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[[File:Haniwa-chieftain.jpg|right|thumb|320px|A ''haniwa'' figure of a chieftain excavated in [[Ibaraki prefecture]], and on display at the British Museum]]
*''Japanese'': 埴輪 ''(haniwa)''
Haniwa are [[Pottery|terracotta]] figures which were arranged atop ''[[kofun]]'' tomb mounds in [[Kofun period]] Japan. While the term most literally refers to clay circles or cylinders, haniwa also include humanoid figures, horses, and architectural structures. Haniwa are believed to have performed some kind of spiritual protective function, or perhaps to have simply served as ornamentation, signalling the wealth or power of the occupant of the tomb. Unlike [[bronze mirrors]], ''[[magatama]]'' beads, weapons, horse equipment, and other burial goods buried ''inside'' the tomb, ''haniwa'' were placed atop the mound.
Some have suggested that the ''haniwa'' were meant to represent scenes from the life of the person entombed, and that the simplified features of the figures were intentionally exaggerated in order to make them more visible from a distance.<ref>"Haniwa: tomb figures," gallery labels, British Museum.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/20863237886/in/dateposted-public/]</ref>
{{stub}}
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Kofun Period]]
[[Category:Art and Architecture]]
*''Japanese'': 埴輪 ''(haniwa)''
Haniwa are [[Pottery|terracotta]] figures which were arranged atop ''[[kofun]]'' tomb mounds in [[Kofun period]] Japan. While the term most literally refers to clay circles or cylinders, haniwa also include humanoid figures, horses, and architectural structures. Haniwa are believed to have performed some kind of spiritual protective function, or perhaps to have simply served as ornamentation, signalling the wealth or power of the occupant of the tomb. Unlike [[bronze mirrors]], ''[[magatama]]'' beads, weapons, horse equipment, and other burial goods buried ''inside'' the tomb, ''haniwa'' were placed atop the mound.
Some have suggested that the ''haniwa'' were meant to represent scenes from the life of the person entombed, and that the simplified features of the figures were intentionally exaggerated in order to make them more visible from a distance.<ref>"Haniwa: tomb figures," gallery labels, British Museum.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/20863237886/in/dateposted-public/]</ref>
{{stub}}
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Kofun Period]]
[[Category:Art and Architecture]]
