Post by washi on Apr 15, 2015 13:44:08 GMT
The Chikatsu Asuka Fūdoki no Oka Historical Park and Museum are operated by Osaka Prefecture. Chikatsu Asuka is an ancient name for an area in the southeast corner of Osaka-fu. The name “Fūdoki no Oka” is difficult for me to translate, but I guess I’d call it “Atmospheric* Hill”. While the term “fūdoki” is used to describe the ambiance of a specific area, its use here may be a reference to the Fūdoki (compilations of agricultural, geographical, historical, and mythological records and folklore for each province) ordered written by the Empress Gemmei in 713. Only one of these reports is still mostly extant, and there are fragments of 4 others, none of which concern this area. It is possible, however, that a passage concerning this place may have survived as a quotation in some later book. I’d welcome anyone’s input on the significance of this name.
The 72 acre (29 hectare) park encloses 102 small kofun in the Ichisuka Kofun Group. They date from the 6th and 7th centuries, when Chikatsu Asuka was the gateway to the Asuka area, some 16 km to the east southeast and at that time the usual center of political power. It is just one of a number of similar kofun groups which are strung along the foothills of the mountains that separate modern Osaka Fu and Nara Ken. The overlay map shows the distribution of the kofun in this group, and is similar to that of other groups in the region.
The museum was designed by the world famous local architect Tadao Ando. It houses a rich collection of materials from sites throughout Osaka Fu and dating from the Kofun through the Asuka Periods (the 4th - 7th centuries).
You will need to deselect 3D Buildings in Layers in order to see the overlaid map of Fūdoki no Oka Historical Park, but you may click on it anytime the cursor appears as an arrow head, even if it is not visible.
Download FileFile last revised March 9, 2023.
