EARLY
JAPAN (13,000 BC - 710 AC)
# During the Jomon Period (13000 BC to 300 BC), the
inhabitants of the Japanese islands were gatherers, fishers and hunters.
# During the Yayoi Period (300 BC to 300 AD), social classes started to evolve, and
country began to unite under powerful land owners.
# The emperor was ruler of
Yamato Japan (400AD) and resided in a capital that was moved frequently from
one city to another.
# In 645, Nakatomi no Kamatari started the era of
the Fujiwara clan that was to last until the rise of the military
class (samurai).
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Replica of Jomon Period subsistence activities |
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Pottery from Yayoi Period |
NARA AND HEIAN PERIOD (710 - 1185)
# The first
permanent Japanese capital was established in Nara, a city modelled after the Chinese capital.
# One characteristic of the Nara and Heian periods is a gradual
decline of Chinese influence which, nevertheless, remained strong. Many of the
imported ideas were gradually "Japanized".
# The Fujiwara family controlled Heian period over several
centuries through strategic intermarriages with the imperial family and by
occupying all the important political offices in Kyoto and the major provinces. ![]() ![]()
Man and woman clothing during Nara Period that
influenced by Chinese
KAMAKURA PERIOD (1192 - 1333)
# Chinese influence continued to be relatively strong during
the Kamakura period.
# New Buddhist sects were introduced, found
large numbers of followers among the samurai (shogun), which were now the leading social class.
# Hojo clan regents were able to bring several decades
of peace and economic expansion to the country until an external power began to
threaten Japan.![]()
Samurai class (shogun) ruled over Kamakura Period
MORUMACHI PERIOD (1333 - 1573)
# Two imperial courts existed in Japan for over 50 years:
the Southern and Northern courts. They fought many battles against each
other.
# The Southern court gave in in 1392, and the
country became emperor-wise reunited again.
# In 1542, the first Portuguese
traders and Jesuit missionaries (Jesuit Francis Xavier) arrived
in Kyushu, and introduced firearms and christianity to Japan.
# Despite Buddhist opposition, most of the Western warlords welcomed
Christianity because they were keen in trade with overseas nations mainly for
military reasons.
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A ship of Morumachi Period
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Kinkaku-ji or Zen Buddhist Temple, an excellent
example of Morumachi Period garden design
AZUCHI-MOMOMAYA PERIOD (1573 - 1603)
# Oda
Nobunaga (a samurai) achieved control over the province of Owari
(around the modern city of Nagoya) in 1559. He succeeded in capturing the capital in
1568.
# Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a general fighting for Nobunaga, reacted
after Nobunaga death, and took over control.
# After uniting the country, Hideyoshi conquered China.
However, they were pushed back again by Chinese and Korean forces in the
following year.
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Azuchi Momoyama Castle. Build in 1333-1346;
destroyed and rebuild 1580; major expansions 1601-1608
Oda Nobunaga statue in front of JR Gifu Station
EDO PERIOD (1603 - 1867)
# Ieyasu was appointed by the emperor and established his government in Edo (Tokyo). The Tokugawa shoguns continued to rule Japan for 250 years.
# The top of the social hierarchy stood the samurai, followed by the peasants, artisans and merchants. Outcasts, people with professions that were considered impure, formed a fifth
class.
# In 1867-68, the Tokugawa government fell because
of heavy political pressure, and the power of
Emperor Meiji was restored.
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Kabuki
Dance (traditional theater) developed
during Edo Period
MEIJI PERIOD (1868 - 1912)
# The new government aimed to make Japan a
democratic state with equality among all its people. The boundaries between the
social classes of Tokugawa
Japan were gradually broken
down.
# After about one to two decades of intensive
westernization, a revival of conservative and nationalistic feelings took
place, increasingly emphasized and taught at educational institutions.
# Conflicts of interests in Korea between China and
Japan led to the Sino-Japanese War in
1894-95. Japan defeated China and received Taiwan.
# New conflicts of interests in Korea and
Manchuria, this time between Russia and Japan, led to the Russo-Japanese
War in 1904-05.
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Meiji Emperor who brought
modernization and democracy of Japan
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Meiji Emperor and new constitution
TAISHO AND EARLY SHOWA PERIOD (1912 - 1945)
# After WW1, Japan's economical situation worsened. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and the world wide depression of 1929
intensified the crisis.
# In July 1937, the second Sino-Japanese
War broke out. However, the
Chinese government never surrendered completely, and the war continued until
1945.
# In December 1941, Japan attacked the Allied
powers at Pearl Harbour and was able to expand her control over a large
territory.
# In 1944, intensive air raids started over Japan.
In spring 1945, US forces invaded
Okinawa in one of the war's
bloodiest battles.
# Emperor Showa finally decided to surrender
unconditionally after US military forces dropped two atomic bombs
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on
August 6 and 9.
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Farthest limits of Japanese conquests in World
War 2
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Asahigara heavy cruiser carrying troops from Batavia to Singapore during World War 2
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Mushroom cloud over Hiroshima city
after being dropped by atomic bomb
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POSTWAR PERIOD (SINCE 1945)
# After World War II had ended, Japan was devastated. All the large cities (with exception of Kyoto), the were severely damaged. A severe shortage of food continued for several years. # A new constitution went into effect in 1947: The emperor lost all political and military power, and was solely made the symbol of the state. # With the peace treaty that went into effect in 1952, the American occupation ended. The recovery of Japan's economy flourished. The economic growth resulted in a quick rise of the living standards. # Japan's relations to the Soviet Union were normalized in 1956, the ones to China in 1972. # The 1973 oil crisis make Japanese shift to high technology industries. ![]()
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park: Ceremony held here
every August 6 and the moment of silent at 8.15 am
(exact time
the bomb was detained)
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The image of Japan, 69 years after World War 2 ended
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