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context: architecture > origins
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Prince Nintoku's tomb |
Tomb Mounds
The Kofun period (3rd-6th C) saw some huge tomb mounds or tumuli built. It is likely that this was an idea imported from Korea, in that almost everything was during this period, and it has no links with anything else the Japanese ever constructed. The largest was the tomb of Prince Nintoku, which shows the characteristic keyhole shape and is surrounded by a double moat. This entirely man-made structure is well over 500 yards long, and up to almost 120 feet high.