Bronze mirror decorated with dancing cranes. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at this mirror which comes from a time when the Japanese suddenly cut themselves off from the outside world and stopped all official contact with China, a country it had frequently borrowed ideas from. Writer Ian Buruma and archaeologist Harada Masayuki help tell the story of the Heian period of Japanese history, a moment of great cultural awakening. (Duration: 15 mins)