Sanada Kofun (Sanada Burial Mound)
The Sanada Kofun (Sanada Burial Mound) is located in Kudoyama Town, Wakayama
Prefecture. It is associated with the legend of "Sanada's Escape Tunnel"
(Sanada no Nukeana).
Situated south of the Izumi Mountain Range,
it lies on the slope of a terraced plateau carved by the Kino and Niu Rivers.
Although originally a circular burial mound
from the late Kofun period, the mound itself has been eroded, and the ceiling
stones of the stone chamber are missing, allowing one to look directly into the
underground stone chamber.
The chamber is a south-facing,
horizontal-entry type, constructed with side walls of stacked split stones and
a back wall and ceiling made of flat stone slabs.
The entrance passage measures 1.4 meters in
length, 1.7 meters in width, and 1.2 meters in height, while the main burial
chamber measures 3 meters in length, 1.8 meters in width, and 1.7 meters in
height.
A pillar stone stands at the boundary
between the entrance passage and the main chamber; it is believed to have
served as a door stone for the main chamber.
Artifacts recovered from the main chamber
include Sue ware cups, the stems of pedestal bowls, Haji ware dishes, and
disk-shaped stone objects.
Located 180 meters east of Sanada-an, the
site is associated with Sanada Yukimura—famous for fighting under the "Six
Coins" banner during the Summer Siege of Osaka (1614) —who is said to have
built a hermitage here.
Because the main chamber, enclosed by large
stones, resembles the entrance to a tunnel, the mound has been handed down in
local lore as "Sanada's Escape Tunnel."
The “Kiishoku Fudoki” (Chronicles of Kii
Province) records: "In the place called Furogaito in this village, there
are the remains of a burial mound... and the villagers call it 'Sanada's
Hole'."
A 10-minute walk from Kudoyama Station on
the Nankai Koya Line.
