Shimonoseki, Kammon suspension bridge
Near Shimonoseki, in 1185, the final battle of the Gempei war was fought - same war that kicked off in 1180 from my last blog, with Minamoto Yoshitsune's seppuku in the Byodo-In. Here, the battle of Dan-no-Ura was a naval battle ending in total victory for the Minamoto. It also resulted in the creation of the office of Shogun, which had not existed before this point. Of course with something to fight over, they fought, and fought, and fought, right up until another guy I have already mentioned, Tokugawa Ieyasu, put a bloody and violent stop to it all in 1600.
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 
