Makigamine Kofun
Reach a quiet ridge tomb by a steep village trail and look for the stone shelf that links this small Yoshino mound to a rare Kinokawa-area chamber tradition.
Verified site photographs are being prepared.Discover Makigamine Kofun
Makigamine Kofun is a small sixth-century mound on a ridge above Ooyodo's Nino district. Its modest size hides an unusually legible connection across the mountains: the chamber has a stone shelf and other traits of an Iwase-style tomb, more common around the lower Kinokawa basin. Oyodo Town presents it as its only surviving example of this type and links the form to the influence of the powerful Ki clan. Getting there is part of understanding the place: the marked route passes the Nino community cemetery before a steep climb. A volunteer-built shelter beside the mound reflects the neighbourhood's work to keep this difficult-to-reach site visitable.
A small mound in a wider cluster
The town identifies Makigamine as No. 1 in a group of several mounds on the Nino hills. It is an approximately 11-metre round mound, about 2.5 metres high. The current town guide and its 2023 cultural-heritage plan place it at roughly 210 metres elevation; the earlier 2013 survey gives about 205 metres, so treat the height as approximate. The site is partly reduced, and the other numbered mounds are not all understood. A 2013 town survey notes a possible small fifth mound by the six Jizō at the cemetery entrance, but that mound has not been investigated; it should not be confused with the designated Makigamine tomb or presented as a visitor attraction.
Look for the stone shelf
The horizontal stone chamber opens south. Local flagstones form the burial space; the chamber room is at least 1.65 metres long and about 1.7 metres wide, with a likely original length of 2.8 metres. Part of the passage has been cut away, but the town's survey gives at least 3.7 metres of surviving passage. A roughly 10-centimetre-thick slab projects from the back of the chamber to make a shelf. That distinctive feature, along with the slab-built chamber, places Makigamine in the Iwase-style tradition associated with the lower Kinokawa region.
A regional connection, not a named occupant
Oyodo Town calls Makigamine the only surviving Iwase-style chamber in the town and compares it with Sanri Kofun in Heguri and Okamine Kofun in Shimoichi. The town interprets these similarities as evidence that the influence of the Ki clan, whose base lay in the lower Kinokawa basin, reached Yoshino. This is a regional archaeological interpretation; the available town sources do not identify the person buried here by name. The town's current visitor page dates the mound broadly to the late sixth century. Its 2013 survey explains that further excavation was needed to determine whether datable pottery or grave goods remained; it does not establish an early seventh-century date. The broad date should therefore be read as the town's current summary, not a precisely excavated year.
Rest at a shelter built by local volunteers
In 2017, the town reported that local residents and cultural-property volunteers built an azumaya beside the mound after carrying materials up the hill; the newsletter gives its name as Shinpō-an (槇峯庵) and notes a Yoshino-wood table. The report is historical, so check its condition on arrival and leave it tidy if it remains open. Do not assume it has water, toilets or a staffed reception.
Treat the station walk as an older route plan
Oyodo Town's archaeological walking-route page places Makigamine about 1.2 kilometres, or a stated 20-minute walk, from Kintetsu Muda Station. That page was last updated in 2015, so it is useful as a broad route-planning reference rather than a guarantee that today's path, signs or walking time are unchanged. The town's separate site page gives the final approach: find the marker north of the Maseguchi crossing, pass through the Nino community cemetery, then climb for about ten minutes on a steep path. Check current signs and local access before setting out; do not treat the cemetery as a parking area or enter the chamber without permission.
What to look for
A rare stone-shelf chamber in the Yoshino area
An 11-metre ridge mound with a steep, village-maintained approach
A locally built wooden rest shelter beside the archaeological site
Photo notes
The reviewed town pages do not publish a photography policy. Keep cameras away from mourners and graves in the cemetery, photograph only from the public path, and request permission before commercial use.
Make a day of it
Explore guides close to this map point, then check the actual route before travelling. Distances below are straight lines, not walking distances or travel times; map points may not be entrances.
Sources & editorial status
Original MyNara draft based on the linked sources. Sources reviewed 24 October 2026. Opening arrangements, prices and offers may change; use the operator's current information before travelling.
- Oyodo Town — Makigamine Kofun (history, measurements and visitor route)
- Oyodo Town — 2013 cultural-property survey (research history, cluster and stone-shelf interpretation)
- Oyodo Town — July 2017 newsletter: volunteer-built azumaya named Shinpō-an (槇峯庵)
- Oyodo Town — Archaeological walking-route map (2015; gives Muda Station to Makigamine as about 1.2 km / 20 minutes; current route conditions not confirmed)
- Oyodo Town — 2023 Cultural Properties Preservation and Utilization Plan; restates designation and archaeological overview
- Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties — archive record and preservation copy of Oyodo Town's 2013 survey report (same original municipal research)