Significant Periods of Time in Japan

By Bmalone
  • Period: 710 to 794

    The Nara Period

    The capital is in Nara, it is a small town close to Kyoto, and a number of large Buddhist temples are built to protect the emperor. It was a time of close ties with China.
  • Period: 794 to 1185

    The Heian or "Classical" Period

    A time of rapid cultural change strongly influenced by China, led from modern-day Kyoto.
  • Period: 1185 to 1333

    Kamakura Period

    In the Kamakura Period, Minamoto no Yoritomo creates the first 'warrior government' or shogunate in 1193. The Minamoto family rules from Kamakura, a coastal town of Japan not far from modern-day Tokyo.
  • Period: 1185 to

    Feudal Period - After Genpai War

    Japan is dominated by powerful military families, and the arts are highly decorated in style.
  • Period: 1336 to 1573

    Muromachi Period

    In the Muromachi Period, the Ashikaga clan rules as the shoguns. They move the capital to Kyoto in the Muromachi district.
  • Period: 1568 to

    Momoyama Period

    The Monoyama Period (or Azurchi-Momoyama Period) were the final years of the Medieval Period, which ended the 'Warring States' and Medieval periods, when 'three great unifiers' united the country by force under a military government.
  • Period: to

    Tokugawa (Edo) Period

    In the Tokugawa (Edo) Period, Japan is united under the Tokugawa clan and society is reorganized around four classes: samurai, farmers, craftsmen and merchants. Life centers on Edo (Tokyo), the new capital of Japan