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The country town of Uji is just a few kilometers from the southeastern part of Kyoto. Besides being a famous place for its temples, river-side scenery and quaint countryside homes and estates, Uji is the tea capital of Japan. Since Chinese tea plants were transplanted to Uji in the 12th century, Uji tea has always been considered the finest in the land. A short walk out of town in a easterly direction, you can see the low, dark-green tea bushes covering the landscape. May is when the first leaves of the year are picked and if you are lucky you might even get a cup of newly made tea. However, first and foremost on your stop in Uji should be the Byodo-in.

Byodo-in is a structure like no other in Japan and though you will find its image on every ¥10 coin in your pocket, it has to be experienced to be appreciated. The era that gave us this legacy of elegance and sophistication is rightly referred to as Japan's Golden Age. Golden for its cultural and social refinement and beauty, this period is even today thought by many to be Japan?s finest moment. Uji and its place on Japan's cultural map is largely due to the influence of one family, the Fujiwara. But it would be wrong to think of the Fujiwara as a family. Dynasty is much more appropriate for describing the power and influence they had over the country during the best years of the Heian Period (794-1197).
The Fujiwara Period (894-1185) was the height of elegance and sophistication in the arts and in the so...