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Turtle-back tombs or turtle shell tombs (; (日本語:亀甲墓), ''kamekōbaka'') are a particular type of tombs commonly found in some coastal areas of China's Fujian Province, and in Japan's Ryūkyū Islands. In the Chinese version, the tomb itself is made to look like the carapace of a tortoise, the vertical tombstone with the name of the deceased being put where the tortoise would have had its head, at the end of the grave where the feet of the buried body are.〔 The tomb is surrounded by an Ω-shaped ridge, with its opening on the side where the tortoise's head would have been, and where the tombstone is.〔 The Ryūkyūan version has the same overall shape and layout, but on a much greater scale, the body of the "tortoise" serving as a family burial vault.〔 ==Significance== According to J.J.M. de Groot, the main purpose of the horseshoe-shaped, or, more frequently, Ω-shaped ridge surrounding the tomb is to substitute for a range of hills ridge which, according to the principles of feng shui, needs to protect the grave from the "noxious winds" from the three sides – the situation that is rarely naturally obtainable. The tumulus over the tomb naturally has somewhat turtle-like shape, considering the large size of a traditional Chinese coffin, its shape, and the shallowness of the grave.〔〔 However, the tumulus is often actually covered with plaster (or, these days, concrete), decorated in such a way as to remind one of the pattern seen on a tortoise shell.〔 It is commonly said that the tomb imitates the shape of a tortoise due to those animals' longevity, thus promising long life to the descendants of the deceased.〔 It has been suggested (among others, by J.J.M. de Groot) that the custom of building turtle-shaped tombs may also have to do with the desire to place the grave under the influence of the heavenly warrior Xuanwu, whose symbol is the Black Tortoise. A legend has been recorded which ascribes to tortoises the ability to find an auspicious place for a burial. According to the legend, some time during the Xiangfu era, a man in Guangdong who was looking for a suitable (in feng shui terms) place to bury one of his parents on a certain mountain learned that ten days prior several dozens of tortoises had brought a large dead tortoise to a certain spot and buried him there. The man found the tortoise's grave, reburied the reptile elsewhere, and used the spot to bury his own parent. Accordingly, he then had three sons born to him, two of whom earned the ''jinshi'' degrees, and all three were to occupy high positions in the Song establishment.〔。 De Groot quotes and translates the legend from 補筆談 ("Additions to the Pencil Gossip"), Chapter (''quan'') 3. The location mentioned in the legend, Liangzhou (廉州) is near today's Beihai, Guangxi.〕 When considering the turtle motif in tomb constructions, some authors link it with the general symbolism of a turtle in the ancient Chinese culture, with its flat plastron below and its domed carapace above, representing the shape of the universe.〔. On the shape of the turtle, Watson and Rawski quote . This theme, going back all the way to the Shang Dynasty, is discussed in detail in 〕 Throughout China, for almost two millennia stone turtles, which became known as ''bixi'', have been holding memorial stelae near graves of emperors and dignitaries; however, unlike Fujian's turtle-back shaped tombs, ''bixi'' turtles are not placed directly above the grave. (And, unlike ''bixi''s, turtle-back graves don't have tablets standing on top of them). When discussing the connection between the turtle/tortoise symbolism and burial practices, some authors even remember the custom of eating a variety of the traditional sweets, the red turtle cakes, at funeral feasts.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Turtleback tomb」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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