Prehistoric Japan (4000 – 100 BCE)

Classical Japan (100 – 1185 CE)

Medieval Japan (1185 – 1867 CE)

Modern Japan (1868 – Present)

 Early Modern Japan (1868 – 1947)
 Democratic Japan (1947 – Present)
Prehistoric Japan (4000 – 100 BCE)

According to Japanese mythology, the Sun Goddess Amaterasu

sent her grandson Ninigi to rule over sacred islands. It is been said
that Ninigi’s great-grandson Jimmu was the first human emperor
of Japan. According to mythology, Jimmu established an unbroken
line of Imperial descent and founded The Land of Rising Sun in 660
BCE.

 2500 BCE - First permanent settlement appeared during Jomon

Period.
 Prehistoric Japan was inhabited hunter-gatherer culture and
handmade pottery.
 300 BCE - More advanced agricultural society, the invention of
metal tools in Yayoi Period.
 The primary religion was Shinto.

Classical Japan (100 – 1185 CE)

Emergence of powerful clan rulers. Among these clans was the Yamato
clan, whose rulers began the imperial dynasty that has continued till
the present date, making it the oldest and continuous hereditary
monarch in the world. This period is categorized mainly into 3 -
Asuka, Nara and Heian Period.

Asuka Period (538 – 710)

 By 500 CE Chinese culture started influencing Japan. Reforms
were made in religion, writing system, bureaucratic
administration and legal theories.
 Somewhere between 538 - 552 The religion of Buddhism reached
Japan and flourished.

Nara Period (710 –794)

 Emergence of Japanese Patterns of Administration and
Institution.
 Establishment of first permanent capital of Japan at Nara.

Heian Period (794 – 1185)

 794 – Capital city moved from Nara to Heian Kyo, Present day
Kyoto.
 Literature flourished in this period.
  World’s First Novel, The Tale of Genji was written also during
this period.

Medieval Japan (1185 – 1867 CE)

Beginning of Samurai rule or Military rule. The imperial court remained

in Kyoto, but the majority of Japan was under rule of warlords called
“Shoguns”. This period is also referred as the feudal period.

Kamakura Period (1185 – 1333)

 First Shogunate government or Military government was formed.
 1274 – The Mongols tried to invade Japan through oceans, but
failed.

In 1333, Emperor Kammu overthrew Kamakura’s military government

and restored the civilian government. But this civilian government
didn’t last long. In 1336 shogun Ashikaga rose to the power and formed
the second military government in Japan.

Ashikaga Period (1336 – 1573)

 Artistic tradition flourished during this time.
 European Merchants arrived in Japan.
 Many Civil wars took place and many people lost their lives.

In 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan by taking power from

Ashikaga military government and establishing his own military power.
With this power change, Japan entered the Edo Period.

Edo Period (1600 – 1867)

The Edo period was a time of relative peace and stability under the
military rule. New economics and administrative policies were
implemented during this period.
 Merchants and Traders became more powerful as the economy
improved.
 Vibrant middle class culture was developed with innovations in
economics organizations, literatures and arts.
 With increasing numbers of European traders, Christianity grew in
Japan. This was seen as a potential threat to Japanese culture so
Christianity was banned and to prevent any foreign ideas from
taking roots in Japan then samurai government adopted isolation
policy called ‘sakoku’ in 1638. Under this policy no one could
enter or exit Japan except some Dutch, Chinese and Korean
 merchants. Because of this policy, Japan was isolated for almost
250 years from the world.
 During this isolation period, many rebellions happened against
the warlords but those were suppressed.
 In 1854 the Commodore of United States Navy Matthew Perry
visited Japan and signed the convention of Kanagawa. Under this
treaty, Japan agreed to open the trade with the west thus ending
its isolation from the world.
 In 1868 civil war took place between the military government and
the Imperial court. The Imperial army ensured the fall of the
military administration thus ending the 680 years of military rule
in Japan and restoring the Empire. This Civil war is called as
Boshin War and is also referred to Japanese Revolution. With the
end of this war Japan entered the modern period.

Modern Japan (1868 – Present)

Modern Japan is classified into 2 – Early Modern Japan and Democratic
Japan.

Early Modern Japan (1868 – 1947)

 After the fall of the military government, Emperor Meiji came to
power and he restored the Empire of Japan. He changed the
name of the capital city to Tokyo.
 The Emperor felt that for Japan to compete with the western
colonial powers it was important for the country to grow and
industrialize.
 The Emperor promoted widespread westernization, hire western
experts in fields of education, mining, banking, law, military
affairs, and transportation to remodel Japan's institutions.
 The Japanese adopted the Gregorian calendar, western clothing,
hairstyle, etc.
 Comprehensive Tax Reforms were made and the ban on
Christianity was lifted.
 Due to this standard of living of common Japanese improved.
With the rise in the standard of living, the voice for freedom and
rights of people also rose. Campaigns demanding for greater
participation of common people in politics began at the end of
the 19th century. So the Meiji constitution was adopted and the
‘Diet’ means parliament was established in 1885. Ito Hirobumi
was chosen as the first prime minister of Japan. Only two percent
of the population was allowed to vote.
 During this period Japanese government also developed a form of
Japanese nationalism under which Shinto became the state
religion and the Emperor of Japan was declared as Living God.
 Under Emperor Meiji, the government believed that Japan should
acquire colonies to compete with western powers.
 In 1894 Japan attacked China. This war resulted in Japanese
victory.
 In 1895 Japan attacked and captured Taiwan.
 In 1904 Japan invaded Russia and gain power on the big territory.
 In 1910 Japan annexed Korea.
 Within the span of 20 years, Japan not only emerged as a
regional power but also as a main Asian power.
 In 1912 Taisho became the new Emperor after the death of his
father Emperor Meiji
 In 1914 WW1 began Japan sided with Allied powers and won the
war. Japan made new colonies in this war. Also, Japan became a
permanent member of the newly formed League of Nations in
1918.
 After World War Japan became one of the global power.
Industries grew even faster, literacy rate rose and development
picked speed.
 In 1923 the Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed much of Tokyo and
Yokohama.
 In 1926 Emperor Taisho died and his son took the power.
 In 1931 Japan captured Manchuria.
 In 1937 Japan invaded China and captured major cities including
Beijing and Shanghai.
 In 1939 WW2 began and Japan allied with Axis Powers mainly
Nazi Germany and Italy. In December 1941, the Imperial
Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the US by bombing
Pearl Harbour. This bombing led the US to enter the world war.
Many battles were fought by Japanese forces during this war but
after the defeat of Imperial Japanese Forces in the Battle of
Okinawa, Japan lost strategic advantage over the US and its
allies.
 On 6th August 1945 US Air Force nuclear bombed the city of
Hiroshima. Further on 9th August 1945, another nuclear bomb was
dropped on Nagasaki by US Air Force. It is said that over 125000
people were killed in this bombing. This led the Japanese to
surrender. On 15th August Emperor Hirohito announced the
surrender of Imperial Japan on national radio and he formally
 signed the instrument of surrender on 2nd September 1945
bringing an end to the hostility of world war.
 After world war, the US occupied Japan. Japanese army was
disarmed. Its colonies were granted Independence.
Democratization of the Japanese government and society began.
War crimes committed by Japan were examined by International
Tribunal. Emperor lost the power but he was allowed to remain
on the throne. Japan’s new constitution came into effect in 1947
giving civil rights, labour rights, women suffrage, etc.

Democratic Japan (1947 – Present)

 This was the post war period. Japan decided to have close
relationship with the US and focus on developing the economy
rather than pursuing a proactive foreign policy. Earlier before the
war, Japan had an image of a country that manufactured cheap
inferior goods and a country that used reverse engineering
extensively. But everything changed after the world war today
know Japan as a country that produces reliable products and we
all know how famous Japanese technology is. Just after 25 years
of world war Japan became the 2nd largest economy in the world
and today is the 3rd largest economy after the US and China.
Japan normalized its hostile relationship with the Soviet Union
and Korea by 1965 and with China by 1972. Japan also hosted the
1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics which was very important from a
foreign policy point of view. This is the only time when Japan
hosted Summer Olympics until now in 2021 when they hosted
their second Olympics making them the only Asian country to
host the Summer Olympics twice.

Japan has come from long way after getting destroyed in WW2 to
becoming one of the major powers in the world.