  the  is an era in the history of japan from around 250 to 538. it follows the yayoi period. the word kofun is japanese for the type of burial mounds dating from this era. the kofun and the subsequent asuka periods are sometimes referred to collectively as the yamato period. the kofun period is the oldest era of recorded history in japan; as the chronology of its historical sources tends to be very distorted, studies of this period require deliberate criticism and the aid of archaeology. the kofun period is divided from the asuka period by its cultural differences. the kofun period is characterized by a shinto culture which existed prior to the introduction of buddhism. politically, the leader of a powerful clan won control over much of west honshÅ« and the northern half of kyÅ«shÅ« and eventually established the imperial house of japan. kofun burial mounds on tanegashima and two very old shinto shrines on yakushima suggest that these islands were the southern boundaries of the yamato state,denoon, donald et al. (2001).  while its northernmost extent was as far north as tainai in the modern niigata prefecture, where mounds have been excavated associated with a person with close links to the yamato kingdom. ==kofun tombs==    kofun are defined as the burial mounds built for the people of the ruling class during the 3rd to 7th centuries in japan, and the kofun period takes its name from these distinctive earthen mounds. the mounds contained large stone burial chambers. some are surrounded by moats. kofun come in many shapes, with round and square being the simplest. a distinct style is the keyhole-shaped kofun, with its square front and round back. kofun range in size from several meters to over 400 meters in length. unglazed pottery figures called haniwa were buried under the circumference. ===development===  the oldest japanese kofun is said to be hokenoyama kofun located in sakurai, nara, wh
4th_century_in_Japan 5th_century_in_Japan Archaeological_cultures_of_East_Asia Kofun_period