Hachikokuyama

banner monument The park contains an archaeological site, the dating from the Jōmon period with the remnants of irrigation and waterworks from the Jōmon through Muromachi periods. Numerous Sue ware pottery fragments have been found in the area. The route of the ancient Tōsandō highway passed through what is now this park. In the year 1333, Nitta Yoshisada established a campaign headquarters and raised his army's banner on a mound in what is now part of the park during the Kōzuke-Musashi Campaign against the Kamakura shogunate. This mound was either an ancient kofun burial mound or a Fujizuka mounded dedicated to the worship of Mount Fuji, but is now known as the . This location is commemorated by a stone marker at the park's north eastern end. Admission to the park is free of charge. ==Hachikokuyama in popular culture==

It is famous for being an inspiration for parts of the anime film My Neighbor Totoro. The film's creator Hayao Miyazaki has acknowledged that Hachikokuyama Park served as a significant inspiration for the setting of My Neighbor Totoro. He lived in the area during the 1960s, and his experiences there deeply influenced the film’s depiction of rural life and natural landscapes. Miyazaki once guided Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki through Hachikokuyama Park, referring to it as the place where Totoro was “born”. The hospital featured in the film, where the protagonists’ mother is hospitalized, was modeled after Shin-Yamanote Hospital, located near Hachikokuyama Park. ==Gallery==

Shogunzuka Descriptive Sign.jpg|Descriptive sign of the significance of the shougunzuka site as well as where it is located. Shogunzuka Mound Stele.jpg|Stele on the top of Shogunzuka mound. The mound may originally be from the Jomon period. File:Shogunzuka Site.jpg|Shogunzuka site. The mound is at the elevated area at the center. File:Shogunzuka Lower Stele.jpg|Shogunzuka location stele on Hachikokuyama, Tokyo/Saitama, Japan. == References ==