World Art Utopia

Masakado’s Grave

The stone memorial of Masakado-zuka in Otemachi, Tokyo, with banners, a lantern and hedges in front of office buildings.
Artwork FileTokyo, Japan

Masakado’s Grave

SeenJun 2026

Masakado-zuka (将門塚) · 1-2-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo

Memorial cared for by the Masakado-zuka preservation society. Photo: Kakidai / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0), taken 29 January 2012, before the 2020–21 renovation, as published on Street Art Utopia (Still Getting Visitors (10 Photos), 31 October 2026).

Masakado-zuka is a small memorial plot among the office towers of Otemachi, Tokyo’s financial district. It is the place traditionally said to hold the head of Taira no Masakado, the mid-Heian-period warrior who rebelled against the imperial court, and a preservation society still looks after it. Source Source Source Checked

Seen Jun 2026 — The newest dated photograph we found was taken on 10 June 2026 and shows the front of the memorial. Japan’s national heritage map, citing Tokyo’s cultural-property list as of 19 March 2021, records the site and its caretaker. Source Source Checked

More photos

The historic-site preservation stele within the Masakado-zuka memorial plot in Tokyo in 2019.
2019 Preservation stelePhoto: RuinDig/Yuki Uchida / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Masakado-zuka memorial in Tokyo after its 2021 renovation.
2021 After the renovationPhoto: Fukumoto / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The front of Masakado-zuka memorial in Tokyo in 2026.
2026 Front of the memorialPhoto: Nori Norisa / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

💡 5 things to know

  1. A grave among office towersChiyoda’s tourism association places the tomb a three-minute walk from Tokyo Metro Otemachi Station. Source Checked
  2. The flying headLegend says Masakado’s head, displayed in Kyoto after his death, flew back east, and that one of the places where it fell is this tomb. Source Reported
  3. Repaired in 1307According to the heritage record, the monk Shinkyō repaired the mound in 1307 and raised a stone stupa; the site was laid out in its modern form in 1970 by the preservation society and others. Source Reported
  4. Renovated againThe description of a 2021 photograph says a sixth renovation took place from November 2020 to April 2021. Source Reported
  5. Still cared forThe Masakado-zuka preservation society, which honours Masakado and preserves the mound, became an incorporated association in November 2023. Source Checked

📍 Where it is

1-2-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo, a three-minute walk from Otemachi Station. Coordinates are the heritage map’s point for Masakado-zuka. Source Source Source Checked

Open in Maps

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 1307

    Mound repaired, stone stupa raised

  2. 1970

    Laid out in its modern form

  3. 201229 Jan

    Memorial photographed

  4. 20193 Dec

    Memorial photographed

  5. 202119 Mar

    Listed in Tokyo’s cultural-property data

  6. 202117 Nov

    Photographed after renovation

  7. 202610 Jun

    Front of the memorial photographed

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

✅ The facts

Name
将門塚 (Masakado-zuka), also called Masakado’s Tomb Source Source Source Checked
Commemorates
Taira no Masakado, a mid-Heian-period warrior who led the Tengyō rebellion Source Source Checked
Address
1-2-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo Source Source Checked
Protection
Tokyo-designated cultural property (category: former site), owned by the Tokyo Board of Education Source Checked
Caretaker
Masakado-zuka preservation society (史蹟将門塚保存会) Source Source Checked
Restoration
1307, by the monk Shinkyō of Yugyō-ji Source Reported
Modern layout
1970 Source Reported
Latest renovation
November 2020 to April 2021 (sixth renovation) Source Reported
The head
Said to enshrine Masakado’s head; this rests on legend Source Unconfirmed

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Last checked: 1 November 2026. How we verify art