Kubizuka information

Kubizuka (首塚, literally neck mound in Japanese, often translated as head tomb) is a type of burial mound in Japan, in which severed heads are interred. The heads were often those taken as trophies following a battle or in some cases, the kubizuka holds the heads of those who were executed by decapitation, whether prisoners of war or convicted criminals who were sentenced to death. The dedicated grave is meant to put the souls to rest.

In Japanese history, battles were often followed by a head-viewing ceremony, in which warriors presented the head(s) of opponents they had killed in combat to their commander. The head of the deceased warrior was identified, and a record was kept of who had killed whom. To console the souls of the defeated, many kubizuka were built.

There are kubizuka enshrining a single person (like an enemy samurai commander), so they do not become a vengeful onryō later, and kubizuka enshrining many soldiers (zohyo) killed in one battle, such as the grave associated with the Battle of Sekigahara. A great number of both types of kubizuka still exist throughout Japan.