Yōgen-in Temple — Attraction in Kyoto

I'm not sure the temple is open every day as Google suggests as I went there twice and the first time it was Monday and it was closed. But it was open on a Sunday at around 10 am. The entry is ¥600 and they give you a printed explanation in English and a flyer in Japanese with pictures of the blood-stained ceiling (photography is not allowed inside the temple). I was surprised by the older reviews mentioning problems for non-Japanese but I was met with most cordial hospitality there. While Japanese tourists were listening to the recording the temple attendant showed us the silhouettes of Mototada's body, katana, as well as handprints of his retainers.

The temple is famous for its ceiling built with blood stained floor boards from the original Fushimi castle which was the scene of the battle between Torii Mototada's 1800 samurai and the 40K strong Western Army of Ishida Mitsunari. Mototada managed to defend the castle for almost 2 weeks. When only 10 defenders were left alive they committed seppuku. But the delay of Mitsunari army allowed Tokugawa Ieyasu to regroup his forces and eventually win the Battle...

Very interesting place. Although the visit is only made in Japanese and at the beginning you have no idea what is going to happen (they guide you to a room, with poor lightning and play a older tape recorder in Japanese), the realisation that you are basically under blood stained roofs is crazy. After the introduction (all in Japanese) of the first room, the guide take you to a small closer room and then after this room he/she bring you back to the previous room where with the help of a light bulb start to show the clear signs of faces/legs/hands/shoulders stained in blood on the wood. It’s morbid. Yes, totally. Still fascinating. The guide kindly translated many things in her own mobile to English to help the foreigners to understand what was going on (the main explanations and comments). I recommend going in a clear sunny day to facilitate the visualisation of the ceilings, but if you have no other choice and is...

Beautiful temple with a unique draw - the blood of 380 samurai who committed suicide after losing a battle. Their blood soaked into the floor, which was then used to make the ceiling of the entry here. Admittedly there's not a whole lot to see, especially for the cost to get in. But there was a very sweet old Japanese lady who did her best to point at certain spots on the ceiling and explain in English what we were looking at. She was able to explain handprints and footprints that was visible. She also pointed out two full bodies that you can make out. We can see their legs, body and head after they committed suicide. There are no pictures allowed inside the temple so...