HISTORY OF JAPAN

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).

Replica of Jomon Period subsistence activities

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.

A ship of Morumachi Period

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.

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)

# Tokugawa Ieyasu was the most powerful man in Japan after Hideyoshi had died in 1598.

# 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.

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.

Meiji Emperor who brought 

modernization and democracy of Japan

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.

Farthest limits of Japanese conquests in World War 2

Asahigara heavy cruiser carrying troops from Batavia to Singapore during World War 2

Mushroom cloud over Hiroshima city 

after being dropped by atomic bomb

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)

The image of Japan, 69 years after World War 2 ended