhibition hall staff.

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A beautifully restored burial mound. And it's a super rare jōen kahōfun (round-top, square-base mound)! It also has the vibe of having some kind of secret base underground. Seeing how lively the kofun festival is, you can tell it's cherished by the local community.

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This is the museum for the adjacent Kumano Jinja Kofun, a jōen kahōfun (round-top, square-base mound). The fact that a reconstructed mound (with the original, of course, resting beneath it) and a dedicated museum were built in the middle of a residential area speaks to how important this burial mound is. It's a compact museum, but there's a life-size reconstruction of the burial chamber that you can enter after putting on a helmet. Admission is free. However, there's no dedicated parking, including for the mound. I was lucky to get a spot at a coin parking lot with room for only 4-5 cars, but since it's a residential area, you may have trouble finding parking.

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