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14,000 BCE
Paleolithic period
The Paleolithic period was a very important part of Japan's history because, it was the starting point for many parts of modern day Japan. basic development of pottery and numerous tools, including stone core tools and much more stone technology. nobody knows why these tools were made or what they were used for. The peoples fended off many attacks and contributed heavily to the genetic makeup of todays Japanese peoples. -
300 BCE
3rd Century BC
Silk farming was an important part of the Japanese culture. many of the farm-wives at the time would farm the worms and then take the threads from their cocoons and then weave them into soft cloth. this practice never dwindled either, by 1905, about 80% of the global market was Japanese silk. According to some historical records, the silk-farming practice was likely brought to Japan on a Japanese envoy from China. The Japanese Emperors saw great potential in this and a symbol of refinement. -
57
1st Century
The King of Na Gold seal was found in 1784. The seal was believed to have been cast in China, in about the year 57, and given to Japanese Emperor Guangwu of Han when he was visiting on a diplomatic envoy. The seal is an important part of the Han Dynasty. The seal is made up of about 95% pure gold and is shaped in the shape of a twisting serpent. The seal weighs about 108.729 grams, so you can just imagine how much it was worth. -
180
2nd Century
The Civil War of Wa or also known as The Great Rebellion of Wa, is the first ever war documented in Japan history. The war could've lasted anywhere between 5 and 80 years and peace was restored in around 180 when the Shaman queen Himiko took over the region. Although there is no documented cause for the war starting, it is believed that either a political struggle or power situation was the main cause. -
Period: 201 to 283
3rd Century
The Hata Clan was in immigrant clan active since 250-538 (Kofun period). They provided Japan with many priceless skills such as, water irrigation, silk farming/clothing, metal work, mine development, and brewing. The Hata clan members were highly trained in all of these trades and trained the Japanese communities. The Hata clan also claimed to be descendants of the first Qin Emperor but whether or not that is true, we don't know. -
Period: 346 to 362
4th Century
The Yamato period is the period of Japanese history where the imperial court ruled the modern day Nara Prefecture then known as the Yamato Province. The actual dates of the Yamato Province is still unknown, but we know that it likely took place between the Kofun Period and the Asuka Period (250-710). Almost immediately after the fall of Baekje the Japanese sent convoys to the Chinese courts in which they obtained great knowledge like, philosophical and social structure and the Chinese calendar. -
Period: 404 to 461
5th Century
By the early 5th Century the Japanese courts had officially adopted the Chinese writing system and Buddhism was introduced by late 5th early 6th century. These 2 things revolutionized the Japanese culture greatly and marked the start of a long period of strong Chinese influence in Japan. This was very important because at the time China was a powerhouse for development and them passing their knowledge on to Japan helped them protect their country and greatly advanced their trading capabilities. -
Period: 500 to 593
6th century
Over the early years the Soga clan played a very important part in the uprising of Buddhism. They had many connections with foreign countries, mostly Korea and China, and favored the adoption of the religion more than anyone else. Another reason why they were so important was because they played a significant role in centralizing political power and they placed a great deal of rulers on the Imperial throne. -
Period: 603 to 694
7th Century
The Twelve Level Cap and Rank system was implemented in 603, and was the first of many of its kind to be established during the Asuka period of Japanese history. There was already many systems similar to this, that had already been created in Sui Dynasty China, Paekche and Goguryeo. So what is the Twelve Level Cap and Rank System? It was a hierarchical structure and categorized people of power into categories/ranks based on their strengths, weaknesses social status. Each rank was color coded. -
Period: 701 to 797
8th Century
The first major smallpox epidemic ended after 2 years. This epidemic killed off about one third of Japan's population, which equates to around 1 million people. A few decades earlier Japanese court officials took the Chinese policy of reporting disease outbreaks and made it their own. This was important because often many outbreaks weren't reported and then other cities or even countries didn't know what it was or how to deal with it. Not reporting the outbreaks ultimately caused more deaths. -
Period: 802 to 894
9th Century
The first public school was built in Japan by Kukai, also known as Kobo Daishi. The school was called Shugei Shuchi and was built in 828. The school was opened to all people of any social rank, which at the time, was unheard of and provided the students with free meals. In order for Kukai to keep the school running, he asked many people for support including, The Emperor, ministers, Marquises, and high priests of all sects of Buddhism. This was important because this was unheard of until now. -
Period: 901 to 995
10th Century
In the 10th century Japan suffered many natural disasters such as, wildfires, floods, landslides, droughts, famines, and many disease outbreaks, most commonly, smallpox. These events caused about a quarter of the Japanese population to die. Japan has been battling these events from day 1 and still to this day have to deal with them. This was important to Japan because many of their people died and they need/needed to find a way to stop it. -
Period: 1008 to 1083
11th Century
The Heian period was a period Japanese history where Chinese influence was not needed anymore. The Japanese were ready to be independent. The Heian period is also considered the high point of the Japanese Imperial court system. At the time the Japanese Imperial House of Japan had the majority of power the Fujiwara clan had even more. The Fujiwara clan was a powerful aristocratic family who had intermarried within the Imperial family. -
Period: 1156 to 1192
12th Century
The Yowa Famine was caused by severe droughts that lasted a full year. At this time the Genpai War was going on which also contributed the the famine. Food prices got so bad that a full load of processed lumber could often not get him enough food for one day. A famine is just simply a time of severe and prolonged hunger. This was very severe and caused many villages and families to break down and sometimes cease to exist. -
Period: 1221 to 1293
13th Century
The Mongol invasions of Japan were vicious attacks launched by the Kublai Khan because they wanted to take over the Japanese archipelago. There was not one but two attacks that ultimately Japan fended off. Although they fended off the attacks, the Mongols created such destruction that the samurai culture almost was destroyed. The only reason they managed to hold on was because of one final push that they gave to knock the Mongols back so much they ended up surrendering. -
Period: 1331 to 1392
14th Century
Minamoto Yoritomo was Japan's founder of a system where feudal lords ruled Japan for 700 years, called either Bakufu or Shogunate. -
Period: 1419 to 1498
15th Century
The Edo Castle, a very complex structure that is still very popular to this day, was built in 1457 by Ota Dakan, who was a Japanese samurai lord, poet and Buddhist monk. It was the residence of the shogun and headquarters of the military gov't. Now it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace. This castle was very important to Japan because for more than 260 it served as the seat of gov't for the Tokugawa family. Now it is still important because it houses the Imperial family's palace and residence. -
Period: 1523 to
16th Century
Of the 16 Korean Peninsula Wars, The Imjin war was the most significant. The Imjin wars were created because of Japan trying to invade the Korean Peninsula and lasted from 1592-1598. The war wasn't constant though. There was a brief truce in 1596, but shortly after in 1597, there was another invasion by Japanese forces. None of their invasions worked and shortly after their second invasion they retreated. This was important because the invasions had many implications for Japan's foreign policy. -
Period: to
17th Century
The Jojyo Uprising happened in 1686 in Azumidaira, Japan and was a large scale peasant uprising. During the Edo Period many of these uprisings have happened and often afterwards, the leaders of them were executed. The executed leaders have been admired non religious martyrs. The reason for the uprisings was because of a succession of severe winters, which made the crops fail. This stared many people. This was important because many people died and were mad at the gov't. Society mad at gov't=bad. -
Period: to
18th Century
In 1771, there was a natural disaster that killed approximately 8,439 people and countless others injured. This was the Great Yaeyama Tsunami and it was caused by the Yaeyama Great Earthquake. The Earthquake was not as damaging as the impending tsunami. More than 2000 houses were destroyed or damaged and at least 12000 people were counted dead or missing. Obviously this was a very horrific event and it was so important to the Japanese people, that they even added the word Great before the name. -
Period: to
19th Century
On the 11th of March in 1863, the order to expel all barbarians was passed successfully. Although the order was passed, the shogunate had no intention of enforcing it. This inspired attacks against the shogunate itself as well as foreigners that were in Japan. This was important to Japan because barbarians would just go into a town and raid it at their own will. They did not care for others or the law. As you might be able to see, this was a problem for many reasons.