Photo/Illutration Yoshimi Hyakuana (100 caves) is a cluster of ancient graves, but there are 219 caves on the cliff. These tunnel tombs were made by digging into the slopes of hills and on plateaus. It was designated as a National Historic Site in 1923. (Photo by Lisa Vogt)

I overheard a colleague talking in Japanese about “shuukatsu,” and because I had just read an article about end-of-life preparations and the million things one needs to consider, I couldn’t help butting in.

I said, “It’s always good to expect the unexpected. The other day, I downloaded a Japanese “endingu nouto” (ending notebook), and it was more than 50 pages long!”

I was met with a stunned silence. A long, uncomfortable silence. Then, a curt, “We’re talking about job hunting.”

I was so embarrassed that I wished the ground would open up and swallow me. Or in Japanese, “If there were a hole, I would have liked to go inside it.”

There are many holes at Yoshimi Hyakuana in Saitama Prefecture, as one can guess from the name. The name says a hundred, but more than double that number of holes exist.

The national historic site is a group of horizontal cave tombs built in the late Kofun Tumulus Period (late sixth century to late seventh century). For whom remains a mystery.

On a hillside are many holes about a meter square, which are the entrances to rooms of various sizes and shapes. Each room contains a burial chamber for one or more people, and at one time, each was believed to have had dark green stone planks as doors.

I was surprised that the site is open to exploration, not just “look from a distance and don’t touch.” People can go inside the holes and climb to the top of the hill.

The 1,600-year-old (or so) burial mound is also known for its yellow-green glowing, luminous moss, which is extremely rare to find outside Hokkaido and the mountainous regions north of the Chubu region.

During the Pacific War, between 1944 and 1945, a large underground factory near and among these hills manufactured aircraft engine parts so as not to be detected by the U.S. military. Many tombs were destroyed during this time.

During the Kofun Period (third century to seventh century), perhaps burial mounds were built to demonstrate or pass on power. From about 200 years ago, commoners began building graves to mourn the deceased and pray to one’s ancestors.

Today, mortuary practices are diversifying: tree burials, couple’s graves, communal graves, individual graves, graves with pets, not having a grave and instead crushing remains and creating a wearable accessory, and there are even QR-code-generated digitized altars on the market.

The entry in my “ending note” for what kind of grave I’d like changes. For now, it’s a bench with no markings in a scenic spot.

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This article by Lisa Vogt, a Washington-born and Tokyo-based photographer, originally appeared in the Aug. 11-18 issue of Asahi Weekly. It is part of the series “Lisa’s Things, Places and Events,” which depicts various parts of the country through the perspective of the author, a professor at Aoyama Gakuin University.

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