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Period: 250 to 710
The Yamato Period (250 AD - 710 AD
The Yamato Period was an interesting era for diplomatic relationships. The Yamato Period was ruled by the Yamato Clan, hence the name. The Yamato Clan started military conquests, inter-societal relationships, political bartering, etc. The Yamato Period had good relations with Korea and China. The immigrants from those places influenced a mix of Japanese culture. The Chinese language took influence over Japan, along with Buddhism and other religions founded in China. Korea gave new tech to China. -
Period: 300 to 250
The Yayoi Period (300 BCE - 250 CE)
The Yayoi Period was a very important time in Japanese history for blacksmith and agriculture reasons. They made bronze coins, weapons, bells, mirrors, etc. The best thing to come from The Yayoi Period was the irrigation of rice. The Yangtze River fertilized the soil and allowed rice to be grown, thus creating a staple food in Japan that is still used today. Pottery was still a popular activity in The Yayoi Period, clay was fired at hotter temperatures to ensure more stable/stronger results. -
Period: 710 to 794
The Nara Period (710 AD - 794 AD)
The Nara Period started when a new political capital was established in the Japanese city, Nara. The Nara period had 3 different emperors/rulers: Gemmei, Gensho and Shotoku. Gemmei focused on preserving Japanese history and agricultural growing techniques. Gensho managed the royal princesses, princes and whom they were to get married to. Shotoku reunited the Japanese clans, who were currently fighting and at the brink of war. He also encouraged Buddhism and gave Buddhism more Japanese roots. -
Period: 794 to 1185
The Heian Period (794 AD - 1185 AD)
The Heian Period takes place in present-day Kyoto. In terms of religion, The Heian Period is the most important era for such a thing. Buddhism, Confucianism, etc. However, food production declined in The Heian Period, which weakened the empire. With a new era, there were new beauty practices as well. The ideal beauty standards for women were pale skin, high cheekbones, supple lips and a narrow nose. Women would use rice powder as foundation and used safflowers to line and accentuate their lips. -
Period: 1185 to 1333
The Kamakura Period (1185 AD - 1333 AD)
The Kamakura Period was known for the renewal of the Japanese-Chinese relationship. The Chinese first demanded that Japan become a Chinese-honoring country due to its use of Chinese culture. Japan, of course, refused. This led to long-term tension until now (The Kamakura Period), when the peace is relatively kept. The samurai/warrior culture rose in The Kamakura Period. Seppuku, a method of suicide done when someone was "dishonourable" to clan/family rose in this period. -
Period: 1336 to 1568
The Ashikaga Period (1336 AD - 1568 AD)
In The Ashikaga Period, for the first time ever, Europeans visited Japan. Chinese relations also improved, with trading and diplomatic relations. The ruler of The Ashikaga Period was the Shogunate Yoshiaki. There was an ongoing war that started in 1473 AD to 1573 AD. It only ended when the Shogunate Yoshiaki was overthrown by Nobunaga, who became Shogunate after. New forms of art arose as well. Things like "zen art", "romantic art", etc. -
Period: 1568 to
The Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1568 AD - 1603 AD)
In The Azuchi-Momoyama Period, the new Shogunate, Nobunaga, assumed control. His main goal was to reunite the Japanese provinces and to reduce the conflicts between them. Before this, however, he established his new government at his castle established in Azuchi. Before his death, he only succeeded in uniting half of Japan's provinces. He died when his trainee, Mitsuhide, betrayed him and forced him to commit suicide to atone for his dishonour. -
Period: to
The Tokugawa Period (1603 - 1869)
The Tokugawa Period was the last "traditional" period in Japan. The Shogunate was disbanded in favour of a federal government. In this era, the main focus was to preserve Japan's traditions and culture from western influences. To do this, they created a "seal" from the western world, they especially did not want Christianity to become present in Japan. A government building was made in modern-day Edo in 1836. It is still there today and is still being used. -
Period: to
The Meiji Period (1868 – 1912)
The most important event in this period is the "restoration". this restoration brought many changes to Japan's society, government, military and social aspects. The military was built upon, as the Japanese Emperor (Meiji, at the time) feared Westerners would come to try and disrupt Japanese culture and start a conflict. New laws were established to make things as fair as possible to people from all different classes. -
Period: to
The Taishō Period (1912 - 1926)
In The Taishō Period, democracy made an appearance there after years of dictator-esque leadership. It was also a time for culture and change. Similar to the US's "The Roaring 20's" Japan's Taishō Era was filled with new styles, articles of clothing and societal norms. New inventions, like measuring tools used for science, etc. were made and sold. Cafes first made an appearance in this era as well. -
Period: to
The Shōwa Period (1926 - 1989)
In The Shōwa Period, the end of WWII and the beginning of militarism was present. China took Japan's militarism as a threat and the battle of tensions and rocky negotiations began once again. In 1947, democracy was officially established by the constitution. The Emperor was elected to the cosmetic-only title of "Head of State", which has no political power. -
The Manchurian Incident (1931)
The Manchurian Incident was when a Japanese railroad track exploded in Manchuria. Due to the Chinese-Japanese tensions at that time, The Japanese railroad owners suspected the Chinese blew up their railroad. In retaliation, the Japanese took over Manchuria. Japan was declared at fault by the League of Nations, but it was not returned to the Chinese until the end of WWII. This incident led to the beginning of WWII. -
Japan Surrenders After Hiroshima is Bombed (1945)
After an American plane dropped the world's first known atomic bomb on Japan's Hiroshima, Japan surrendered. 80,000 people were killed by the explosion and only days later, a similar bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing another 40,000 people. After the attack, Japan's emperor, Hirohito, who was currently in charge, announced Japan's defeat and surrender. -
Period: to
Postwar Period (1945 – Modern Day)
The Postwar Period started after Japan's alliance with San Francisco had officially ended. Western culture began to become apparent in Japan, and Japan's culture began to become apparent in Western countries. Things like exported candy, sushi restaurants and TV shows became apparent in the Western countries. Japan got a reputation for being the leading country in technology production and sales. Many advanced technologies originated in Japan. -
Japan Joins the UN (1956)
Japan joined the UN on 1956, becoming the 80th member. This decision as given much support, as people wanted to have a peaceful future. The reason Japan joined the UN was to (hopefully) preserve the peace and to spare the younger generation from the brutality of war and bombs. -
Japan Oil Crisis (1973)
Japan faced a massive oil crisis in 1973, along with the US and other countries. Japan was dependant on 73% of oil that came from Arabia. Arabia issued a "non-friendly country" label on Japan, due to them not changing their environmental policy. Japan retaliated to them by saying they should reconsider their decision or else Japan might "reconsider their policy towards Isreal". After this announcement, Japan was labelled as a friendly country once again. -
Japan's Burst of Economy Recession (1992)
Japan's economy had a severe recession in 1992, due to the lack of people paying back loans. The interest kept piling up on bank loans, but nobody would play them back, thus causing a recession. Due to the inflation of prices in Japan, many businesses bought foreign property and items, which gave a good boost economy to the various countries. -
Sarin Gas Attack in the Tokyo Subway (1995)
The 1995 Sarin gas attack happened in 3 subways in Tokyo. Passengers were going on their normal commute but only noticed something was off when they felt fumes that were burning their eyes. The fumes went down their throats and in their lungs, which caused vomiting, choking and 13 deaths. This attack was made by the Asahara cult, to retaliate the police putting them on the radar. -
The Great Hanshin Earthquake (1995)
The Great Hanshin Earthquake (AKA, The Kobe Earthquake) hit the city of Kobe in Japan on 1995. More than 20,000 buildings collapsed, oil and gas distribution was interrupted. Japan dealt with a large amount of homelessness due to lack of housing by themselves, refusing any outside help. The homeless people were given money and temporary housing, while the government supplied more money for building restoration. -
Period: to 300
The Jōmon Period (10,000 BCE - 300 BCE
The Jōmon Period is the earliest recorded part of Japanese history. The Jōmon Period was credited with the first creation of pottery, axes, fishing, etc. in Japan. The Jōmon Period is named after the specific form of pottery being made, "Jōmon" means patterned or to be exact, "cord-patterned". Eventually, the pottery evolved from only vases to figurines, cups, etc. The various pottery had fertility symbols. They actually named these specific types of figurines "Dogū".