A Paleolithic culture around 30,000 BC constitutes the first known habitation of
the Japanese archipelago. This was followed from around 14,000 BC (the start of
the Jmon period) by a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-
gatherer culture, who include ancestors of both the contemporary Ainu
people and Yamato people,[35][36] characterized by pit dwelling and rudimentary
agriculture.[37] Decorated clay vessels from this period are some of the oldest
surviving examples of pottery in the world. Around 300 BC, the Yayoi
people began to enter the Japanese islands, intermingling with the Jmon.
[38]
The Yayoi period, starting around 500 BC, saw the introduction of practices like
wet-rice farming,[39] a new style of pottery,[40]and metallurgy, introduced from
China and Korea.[41]
Japan first appears in written history in the Chinese Book of Han.[42] According to
the Records of the Three Kingdoms, the most powerful kingdom on the archipelago
during the 3rd century was called Yamataikoku. Buddhism was first introduced to
Japan from Baekje, Korea and was promoted by Prince Shtoku, but the
subsequent development of Japanese Buddhism was primarily influenced by
China.[43] Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class and
gained widespread acceptance beginning in the Asuka period (592710).[44]
The Nara period (710784) of the 8th century marked an emergence of the
centralized Japanese state centered on the Imperial Court in Heij-
ky (modern Nara). The Nara period is characterized by the appearance of a
nascent literature as well as the development of Buddhist-inspired art
and architecture.[45] The smallpox epidemic of 735737 is believed to have killed
as much as one-third of Japan's population.[46] In 784, Emperor Kanmu moved the
capital from Nara to Nagaoka-ky before relocating it to Heian-
ky (modern Kyoto) in 794.
This marked the beginning of the Heian period (7941185), during which a
distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged, noted for its art, poetry and
prose. Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji and the lyrics of Japan's national
anthem "Kimigayo" were written during this time.[47]
Buddhism began to spread during the Heian era chiefly through two major
sects, Tendai by Saich, and Shingon by Kkai. Pure Land Buddhism (Jdo-
sh, Jdo Shinsh) became greatly popular in the latter half of the 11th century.
Feudal era
Samurai warriors facing Mongols during the Mongol invasions of Japan; Suenaga,
1293
Japan's feudal era was characterized by the emergence and dominance of a ruling
class of warriors, the samurai. In 1185, following the defeat of the Taira clan in
the Genpei War, sung in the epic Tale of Heike, samurai Minamoto no
Yoritomo was appointed shogun by Emperor Go-Toba, and he established a base of
power in Kamakura. After his death, the Hj clan came to power as regents for
the shoguns. The Zen school of Buddhism was introduced from China in
the Kamakura period (11851333) and became popular among the samurai class.
[48]
The Kamakura shogunate repelled Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281, but was
eventually overthrown by Emperor Go-Daigo. Emperor Go-Daigo was himself
defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336.
Samurai could kill a commoner for the slightest insult and were widely feared by
the Japanese population. Edo period, 1798
Ashikaga Takauji established the shogunate in Muromachi, Kyoto. This was the
start of the Muromachi period (13361573). The Ashikaga shogunate achieved
glory in the age of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and the culture based on Zen Buddhism
(art of Miyabi) prospered. This evolved to Higashiyama Culture, and prospered
until the 16th century. On the other hand, the succeeding Ashikaga shogunate
failed to control the feudal warlords (daimys), and a civil war (the nin War)
began in 1467, opening the century-long Sengoku period ("Warring States").[49]
During the 16th century, traders and Jesuit missionaries from Portugal reached
Japan for the first time, initiating direct commercial and cultural exchange between
Japan and the West. This allowed Oda Nobunaga to obtain European technology
and firearms, which he used to conquer many other daimys. His consolidation of
power began what was known as the AzuchiMomoyama period (15731603).
After he was assassinated in 1582, his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified the
nation in 1590 and launched two unsuccessful invasions of Korea in 1592 and
1597.
Tokugawa Ieyasu served as regent for Hideyoshi's son and used his position to gain
political and military support. When open war broke out, he defeated rival clans in
the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Tokugawa Ieyasu was appointed shogun
by Emperor Go-Yzei in 1603, and he established the Tokugawa
shogunate in Edo (modern Tokyo).[50] The Tokugawa shogunate enacted measures
including buke shohatto, as a code of conduct to control the autonomous daimys;
[51]
and in 1639, the isolationist sakoku ("closed country") policy that spanned the
two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as the Edo period (1603
1868).[52] The study of Western sciences, known as rangaku, continued through
contact with the Dutch enclave at Dejima in Nagasaki. The Edo period also gave
rise to kokugaku ("national studies"), the study of Japan by the Japanese.[53]
Modern era
Emperor Meiji (18681912), in whose name imperial rule was restored at the end
of the Tokugawa shogunate
On March 31, 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry and the "Black Ships" of
the United States Navy forced the opening of Japan to the outside world with
the Convention of Kanagawa. Subsequent similar treaties with Western countries in
the Bakumatsu period brought economic and political crises. The resignation of the
shogun led to the Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized
state nominally unified under the Emperor (the Meiji Restoration).[54]
Adopting Western political, judicial and military institutions, the Cabinet organized
the Privy Council, introduced the Meiji Constitution, and assembled the Imperial
Diet. The Meiji Restoration transformed the Empire of Japan into an industrialized
world power that pursued military conflict to expand its sphere of influence. After
victories in the First Sino-Japanese War (18941895) and the Russo-Japanese
War (19041905), Japan gained control of Taiwan, Korea, and the southern half
of Sakhalin.[55] Japan's population grew from 35 million in 1873 to 70 million in
1935.[56]
Chinese generals surrendering to the Japanese in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894
1895
World War I enabled Japan, on the side of the victorious Allies, to widen its
influence and territorial holdings in Asia. The early 20th century saw a brief period
of "Taish democracy (19121926)" but the 1920s saw a fragile democracy buckle
under a political shift towards fascism, the passing of laws against political
dissent and a series of attempted coups. The subsequent "Shwa period" initially
saw the power of the military increased and brought about
Japanese expansionism and militarization along with the totalitarianism and
ultranationalism that are a part of fascist ideology. In 1931 Japan invaded and
occupied Manchuria and following international condemnation of this occupation,
Japan resigned from the League of Nations in 1933. In 1936, Japan signed
the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany, and the 1940 Tripartite Pact made it one
of the Axis Powers.[57] In 1941, following its defeat in the brief SovietJapanese
Border War, Japan negotiated the SovietJapanese Neutrality Pact,[58] which lasted
until 1945 with the Soviet invasion of Manchuria.[59]
Japanese officials surrendering to the Allies on September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay,
ending World War II
The Empire of Japan invaded other parts of China in 1937, precipitating
the Second Sino-Japanese War (19371945). The Imperial Japanese Army swiftly
captured the capital Nanjing and conducted the Nanking Massacre.[60] In 1940, the
Empire then invaded French Indochina, after which the United States placed an oil
embargo on Japan.[61] On December 78, 1941, Japanese forces carried out
surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor, British forces in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong
Kong and declared war on the United States and the British Empire, bringing the
US and the UK into World War II in the Pacific.[62][63] After Allied victories across
the Pacific during the next four years, which culminated in the Soviet invasion of
Manchuria and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Japan
agreed to an unconditional surrender on August 15.[64] The war cost Japan, its
colonies, China and the war's other combatants tens of millions of lives and left
much of Japan's industry and infrastructure destroyed. The Allies (led by the US)
repatriated millions of ethnic Japanese from colonies and military camps
throughout Asia, largely eliminating the Japanese empire and restoring the
independence of its conquered territories.[65] The Allies also convened
the International Military Tribunal for the Far East on May 3, 1946 to prosecute
some Japanese leaders for war crimes. However, the bacteriological research
units and members of the imperial family involved in the war were exonerated
from criminal prosecutions by the Supreme Commander for the Allied
Powers despite calls for the trial of both groups.[66]
In 1947, Japan adopted a new constitution emphasizing liberal democratic
practices. The Allied occupation ended with the Treaty of San Francisco in
1952[67] and Japan was granted membership in the United Nations in 1956. Japan
later achieved rapid growth to become the second-largest economy in the world,
until surpassed by China in 2010. This ended in the mid-1990s when Japan
suffered a major recession. In the beginning of the 21st century, positive growth
has signaled a gradual economic recovery.[68] On March 11, 2011, Japan suffered
one of the largest earthquakes in its recorded history; this triggered the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear disaster, one of the worst disasters in the history of nuclear power.
[69]
Geography
Main articles: Geography of Japan and Geology of Japan
Japanese archipelago as seen from satellite
Japan has a total of 6,852 islands extending along the Pacific coast of East Asia.
The country, including all of the islands it controls, lies between latitudes 24 and
46N, and longitudes 122 and 146E. The main islands, from north to south,
are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. The Ryukyu Islands, which
include Okinawa, are a chain to the south of Kyushu. Together they are often
known as the Japanese archipelago.[70]
About 73 percent of Japan is forested, mountainous, and unsuitable
for agricultural, industrial, or residential use.[8][71] As a result, the habitable zones,
mainly located in coastal areas, have extremely high population densities. Japan is
one of the most densely populated countries in the world.[72]
The islands of Japan are located in a volcanic zone on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
They are primarily the result of large oceanic movements occurring over hundreds
of millions of years from the mid-Silurian to the Pleistocene as a result of
the subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate beneath the continental Amurian
Plate and Okinawa Plate to the south, and subduction of the Pacific Plate under
the Okhotsk Plate to the north. The Boso Triple Junction off the coast of Japan is a
triple junction where the North American Plate, the Pacific Plate and the Philippine
Sea Plate meets. Japan was originally attached to the eastern coast of the Eurasian
continent. The subducting plates pulled Japan eastward, opening the Sea of
Japan around 15 million years ago.[73]
Japan has 108 active volcanoes. During the twentieth century several new
volcanoes emerged, including Shwa-shinzan on Hokkaido and Myjin-sh off
the Bayonnaise Rocks in the Pacific. Destructive earthquakes, often resulting
in tsunami, occur several times each century.[74] The 1923 Tokyo earthquake killed
over 140,000 people.[75] More recent major quakes are the 1995 Great Hanshin
earthquake and the 2011 Thoku earthquake, a 9.0-magnitude[76] quake which hit
Japan on March 11, 2011, and triggered a large tsunami.[69] Japan is substantially
prone to earthquakes, tsunami and volcanoes due to its location along the Pacific
Ring of Fire.[77] It has the 15th highest natural disaster risk as measured in the 2013
World Risk Index.[78]
Climate
Main article: Climate of Japan
Cherry blossoms of Mount Yoshino have been the subject of many plays and waka
poetry
Autumn maple leaves (momiji) at Kongbu-ji on Mount Kya, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site
The climate of Japan is predominantly temperate, but varies greatly from north to
south. Japan's geographical features divide it into six principal climatic
zones: Hokkaido, Sea of Japan, Central Highland, Seto Inland Sea, Pacific Ocean,
and Ryukyu Islands. The northernmost zone, Hokkaido, has a humid continental
climate with long, cold winters and very warm to cool summers. Precipitation is
not heavy, but the islands usually develop deep snowbanks in the winter.[79]
In the Sea of Japan zone on Honshu's west coast, northwest winter winds bring
heavy snowfall. In the summer, the region is cooler than the Pacific area, though it
sometimes experiences extremely hot temperatures because of the foehn. The
Central Highland has a typical inland humid continental climate, with large
temperature differences between summer and winter seasons, as well as large
diurnal variation; precipitation is light, though winters are usually snowy. The
mountains of the Chgoku and Shikoku regions shelter the Seto Inland Sea from
seasonal winds, bringing mild weather year-round.[79]
The Pacific coast features a humid subtropical climate that experiences milder
winters with occasional snowfall and hot, humid summers because of the southeast
seasonal wind. The Ryukyu Islands have a subtropical climate, with warm winters
and hot summers. Precipitation is very heavy, especially during the rainy season.[79]
The average winter temperature in Japan is 5.1 C (41.2 F) and the average
summer temperature is 25.2 C (77.4 F).[80] The highest temperature ever
measured in Japan 40.9 C (105.6 F) was recorded on August 16, 2007.[81] The
main rainy season begins in early May in Okinawa, and the rain front gradually
moves north until reaching Hokkaido in late July. In most of Honshu, the rainy
season begins before the middle of June and lasts about six weeks. In late summer
and early autumn, typhoons often bring heavy rain.[82]
Biodiversity
Main article: Wildlife of Japan
The Japanese macaques at Jigokudani hot spring are notable for visiting the spa in
the winter.
Japan has nine forest ecoregions which reflect the climate and geography of the
islands. They range from subtropical moist broadleaf forests in the Ryky
and Bonin Islands, to temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in the mild climate
regions of the main islands, to temperate coniferous forests in the cold, winter
portions of the northern islands.[83] Japan has over 90,000 species of wildlife,
including the brown bear, the Japanese macaque, the Japanese raccoon dog,
the Large Japanese Field Mouse, and the Japanese giant salamander.[84] A large
network of national parks has been established to protect important areas of flora
and fauna as well as thirty-seven Ramsar wetland sites.[85][86] Four sites have been
inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their outstanding natural value.
[87]
