[Columbine]

For me it's a toss up between the Heian era and the Meiji era. For me the literature and culture of the Heian era are pretty interesting; it's also one of the few I really feel I know anything about having struggled through The Tale of Genji. I think in a world context Meiji-era Japan is quite unusual. I mean you go from this long, long period of closed 'feudalism' to this really intense period of just 44 years where virtually everything completely changes; sudden booms in international economic status, technology, just this crazy race to change Japan and the clash of titans between the remnants of Tokugawa's Japan and the reformation-ists. Turbulent stuff.

Although having said all that, haniwa from the kofun era never fail to make me smile.