The is an era in the
history of Japan from around 250 to 538 AD. 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 earliest 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.