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Sometime between 450 and 650 A.D. the survivors buried their loved one high up this small mountain's south face surrounded by the flatland of the valley below. The nearest sign is for mound #24 of 7.9m diameter.
See also, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofun
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Before the creation of scientific excavation and documentary techniques these large tombs from the Kofun-era (3rd to 7th centuries A.D.) were mostly left alone. So when the archaeologist finally did open up one or more of the mounds, there was a lot of valuable information about the people buried and the ones who did the work of preparing the burial and its mound.
See also, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofun
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From Imajo in the south to Mikuni and onward north to Ishikawa-prefecture, the flatland grows wider and wider. But here and there the masses of prominent stone and forest rise up from the bedrock deep underground. This one is directly north of the standpoint atop Mt. Atago and goes by the name of Funa-yama on account of its likeness to a ship sailing the valley surrounding it. On its top is a Shinto shrine on the north end and twin rows of carved stone O-jizo-san figures flanking the route to the shrine with a total number of 88, as a local iteration of the full-size pilgrimage on Shikoku with 88 temples. According to the sign at the top of Funa-yama, the spark for this local creation was the series of famines in the 1830s that stirred greater religious response in the local populations. Since few could go in person to Shikoku during the feudal times, this nearby version offered a way to recite sutras by be home before nightfall.
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Near the top of Atago-yama is a fork in the trail: one way is quickest (about 150m) and the other is more indirect and less steep (about 400m). Both routes arrive at the shrine and this wide view of the top.
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Looking across the valley floor, filled with so many different lives - young and old, hopeful and not, fresh and tired, rich and poor, male and female, the totality of the society presents too much information for one person to see. But getting to know a few people across long years is one way to form some ideas about the larger shape and meaning of life in this place.
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The name of the nearby shrine is written as "Atago Jinja." Around noon the December light rakes across the surface to show the rising and falling texture of the granite and the deep cuts of the shaped kanji characters.
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Around the noon hour on this sunny day during a week or more of rainy days, the cool and freshly rinse air shows the outline of the big mountain in fine details. In the foreground the rice paddies have been harvested and now can rest until they are prepared for the next growing cycle early in 2025.
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taken at Ohsawa pond, Daikakuji temple, Kyoto
京都 大覚寺 大沢の池
