Komoyamazuka Kofun and Yamada-dera Temple Site

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Komoyamazuka Kofun

   On the map, Komoyamazuka looks like a green thumbprint pressed into the urban sprawl of Sakai, and that is not far off the truth. It is one of the keyhole-shaped burial mounds in the great tomb cluster that gives the city its place on the World Heritage list, an old mound, likely from the fifth century, wearing a moat and a crown of trees. Nobody is quite sure who lies inside many of these mounds, since archaeologists have rarely been allowed to dig, and the names we use are often a mix of old tradition and later guesswork.

   Read the complete Komoyamazuka Kofun write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Komoyamazuka Kofun is where the day begins. Next is Byodo-in.

2. 2. Byōdō-in

   Take a ten-yen coin out of your pocket in Japan and you are holding a picture of this place. The Phoenix Hall of the Byōdō-in in Uji, with its wings stretching out on either side of a central hall and bronze phoenixes on the roof, is one of the most famous buildings in the country. It was built in 1053 by Fujiwara no Yorimichi, a member of the most powerful aristocratic family of the Heian period, who converted his father's villa into a Buddhist temple. Its reflection in the pond in front was meant to evoke the Pure Land paradise of the Amida Buddha.

   Read the complete Byodo-in write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Byōdō-in comes up about 59 km into the recorded legs. Next is Yamada-dera Temple Site.

3. 3. Yamada-dera Temple Site

   South of the modern town of Sakurai, in the Asuka region of Nara Prefecture, the grass and low walls of Yamada-dera mark the ruins of what was once a very grand temple. It was founded in the 640s by Soga no Kurayamada Ishikawamaro, a powerful minister of the Soga clan, who was caught up in court intrigue and is said to have taken his own life at the temple in 649, after being accused of treason. The story gives the quiet site a sad edge. In later excavations, archaeologists uncovered the foundation of the main hall and a long covered corridor whose timbers had collapsed and been buried in place, one of the best-preserved examples of seventh-century temple architecture in Japan.

   Read the complete Yamada-dera Temple Site write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 109 km into the recorded legs you reach Yamada-dera Temple Site. Next is back through Byodo-in.

4. 4. back through Byodo-in

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Byodo-in write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Byodo-in, late in the day. Next is Komoyamazuka Kofun.

5. 5. Komoyamazuka Kofun

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Komoyamazuka Kofun write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Komoyamazuka Kofun. That is the ride.