Mimizuka Mound - 耳塚 (built 1597)
Not far from the Kyoto train station is an unassuming mound of earth located in a quiet residential neighborhood. Not found on most maps, the shrine?called the Mimizuka?is a rare physical reminder of Japan's 1592-98 war against Korea. It was dedicated on Sept 18, 1597, about a year before the war's end, to serve as the final burial site of tens of thousands of ears and noses sent from Korea in barrels filled with brine. These macabre shipments were delivered by Hideyoshi's generals in Korea, who were rewarded according to the number of enemy dead that they could prove their troops had slaughtered. The number of dead were so numerous that instead of sending back severed heads (a common measure of counting the dead), the generals preferred to return ears and noses, which were easier to transport and offered distinctive proof of casualties inflicted.