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Period: Jan 1, 1180 to Jan 1, 1185
Gempei War
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Jan 1, 1185
Kamakura Period
The establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate, a hereditary military dictatorship, shifted all real political power in Japan to the samurai. Zen Buddhism, introduced into Japan from China around this time, held a great appeal for many samurai.Also during the Kamakura period, the sword came to have a great significance in samurai culture. -
Period: Jan 1, 1185 to Jan 1, 1300
Kamakura Period
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Jan 1, 1300
Ashikaga Shogunate
The Ashikaga Shogunate, centered in Kyoto, began around 1336. For the next two centuries, Japan was in a near-constant state of conflict between its feuding territorial clans.Despite the political unrest, this period–known as the Muromachi after the district of that name in Kyoto–saw considerable economic expansion in Japan. -
Period: Jan 1, 1300 to
Ashikaga Shogunate
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Period: Jan 1, 1467 to Jan 1, 1477
Onin War
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Sword carrying
In 1588, the right to carry swords was restricted only to samurai, which created an even greater separation between them and the farmer-peasant class. The samurai during this period became the “two-sword man,” wearing both a short and a long sword as a mark of his privilege. -
Tokogawa Shogunate
This period ushered in a 250-year-long stretch of peace and prosperity in Japan, and for the first time the samurai took on the responsibility of governing through civil means rather than through military force. -
Period: to
Tokugawa Shogunate
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Period of the country at war
The Sengoku-Jidai, or Period of the Country at War finally ended in 1615 with the unification of Japan -
Samurai Abolished
In this year Samurai were abolished. -
Meiji Restoration
The controversial decision to open the country to Western commerce and investment helped encourage resistance to the shogunate among conservative forces in Japan, including many samurai, who began calling for a restoration of the power of the emperor. Feudalism was officially abolished in 1871; five years later, the wearing of swords was forbidden to anyone except members of the national armed forces, and all samurai stipends were converted into government bonds, often at significant financial -
Period: to
Meiji Restoration
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Heian Period
The samurai were the armed supporters of wealthy landowners–many of whom left the imperial court to seek their own fortunes after being shut out of power by the powerful Fujiwara clan. -
Period: to
Feudal to Modern Japan
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Period: to Jan 1, 1185
Heian Period