-
710
The first capital is established at Nara
Nara was Japan's first capital and the seat of the Emperor. -
794
Start of the Heian period
The Heian period is the last division of classical Japanese history. -
1185
Minamoto no Yoritomo becomes the first shogun of Japan
the Minamoto family took over the control over Japan after defeating the Taira clan in the Gempei war. Minamoto Yoritomo established a new military government, the Kamakura Bakufu, in Kamakura and was appointed shogun -
1467
beginning of the Warring states period
A period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war, social upheaval, and political intrigue -
1543
First contact between Japanese and Europeans and beginning of trade
The first three Europeans to arrive in Japan were Portuguese traders António Mota, Francisco Zeimoto and António Peixoto -
1573
The Azuchi-Momoyama period begins
The Azuchi–Momoyama period began with Oda Nobunaga entering into Kyoto to install Ashikaga Yoshiaki as the 15th and ultimately final shōgun of the Ashikaga Shogunate, which had collapsed after outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467 and triggered the chaotic Sengoku period. -
The beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate
Japan's "Three Reunifiers"—Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu—worked to bring the warring daimyo back under central control. -
The Sakoku (“locked country”) period begins
Japan's 200-year policy of seclusion, under which no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death. -
The Arrival of the United States navy fleet commanded by Matthew Perry
American Commodore Matthew Perry led his four ships into the harbor at Tokyo Bay, seeking to re-establish for the first time in over 200 years regular trade and discourse between Japan and the western world. -
The Meji Restoration
The Meiji Restoration, referred to at the time as the Honorable Restoration, and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Reform, or Renewal, was an event that restored practical imperial rule to the Empire of Japan in 1867 under Emperor Meiji.