埴轮是日本古坟顶部和坟丘四周排列的素陶器的总称。分为圆筒形埴轮和形象埴轮。在日本各地的古坟均有分布。

埴轮大概在3世纪中后期到6世纪中后期被制造，和前方后圆墓同时消失。埴轮大部分均为中空。制作方法为先用粘土做成细泥条，盘起来后进行造型。部分埴轮为分别烧制的部件组合而成。也有部分埴轮是先做出框架后贴上粘土片而制成。没有使用模具制成的埴轮。埴轮通常会涂以红色涂料，在畿内几乎完全没有使用红色以外的颜色的埴轮，但是在关东地区则出土了被涂以各种各样颜色的造型埴轮。

埴轮可以大致上可以分为圆筒埴轮和造型埴轮两类。而造型埴轮又可以大致分为屋型埴轮，器物埴轮，动物埴轮和人物埴轮四种。通过对造型埴轮的研究，可以复原古坟时期的衣服，发型，武器，农具以及建筑等的式样。

The Haniwa(埴輪) are terracotta clay figures which were made for ritual use and buried with the dead as funerary objects during the Kofun period (3rd to 6th centuries AD) of the history of Japan. Haniwa were created according to the wazumi technique, in which mounds of coiled clay were built up to shape the figure, layer by layer.