History of Japan

The first people to live on the Japanese archipelago arrived during the Paleolithic, around 38,000 to 39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period is named after its cord-marked pottery. It was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC, when new ideas and tools arrived from Asia. The first known written mention of Japan appears in the Chinese Book of Han, from the first century AD. Around the 3rd century BC, the Yayoi people came from the continent. They brought iron tools and agricultural ways of life. Their population grew quickly, and they eventually became the largest group. The Jōmon people had lived on the islands for a long time. They were hunter-gatherers.

Between the 4th and 9th centuries, Japan's many kingdoms and tribes slowly joined together under one central government. It was officially led by the Emperor of Japan. The imperial dynasty started at this time and continues today, although its role is now almost entirely ceremonial. In 794, a new imperial capital was built at Heian-kyō, which is now Kyoto. This began the Heian period, which lasted until 1185. Many people see it as a golden age of classical Japanese culture. From this time on, Japanese religious life mixed native Shinto practices with Buddhism. Power then moved away from the emperor's family to powerful noble families, most notably the Fujiwara. Later, it moved to military families and their samurai warriors. The Minamoto clan, led by Minamoto no Yoritomo, won the Genpei War from 1180 to 1185 against the Taira. Yoritomo then took the title of shōgun.

The Kamakura shogunate survived two Mongol invasions, in 1274 and 1281. In 1333, however, a rival claimant overthrew it, starting the Muromachi period. During this time, regional lords called daimyō became more powerful than the shōgun, and Japan fell into a period of civil war. In the late 16th century, the powerful daimyō Oda Nobunaga and his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, brought Japan back together under one rule. After Toyotomi died in 1598, Tokugawa Ieyasu gained power and was named shōgun by the emperor. The Tokugawa shogunate ruled from Edo, which is now Tokyo. This was a peaceful and prosperous time known as the Edo period, from 1600 to 1868. During this period, society was divided into a strict class system. The country also cut off almost all contact with the outside world.

Portugal and Japan first met in 1543, when Portuguese sailors became the first Europeans to reach Japan. They landed in the southern islands. Even this small contact made a big difference, because the Portuguese brought firearms to Japanese warfare. In 1853 and 1854, the American Perry Expedition ended Japan's isolation. This helped lead to the fall of the shogunate and the return of power to the emperor during the Boshin War in 1868. The new national leadership that followed, during the Meiji era from 1868 to 1912, changed the country. It went from an isolated island nation ruled by lords into an empire that copied many Western ideas and became a great power. Democracy grew during the Taishō period, from 1912 to 1926. However, Japan's strong military was very independent and overruled civilian leaders in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1931, the Japanese military invaded Manchuria. From 1937, the conflict grew into a prolonged war with China.

Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 led to a war with the United States and its allies. During this war, Japan's actions caused great harm to many people across Asia and the Pacific. Japan's forces soon stretched too thin, but the military kept fighting. Allied air attacks caused severe damage to many cities. Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender on 15 August 1945. This came after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. The Allies occupied Japan until 1952. A new constitution, adopted in 1947, changed Japan into a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy, which it remains today. After 1955, Japan enjoyed very high economic growth under the Liberal Democratic Party. It became a world economic powerhouse. Since the Lost Decade of the 1990s, its economic growth has slowed.

Prehistoric and ancient Japan

Main article: Japanese Paleolithic

Hunter-gatherers arrived in Japan in Paleolithic times. The oldest evidence of them is about 38,000 to 40,000 years old. These early people likely came by sea in boats. Signs of their presence have been found at Yamashita Cave on Okinawa and Shiraho Saonetabaru Cave on Ishigaki Island. They also hunted megafauna, large animals that have since died out, including the elephant Palaeoloxodon naumanni and the giant deer Sinomegaceros yabei. Later, the Jōmon period lasted from about 13,000 BC to about 1000 BC. Most Jōmon people hunted and gathered food, and many lived in one place for a long time. The name Jōmon means "cord-marked." It comes from their pottery, which was decorated by pressing cords into wet clay. Jōmon pottery is widely considered to be among the oldest in East Asia and the world.

Main article: Jōmon period

Main article: Yayoi period

The Yayoi people came from the Asian mainland. They brought big changes to the Japanese islands, including rice cultivation and metalworking. They used bronze and iron tools, and they slowly replaced the Jōmon people. Their arrival seems to have mixed with the Jōmon population, and Japan's population grew quickly. By the time of the Yayoi period, the Yayoi tribes had formed several kingdoms. The Book of Han, published in 111 AD, is the oldest written work that clearly mentions Japan. During the later Kofun period, which began around AD 250, Japan slowly came together under one territory. Its leaders built large burial mounds called kofun. The center of this unified state was Yamato in the Kinai region of central Japan.

Classical Japan

The Asuka period began as early as 538 AD, when Buddhism arrived from the Korean kingdom of Baekje. Buddhism later existed alongside Japan's native Shinto religion. This mix is known today as Shinbutsu-shūgō. The period takes its name from Asuka, the main imperial capital in the Kinai region. The Buddhist Soga clan secretly controlled Japan for nearly sixty years. Prince Shōtoku supported Buddhism and the Soga family. He served as regent and leader from 594 to 622. He wrote the Seventeen-article constitution, a set of rules for good behavior inspired by Confucian ideas. He also tried to start a fair system of government jobs called the Cap and Rank System. In 607 he wrote a letter using the kanji characters for Japan (Nippon), which was a subtle insult to China. By 670, a variant, Nihon, had become the official name of the nation.

In 645, the Soga clan was overthrown in a coup led by Prince Naka no Ōe and Fujiwara no Kamatari, who founded the Fujiwara clan. Their government carried out the large Taika Reforms. These reforms were based on Confucian ideas and philosophies from China. Land in Japan became property of the state, to be distributed equally among farmers. The reforms aimed to give more power to the imperial court. After the Jinshin War of 672 between Prince Ōama and Prince Ōtomo, more reforms followed, including the Taihō Code. These laws created the ritsuryō state, a centralized government in the Chinese style that lasted for about five hundred years. The biggest push toward central power came after a defeat by the Chinese Tang dynasty in the Battle of Baekgang. Art from this time included the Buddhist temple of Hōryū-ji, finished in 607 AD. It is now the oldest wooden structure in the world.

Main article: Nara period

In 710, the government built a large new capital at Heijō-kyō (today's Nara), modeled on Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang dynasty. The first two books made in Japan, the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, appeared at this time. They tell legends of early Japan and its creation myth, which says the emperors are descended from the gods. The Man'yōshū, often considered the finest collection of Japanese poetry, was put together in the late eighth century. Japan faced natural disasters, including a smallpox epidemic in 735–737 that caused many deaths. Emperor Shōmu gave more support to Buddhism, including building Tōdai-ji in 752. The monk Gyōki helped raise money for it, and the Chinese monk Ganjin later used it as an ordination site. In the middle of the Nara period, monk Dōkyō tried to start his own dynasty with the help of Empress Shōtoku, but he lost his power after her death in 770. The Fujiwara clan grew more powerful.

Main article: Heian period

The Heian period (平安時代, Heian jidai) is the last part of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It began when Emperor Kammu moved the capital to Heian-kyō (today's Kyoto), which stayed the capital until 1868. Heian (平安) means "peace" in Japanese. Power soon passed to the Fujiwara clan, who became close to the imperial family through marriage. Fujiwara no Yoshifusa became sesshō ("regent") for a young emperor. Fujiwara no Michinaga ruled at the height of the family's power. Over time, the imperial court grew weaker. Noble families and religious groups gained tax-free shōen estates. By the eleventh century, more land was controlled by shōen owners than by the central government. The court no longer had enough tax money for its national army, so the shōen owners formed their own samurai armies. The Minamoto clans and Taira clan grew powerful, and the government used them to put down uprisings.

During the early Heian period, the court gained control over the Emishi people of northern Honshu. Sakanoue no Tamuramaro defeated them in 802. Later, the Abe clan went against the central government, and the Minamoto clan defeated them in the Former Nine Years' War. In 1156, an argument over who would become emperor led to a war. The Taira clan, led by Taira no Kiyomori, won against the Minamoto clan. This rivalry led to the Heiji rebellion in 1160. In 1180, Minamoto no Yoritomo rose up against Kiyomori. The long Genpei War lasted until 1185, when Minamoto no Yoshitsune won a battle at sea, the Battle of Dan-no-ura. Yoritomo and his retainers then became the de facto rulers of Japan.

During the Heian period, the imperial court was a center of fine art and culture. Literary works include the poetry collection Kokinshū and the Tosa Diary, both linked to the poet Ki no Tsurayuki. There is also Sei Shōnagon's The Pillow Book and Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji, often considered a masterpiece of Japanese literature. The development of the kana writing syllabaries was part of a trend of declining Chinese influence. The temple of Byōdō-in, built in 1053 in Uji, was a major architectural achievement.

Feudal Japan

Main article: Kamakura period

Main articles: Muromachi period, Sengoku period, and Higashiyama period

Main articles: Nanban trade, Battle of Fukuda Bay, and Portuguese Nagasaki

Main article: Azuchi–Momoyama period

After Minamoto no Yoritomo gained power, he chose to share rule with the Imperial Court in Kyoto. He set up his own government in Kamakura, in the Kantō region. In 1192, the emperor named him shōgun, and his government became known as the bakufu. Japan was mostly ruled by military leaders until 1868. Later, Yoritomo turned against his half brother Yoshitsune. His wife's family, the Hōjō family, gained real power through the Hōjō regents. In 1221, Emperor Go-Toba tried to win back power for the court with the Jōkyū War. He lost and was sent to live on Oki Island. In 1274 and 1281, the Mongol Empire, led by Kublai Khan, made two large attacks on Japan. Japanese samurai fought them off, and strong winds called kamikaze destroyed the Mongol ships. However, the defense was very costly, and the shogunate could not pay its samurai. This caused problems for a long time. In 1333, Emperor Go-Daigo rebelled, and Ashikaga Takauji joined him and overthrew the Kamakura shogunate. Takauji then set up his own shogunate, but it had trouble controlling its daimyōs, the powerful lords of their own lands. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu brought more order in 1392. In 1467, however, the Ōnin War began a long time of civil war called the Warring States period. During this time, strong daimyōs such as Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen fought for control. They hired ninja to work as spies.

In 1543, a Portuguese ship landed on Tanegashima, and European traders soon brought new items, such as the musket. They also brought Christianity. The Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier arrived in 1549. Portuguese traders settled in places like Hirado and Nagasaki, and a Jesuit wrote a Japanese dictionary. In 1568, Oda Nobunaga took Kyoto and ended the Ashikaga shogunate. The next period is named after his Azuchi Castle and Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Momoyama Castle. After Nobunaga was killed by Akechi Mitsuhide in 1582, Hideyoshi took over. He brought Japan back together by taking Shikoku and Kyushu. Hideyoshi then began invasions of Korea in 1592. He did not succeed, and the war ended after his death in 1598. Afterward, Tokugawa Ieyasu won the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. This began 268 years of rule by the Tokugawa clan. During these centuries, Japan also developed art forms like ink wash painting, ikebana, the tea ceremony, Japanese gardening, bonsai, and Noh theater. Yoshimasa helped support them.

Early modern Japan

The Edo period was a time of mostly peace and stability. The Tokugawa shogunate ruled Japan from the city of Edo, which is now Tokyo. In 1603, Emperor Go-Yōzei named Tokugawa Ieyasu shōgun. His son, Tokugawa Hidetada, later became the second shōgun. The shogunate kept a firm hold on the country. Japanese people were not allowed to travel abroad. The Dutch were the only Europeans allowed to trade with Japan, at Dejima near Nagasaki. The English navigator William Adams was the first Englishman to reach Japan, in 1600. During the first hundred years of Tokugawa rule, Japan's population doubled to thirty million. Many people learned to read and count. Merchants grew wealthy and enjoyed kabuki theater, haiku poetry, and geisha entertainers.

By the 1800s, the shogunate was growing weaker, and people began to question its rule. In 1853, a fleet of American ships led by Matthew C. Perry arrived and caused a great deal of upheaval in Japan. The shogunate agreed to his demands. Later, Western powers forced Japan to accept unequal treaties. Many samurai in the domains of Chōshū and Satsuma wanted to remove the shogunate. In 1868, they persuaded Emperor Meiji to call for an end to the Tokugawa shogunate. The Boshin War of 1868–1869 followed, and it led to the shogunate's fall.

Main articles: Bakumatsu and Meiji Restoration

Modern Japan

Main articles: Meiji era and Foreign relations of Meiji Japan

During the Meiji period (1868–1912), the emperor was made the official head of the country again, and the imperial family moved to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo. The most powerful leaders in government were former samurai, known as the Meiji oligarchs. They wanted Japan to become a modern nation that could stand equal to the Western powers. The government replaced the old feudal domains with prefectures, encouraged Westernization, and hired advisers from Western nations. Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar. In 1889, the Meiji Constitution was introduced, which created an elected House of Representatives with limited powers. Japan's industries grew quickly. Large family-owned zaibatsu such as Mitsubishi and Sumitomo became major businesses. Japan won the First Sino-Japanese War against Qing China and the Russo-Japanese War. It also took control of Korea, which was fully annexed in 1910.

During the Taishō period (1912–1926), Japan developed stronger democratic institutions. Main article: Taishō era. In 1925, universal male suffrage was introduced. That same year, the Peace Preservation Law also passed. Japan joined World War I on the side of the Allies. The Great Kantō earthquake struck in 1923, causing great harm and destroying many homes.

Emperor Hirohito reigned from 1926 to 1989, the longest reign in recorded Japanese history. The early part of his reign saw the rise of strong nationalism and wars of expansion, including the Manchurian Incident and the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japan joined an alliance with Germany and Italy, known as the Tripartite Pact. In 1941, it launched a surprise attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. This brought the United States into World War II. Japan was defeated, and the first atomic bomb was dropped over Hiroshima. A second bomb struck Nagasaki. Japan was then occupied by Allied forces from 1945 to 1952, led by Douglas MacArthur. A new constitution took effect in 1947. After the war, Japan grew into a major economic power. The Liberal Democratic Party dominated politics for many years. The economic bubble popped in 1989, which began a period often called the Lost Decade.

Main article: Heisei era

In 2011, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake struck northeastern Japan. The tsunami that followed damaged nuclear facilities in Fukushima. Many people were killed or went missing because of these disasters.

Main article: Reiwa era

Emperor Naruhito began his reign on 1 May 2019, after the abdication of his father, Emperor Akihito. The Summer Olympics in Tokyo were postponed to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024, Sanae Takaichi became Japan's first female prime minister.

Social conditions

Social classes became more noticeable in Japan during the Yayoi period. Trade and farming made society wealthier, and rich elites took more of that wealth. By 600 AD, there were court aristocrats, families of local leaders, commoners, and slaves. Most people were commoners, such as farmers, merchants, and artisans. Women first had equal social and political standing with men, and female emperors appear in history until the Meiji Constitution declared in 1889 that only men could become emperor. The ritsuryō system of the 7th and 8th centuries introduced a family register with a male head of household, and women's roles in government gradually shrank. From the 14th century, women's status fell quickly, for reasons historians do not fully understand. Hideyoshi's land survey of the 1590s made all who farmed the land commoners. This gave freedom to most of Japan's slaves.

In the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate divided people into four main groups. It based this system on neo-Confucian theory. These four occupations were samurai, peasants, craftspeople, and merchants (chōnin). They were placed under the daimyo. Older scholars believed these groups formed a ranking. However, studies since about 1995 show they were equal, and the old ranking chart has been removed from Japanese textbooks. Marriage between some classes was limited. Many samurai were poor, while the merchant class grew wealthy, so the class system had little effect on economic conditions. After the Meiji period began, the classes were legally abolished. Income gaps grew, and business owners and factory workers formed new classes. These gaps shrank during and after World War II. Starting in the 15th and 16th centuries, people who worked in jobs considered unclean became outcast communities called burakumin. They faced discrimination that lasted after the class system ended. Activism has improved their conditions, but discrimination in jobs and schools lingered into the 21st century. hatamoto