Terracotta Haniwa were made with water-based clay and dried into a coarse and absorbent material that stood the test of time. Their name means "circle of clay", referring to how they were arranged in a circle above the tomb. The protruding parts of the figures were made separately and then attached, while a few things were carved into them. They were smoothed out by a wooden paddle. Terraces were arranged to place them with a cylindrical base into the ground, where the earth would hold them in place.
During the Kofun period, a highly aristocratic society with militaristic rulers developed. The cavalry wore iron armor, carried swords and other weapons, and used advanced military methods like those of northeast Asia. Many of them are represented in haniwa figurines for funerary purposes.
The most important of the haniwa were found in southern Honshū—especially the Kinai region around Nara—and northern Kyushu. Haniwa grave offerings were made in many forms, such as horses, chickens, birds, fans, fish, houses, weapons, shields, sunshades, pillows, and humans. Besides decorative and spiritual reasons of protecting the deceased in the afterlife, these figures served as a sort of retaining wall for the burial mound.
Because these haniwa display the contemporary clothing, hairstyle, farming tools, and architecture, these sculptures are important as a historical archive of the Kofun Period.
