[Gold-Guide] Recommended Asuka Village Tour

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Asuka Village is also known as a rice-producing region, and you can see Rice Terraces in various places in the village. We head to the Kitora Tomb while enjoying the unique scenery of Asuka Village.

This is the second continental-style mural tomb discovered in Japan after Takamatsuzuka Tomb. It is located on the mountainside heading towards Abeyama beyond the village of Hinomae. It is a two-tiered circular tomb, with the upper tier measuring 9.4m in diameter and the terraced lower tier measuring 13.8m in diameter, with a height of just over 4m for both tiers. There are various theories about the origin of the name, including one that says it was called "Kametora Tomb" because when one peers inside, one can see murals of a turtle and a tiger; another that the name of the place to the south of the tomb, "Kitaura," is a corrupted version of the name; and another that it was named "Kametora" because it is located northwest of Abeyama village in Asuka village, and is associated with the turtle (Genbu) who governs the north and the tiger (Byakko) who governs the west, two of the four gods.

This is a two-tiered circular tumulus built between the end of the 7th century and the beginning of the 8th century, dating from the end of the Kofun period, with diameters of 23m (lower tier) and 18m (upper tier) and a height of 5m. Initially, it was estimated to date from the end of the 7th century to the beginning of the 8th century based on bronze mirrors and other remains that had survived tomb raids, but an excavation survey in 2005 determined that it dates from the Fujiwara-kyo period (694-710). The person buried there has not been identified, and there are three main theories.

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