耳塚Mimizuka must rank as the most grotesque monument in Kyoto.
Not far from the Kyoto National Museum and Sanjusangendo, and next to a small neighborhood playground for children, is a raised mound.
The monument contains - and was originally dedicated to - the ears and noses of Korean soldiers and civilians murdered between 1592 - 1598 when Toyotomi Hideyoshi lead an invasion of the Korean peninsula.
It is estimated that the mound contains body parts of 38,000 Koreans killed during the war.
In a cruel irony, the monument is just down the street from Toyokuni Shrine, a Shinto shrine honoring Hideyoshi.
In the past, Japanese warriors brought back the heads of enemies slain on the battlefield as both proof of their bravery - and to be paid. Soldiers received from their feudal lord a predetermined stipend for each head.
However, because the ships returning from Korea were so crowded - and the sheer number of Koreans slaughtered so extraordinary - for reasons of space ears and noses replaced whole heads. They were stored in barrels of brine on the return journey.
The Mimizuka mound was first dedicated 28 September 1597.
At long last, on 28 September 1997 - the 400th anniversary of the original dedication - a ceremony was held to pay respects to the dead.
Today few Japanese visit the shrine or are even aware of it. Visitors tend to be Korean.
A simple plaque in Japanese and Korean explains the history of the simple mound.
Directions
From the entrance of the Kyoto National Museum, walk or ride west - towards the Kamo River - on Shichijo Dori. At the first corner, turn right. The Museum's main gate will be on the right. Go one block. On the right will be Toyokuni Shrine. Turn left. The park will be in front of you on the left side of the street. Just beyond that is the mound.
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