四神とは，天地四方の方角を司る守護神で，青龍（東），白虎（西），朱雀（南），玄武（北）の四つの神獣を指す。九州地方の竹原古墳（直径18mの円墳.6世紀後半•福岡県宮若市）の石室壁画では，玄室奥壁の怪獣を龍馬あるいは青龍・天馬，前室奥壁の右側の鳥を朱雀あるいは金烏（日像）とする解釈がある。本論では，朝鮮半島の高句麗及び百済の四神図や日像図などを対象に検討を行い，竹原古墳壁画の解釈及びその系譜について再検討する。まず，四神などに関連した文献史料及び竹原古墳の概要を確認し，ついで竹原古墳と高句麗・百済の壁画古墳の比較分析を行い，(1)朱雀図及び三足烏（日像）図，(2)玄武圏(3)青龍図(4)描画方法と彩色顔料について検討する。その結果，竹原古墳の前室奥壁の右側の鳥は朱雀， 前室奥壁の左側の図は玄武的な性格を有するもの（玄武），玄室奥壁の怪獣は青龍的な性格を有するもの（青龍）であるとの結論が得られ，竹原古墳の壁画が四神図であると結論づける。その系譜については，当時の高句麗壁画古墳では五神図（四神に黄龍を加える）となっているので， 百済（宋山里6号墳）を経由して受容された可能性が高い。本考察の結果，古代中国を起源とした四神は，朝鮮半島を経由して，6世紀後半には九州地方に伝わっていたことが確実といえよう。

The "four deities" refer to the guardian deities who govern the world's four cardinal directions and consist of four divine beasts: the Azure Dragon (east), the White Tiger (west), the Vermillion Bird (south), and the Black Turtle (north). Past examinations of the stone-chamber murals in the Kyushu Takehara tumulus (a circular mound of 18 meters in diameter constructed in the latter half of the 6th century by Miyawaka-shi, Fukuoka) have interpreted the beast on the burial chamber's inner wall to be a dragon­horse, the A四reDragon, or a celestial horse. The right-hand bird on the anterior chamber's inner wall has been interpreted as either the Vermillion Bird or a golden crow (sun image). In this paper, I reevaluate the interpretations and genealogy of the Takehara murals by examining the Korean Koguryo and Paekche fourdeity paintings and sun images. I first surveyed the textual sources on the four deities and outlined the Takehara tumulus before conducting a comparative analysis of the Takehara tumulus and Koguryo/Paekche mural tumuli. I examined (1) images of the Vermillion Bird and the three-legged crow (sun image), (2) the Black Turtle images, (3) the Azure Dragon images, and (4) the painting techniques and colorants. Thus, I concluded that the right-hand bird on the anterior-chamber inner wall in Takehara is the Vermillion Bird, that the left­hand image on the same wall has Black Turtle-like characteristics (the Black Turtle), and that the beast on the burial-chamber inner wall has Azure Dragon-like characteristics (the Azure Dragon), leading me to conclude that the Takehara murals depict the four deities. Regarding their genealogy, it is likely that they were received via Paekche (Songsan-ri, 6th tomb), considering that the Koguryo murals depict five deities (adding the Yellow Dragon). This study confirms that the four deities of ancient China were transmitted to Kyushu in the latter half of the 6th century via the Korean peninsula.