Part 4 A GRIM & BIZARRE FOOTNOTE OF HISTORY
“It is said that Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered his troops to kill Koreans and send their noses, packed in salt, back to him to prove that they were killed. Japanese soldiers frequently exaggerated their success in battle.
The Japanese started by first sending back severed heads but the heads were heavy and took up too much space, so it was changed to ears.
However, the Japanese troops began cutting off both ears to double their number of kills. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi realized this, he was forced to change the order from ears to noses…..According to one record, the Japanese sent back 6006 salted noses in 6 large jars….” Apparently, they were kept at the ‘Tomb of Noses’ at the Toyokuni Temple in Kyoto, Japan.
Source of extract: Jinju National Museum brochure
The Lonely Planet reports that in an effort to improve Korean-Japanese relations, the latter returned 20,000 noses to the former and the noses were buried again in a formal ceremony. That’s comforting to hear but could anyone please tell me where the noses are now buried in Korea?
Ajumma's Journal
Showing posts with label Tomb of Noses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tomb of Noses. Show all posts
