A raised mound or heap of earth, stones, or similar material. Often refers to a small natural or artificial rise rather than a large hill.
An old warlord rests in this mound.
A mound of earth had formed in the corner of the garden.
burial mound; tomb; tumulus; gravesite
Used for a mound associated with burial or memorializing the dead. It can refer to an old tumulus, a grave mound, or a small memorial grave site.
An old burial mound remains on the edge of the village.
This mound is said to be the tomb of an old warrior.
standing stone; stone signpost; roadside stone statue
A less common use for a stone marker or roadside stone object, such as a standing stone, signpost, or small stone statue. Modern readers may understand this mainly from older descriptions or local historical contexts.
In old local records, a roadside stone statue is sometimes called a tsuka.
The villagers piled up a mound for the war dead.
An old stone marker stands by the roadside on the mountain pass.
墓 is the everyday word for a grave or tomb, whereas 塚 emphasizes the raised earthen mound itself and can also refer to non-burial mounds.
丘 means a hill or natural rise in the landscape, while 塚 usually denotes a smaller, often man-made mound, frequently tied to burial or used as a marker.
塚 (つか) means a mound or grave, while the identically-pronounced 束 (つか) means a bundle or the thickness of a stack of pages; the two are unrelated homophones.
shell mound; shell midden; kitchen midden
tumulus; burial mound
milestone (1 ri apart); wayside marker
anthill; ant mound
round burial mound
grave
megapode; mound builder
rubbish heap; garbage dump
burial mound for a person who died for love
Standard modern spelling; this form is high priority.
Attested variant kanji; uncommon in ordinary modern Japanese and mainly useful for recognition or search.
The historical derivation is not specified. The kanji 塚 is conventionally associated with an earthen mound or grave mound.
foxhole; fox den; fox mound
mound for burying old brushes
sutra mound
burial mound for severed ears
mound of straw; pile of straw