Phoenix Hall, Byodo-In temple, Uji.
The first Battle of Uji, 1180, took place yards from this temple. Its a day-trip from Kyoto and notable for being the scene of the first recorded seppuku, or ritual suicide. Doubtless there were others before this, but none written down. When defeat was inevitable at the hands of the Tiara clan, Minamoto no-Yorimasa wrote his death-poem upon the back of his war-fan ("Like a tree from which we gather no flowers; Sad has been my life; Fated no fruit to produce"), then cut himself open. The temple's on the back of the 10-Yen coin.
In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Fol... ... read more 
