The last shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu, steps down and hands power back to the imperial family under Emperor Meiji.
1854 BCE
The Convention of Kanagawa puts an end to the policy of sakoku; Japan opens up trade with the United States.
1853 BCE
Commodore Matthew Perry, a US naval officer, arrives in the city of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to persuade the Japanese to open their borders to trade.
1724 BCE
Timber harvesting in Japan has now been reduced by 60 per cent; it remains at low levels for the next 30 years, allowing Japan’s forests to recover.
1666 BCE
A policy is introduced to reduce logging and increase the planting of trees; only the shogun and his daimyo are able to authorise the use of wood.
1633 BCE
Tokugawa lemitsu introduces a policy known as saikoku (meaning ‘locked country’);under the policy, no Japanese people are permitted to leave Japan and no foreigners are allowed to enter; the policy remains in effect until around 1853.
1603 BCE
Tokugawa leyasu becomes shogun and establishes a base in the city to Edo (modern-day Tokyo); the Tokugawa shogunate rules Japan for the next 260 years.
Period: 1603 BCE to 1867 BCE
Tokugawa (or Edo) period
1598 BCE
William Adams, a sailor and navigator, becomes the first Englishman to visit Japan; he befriends Tokugawa leyasu (a future shogun) and later becomes a key advisor to him.
Period: 1573 BCE to 1603 BCE
Azuchi-Momoyama period
1467 BCE
A period of civil war, known as the Warning States period, begins in Japan between rival warlords; it lasts for around 100 years.
1337 BCE
Ashikaga Takauji seizes power from Emperor Go-Daigo to become the new shogun.
Period: 1337 BCE to 1573 BCE
Muromachi period
1333 BCE
Emperor Go-Daigo overthrows the Kamakura shogunate, and takes back power from the shogun.
1281 BCE
The Mongol army launches a second attack on Japan, landing once again on the island of Kyushu; for the second time a typhoon hits destroying almost all Mongol.
1274 BCE
The Mongol army launches an attack on Japan, landing on the island of Kyushu; a typhoon destroys many of their ships and the invasion fails.
1185 BCE
The Minamoto clan seizes power from the emperor; Minamoto no Yoritomo becomes shogun and establishes his own capital city in Kamakura; with support from daimyo (lords) and samurai (warriors) a series of shoguns rules Japan for the next 700 years.
Period: 1185 BCE to 1333 BCE
Kamakura period
794 BCE
Under orders from Emperor Kammu, the capital of Japan moves to the city of Helan-Kyo (modern-day Kyoto); it remains the official capital of Japan for the next 1000 years.