Mountains of earth have their secrets, and in Japan’s case, those secrets often echo the grand tales of the Kojiki. A few standout discoveries bridge the gap between myth and material culture:

• Kofun Burial Mounds
– Giant keyhole-shaped tombs, like Daisen Kofun in Osaka, line up with imperial lineages described in the Kojiki. Radiocarbon dating places many of these mounds in the 3rd to 5th centuries CE—right when the text claims Yamato rulers were consolidating power.
– Haniwa clay figures found atop these tumuli mirror descriptions of funerary rites and guardian deities.

• Yayoi Wet-Rice Agriculture Sites
– Excavations at Toro (Shizuoka) and Yoshinogari (Saga) reveal advanced paddy systems and wooden ritual platforms. The Kojiki’s portrayal of divine ancestors introducing rice cultivation gains real-world backing here.
– Ritual objects—bronze dōtaku bells and ritual knives—turn up alongside pits filled with pottery, echoing passages about offerings to kami (gods).

• Magatama, Bronze Mirrors and Sword Finds
– The “Three Sacred Treasures” of Shinto myth—mirrors, jewels, and swords—aren’t just legend. Bronze mirrors dated to the 4th century appear in elite burials, often paired with comma-shaped magatama beads. A famous example: the Inariyama Sword, inscribed with references to early Yamato rulers.
– These items reinforce Kojiki’s lineage claims, giving tangible form to objects once thought purely symbolic.

• Izumo and Ise Shrine Precincts
– At Izumo Taisha, posthole patterns suggest an immense pre-Asuka wooden hall—possibly the very edifice referenced as the god Ōkuninushi’s shrine.
– Recent ground-penetrating radar at Ise Shrine hints at centuries-old rebuilds, matching the Kojiki’s emphasis on ritual renewal every two decades.

Modern technology—LiDAR mapping of tumuli clusters and DNA studies on skeletal remains—continues to shed light on migrations and power shifts that the Kojiki weaves into its mythic tapestry. Today’s archaeologists are picking up the whisper of ancient poets, translating earthen treasures into stories that resonate just as powerfully now as they did over a millennium ago.