Like many other early

peoples, Japans culture is

rich with Myths and
Legends One legend
speaks of the god Izanagi
and the goddess Izanami,
from whose union were
born the islands of Japan.

Another legend talks about the Sun Goddess,

Amaterasu-Omikami, who was born as Izanagi
washed his left eye. The Sun Goddess sent her
grandchild, Ninigi-no-Mikoto, to earth to rule it.
He descended to the island of Kyushu, bearing
with him a jewel, a sword, and a mirror. It is
said that the great grandson of Ninigi-no-Mikoto
was Jimmu Tenno, the first Emperor of Japan.

During this period, the

inhabitants of the Japanese
islands were gatherers,
fishers and hunters
Jomon is the name of the
era's pottery

. Chinese travellers during the Han

and Wei dynasties reported that a
queen called Himiko (or Pimiku)
reigned over Japan at that time
It was during this period that the
rice culture was introduced to Japan

Agriculture was introduced

Parts of the country began to unite
under powerful land owners
Iron and certain modern ideas were
introduced from Korea to Japan
Also named after the eras pottery

A center of power had developed in the

fertile Kinai plain, and by about 400 AD
the country was united as Yamato Japan
with its political center in and around the
province of Yamato
Yamato was the nucleus of the later
centralized governments of Japan.
Emperors were the rulers of Japan, but
most were merely symbols of the state.
Soga took over the actual political power
from the emperors
Buddhism and the Chinese writing
system were introduced during this era

The theories of Confucianism and

Taoism were also introduced during this
period
The era of the Fujiwara clan was started

Nara
In the year 710, the first permanent
Japanese capital was established in Nara,
a city molded after the Chinese capital
Nara became the center of a brilliant and
luxurious society
Buddhism became a strong influence in
Japanese culture
Temples and pagodas were built in every
province under the Imperial decree.
Taxes during this period were devastating
to the lower class, which led to an unsound
economy
The capital was later moved to Nagaoka
in 784, and finally to Heian

Heian
The capital was moved to Heian-Kyo (Kyoto) in 794 where it remained for over a
thousand years
Heian had an aristocratic, refined, luxurious, sophisticated culture.
Japanese poetry and other forms of literature flourished
Calligraphy during this time was prized
Penmanship became as much as a fine art as painting or sculpting
Art also flourished during this period
Chinese influences during this time began to decline
Previous ideas from the Chinese culture were assimilated into the Japanese ideals

China introduced the Chinese

character to Japan, which was the
basis of their writing system today
Buddhism was introduced to Japan
through China, and eventually
became the major religion of Japan
Chinese literature was also, at the
time, an influence to their own
China brought to Japan the ideal of
Tien, or Heaven
The captial of Tang, Changan, was
the model for two of their major
capitals: Nara and Heian-Kyo, which
is on the site of present day Kyoto
China also had an influence in their
political system. The Chinese based
system was the main political system
in Japan until the rise of Feudalism

During the Heian period, many powerful land owners hired warriors to protect their
properties
These Warriors were called the Samurai
In the 12th century, two military families with aristocratic background gained much power:
the Minamoto (or Genji) and Taira (or Heike) families
The Taira replaced many Fujwara nobles in important offices while the Minamoto gained
military experience by bringing parts of Northern Honshu under Japanese control in the
early Nine Years War (1050-1059) and the Later Three years war (1083-1087)
After the Heiji Rising (1159), a struggle for power between the two families, Taira Kiyomori
evolved as the leader of Japan and ruled from 1168-1178 through the emperor
After Kiyomoris death, the Taira and Minamoto clans fought a deciding war for
supremacy
In 1185, the Minamoto family took over the control over Japan after defeating the Taira
clan in the Gempei war
Minamoto Yoritomo was given the title Sei-I-tai-Shogun, barbarian-subduing-general,
commonly abbreviated Shogun
1192 marked the beginning of the Shogunate
Yoritomo established the Bakufu government

After Yoritomos death in 1199, a fight for

supremacy started between the Kamakura
Bakufu and the Imperial court of Kyoto
The Kamakura won the battle, and the Hojo
Regents had complete control over Japan

The Hoju clan was able to bring several

decades of peace and economic expansion,
until external powers began to threaten
Japan
2 sects of Buddhism occurred during this
time: Zen Buddhism and Lotus Sutra
Zen (introduced in 1191) appealed mainly to
Samurai
In 1232 Joei Shikimoku, a legal code that
stressed Confucian values, was promulgated

In 1274 and again in 1281, the Mongolians

attacked Japan, but had to withdraw on both
occasions, primarily due to weather
Financial problems and decreasing loyalty
among the powerful lords eventually brought
the fall of the Kamakura government

In 1333 the power of the Hojo clan declined, and the emperor Go-Daigo was able to restore
imperial power and over throw the Kamakura Bakufu
Ashikaga Takauji challenged the Imperial court and captured Kyoto in 1336
Go-Daigo fled to Yoshino in the South of Kyoto and founded the Southern court
Takauji appointed himself shogun and established his government in Kyoto
Two imperial courts existed for over 50 years: The North and South courts
The two courts battled for many years, but the Southern court finally gave up in 1392
The Muromachi district, where the government buildings were located, gave this period its
name
Under the Shodun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1368-1408), the Muromachi Bakufu established good
trade relations with Ming China
In 1524 Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries arrived in Kyushu and introduced firearms
and Christianity
Powerful, military families (Ji-Samurai) gained control over certain parts of Japan
They were called Daimyo great names
These clans constantly fought and brought about the age of civil wars (Sengoku Jidai)
By middle of the 16th century, several of the most powerful warlords were competing for
control of Japan

In 1559, Oda Nobunaga gained control of the province of Owari (around the modern city of Nagoya)
As with many other daimyo, Nobunaga wished to unify Japan
Nobunaga fought against several militant Buddhist sects, especially the Ikko sect (Pure Land Sect)
His fight against the Ikko sect continued until 1580

After the death of Takeda Shingen, Nobunaga defeated the Takeda clan in the battle of Nagashino in 1575
In 1582, general Akechi murdered Nobunaga and captured his Azuchi castle
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a general fighting for Nobunaga, fought against Akecchi, defeated him, and took over
control.
Hedeyoshi continued eliminating his rivals, and subdued the Northern provinces and Shikoku in 1583,
Kyushu in 1587, an ddefeated the Hojo family in Odawara in 1590, which finally led to the unification of
Japan.
After the unification of Japan, Hedeyoshi wished to conqure China
In 1592 the Japanese army invaded Korea and captured Seoul within a few weeks, but were pushed back
by Chinese and Korean forces the following year
In 1587, Hideyoshi issued an edict expelling Christian missionaries, and intensified persecution of the
Christian missionaries in 1597
Hideyoshi still fought to conquer China until the final evacuation from Korea in 1598, the same year as his
death

After the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa yIeyasu became the most powerful man in Japan
He did not respect Hideyshis successor, Hideyori and fought against him
In 1600, Iyeyasu defeated the Hideyori loyalists and other Western rivals in the battle of Sekigahara
Iyeyasu was appointed Shogun in 1603 and established his government in Edo
The Tokugawa shoguns continued to rule Japan for over 250 years
Iyeyasu promoted foreign trade, but enforced the suppression and persecution of the Christians from
1614 on
By 1615, Iyeyasu captured Osaka castle, and had practically no rivals, and peace prevailed through out
the Edo period
In 1633, shogun Iemitsu forbade traveling abroad and almost completely isolated Japan in 1639 by
reducing contacts to the outside world to very limited trade relations with China and the Netherlands in
the port of Nagasaki
New art forms emerged: No, Kabuki and Ukiyo-e
The most important philosophy of Tokugawa Japan was Neo-Confucianism, stressing the importance of
morals, education and hierarchical order in the government and society
A four class system existed during the Edo period: at the top of the social hierarchy stood the samurai,
followed by peasants, artisans and merchants
The four members were not allowed to change their social status

Due to several factors, the Tokugawa government began to decline

The merchant class grew increasingly powerful because of the break down of the
social Hierarchy
In the second half of the Tokugawa era was filled with corruption, incompetence and
a decline of morals within the government
In the end of the 18th century, external pressure started to be an increasingly
important issue
Russia was the first to try to establish trade contacts with Japan without success
European and the Americans attempted to establish trade after the Russians
Commodore Perry in 1853 and again in 1854 attacked Japan and forced the
Tokugawa government to open a limited number of ports for international trade
Trade remained limited until the Meiji Restoration
Towards the end of the Tokugawa period, anti-government feelings were growing
and caused movements that demanded the restoration of imperial power
In 1867-68, the Tokugawa government fell because of heavy political pressure, and
the power of Emperor Meiji was restored

MODERN JAPAN
1868 The Meiji Emperor announced the official return of
the imperial power and was declared a divine ruler.

1873 Japan grants religious freedom and adopts the

Gregorian calendar
1895 & 1910 The Japanese conquer Taiwan and Korea.
1914 World War I - Japan declared war on Germany.
1931 Japanese conquer Manchuria.

MODERN JAPAN
7 December 1941 Japanese attacked the United States at Pearl
Harbor in Hawaii.

18 July 1944 The government headed by Prime Minister Tojo

collapsed.

August 1945 The United States dropped atomic bombs on

Hiroshima and Nagasaki
2 September 1945 Japan officially surrendered and World War II
ended.
1989 Emperor Hirohito died and was succeeded by Emperor
Akihito.

Language. The Japanese had no written language at the time of

their first contact with the Chinese and their use of Chinese proved
important for the purpose of political unification under the Japanese
Emperor.

Religion. Buddhism and Confucianism are important features of

Chinese culture. As a systematic belief system, Buddhism forced
the local Japanese religions, which were less coherent systems, to
define themselves in relation to Buddhism. Confucianism, a
systematic religious belief system, had a lot to say about
governance and society and proved attractive for the Japanese.
Consequently it had an important influence on Japanese culture.

Paper- making, creating of porcelains, silk and lacquer.

Chinese calendar.
System of government. The method of organization of the Imperial
Court, a significant element of ancient Chinese culture, was also adopted
by the Japanese. The Japanese Imperial Court as well as its bureaucracy,
including titles, ranks and functions, soon came to be modeled after
Confucian principles. City-planning is also an aspect of Chinese culture
borrowed by the Japanese. Kyoto and Nara, capital cities constructed
along these lines, are examples. Several localities around these old
capital cities reveal a system of fields and irrigation systems divided into
even rectangles based on the ancient Chinese model of city planning. The
use of a road system to hasten communication and control rebelling
localities are also important features of this system of planning.