The region known as Yamato is modern-day Nara Prefecture. The Nara Period saw the first signs of a tangible culture and it was during this time that the first historical records were kept.
The city of Nara was the capital and was considerably larger than the city of today. Under Prince Shotoku , the country acquired a constitution and a centralized Imperial state system.
The culture of the Imperial court was heavily influenced by Chinese culture, which arrived via Korea and passed through the capital to the rest of the country.
This included such things as weaving, metalworking, tanning and shipbuilding as well as Confucianism , medicine, astronomy and kanji , the Chinese ideographic form of writing.
The main attraction for visitors to Nara today are the many temples, which were established following the arrival of Buddhism from India in the mid-6th century, again via China and Korea. In fact, it was because these temples grew too powerful for the liking of then ruler Kammu that caused him to move the capital to Kyoto in , the start of the Heian Period.
The new capital was built using the Chinese capital as its model. Early in the Heian Period , the Imperial court received cultural delegations from China and was further strengthened by the conquest of the north of the main island, Honshu. This was a time of great artistic development and saw the evolution of a more 'Japanese' culture. For example, scholars created two sets of phonetic alphabets or kana from the imported Chinese kanji. This led to the development of a uniquely Japanese style of literature 'Tale of Genji' written by Murasaki Shikibu at the beginning of the 11th century is considered the world's first ever novel.
The Imperial court became very caught up in these cultural pursuits, to the extent that real control over the country passed to martial clans in the regions. After a period of corruption under the Fujiwara and later theTaira clan, who effectively ruled the country as regents, Japan entered a medieval period of feudalism and saw the advent of a samurai warrior class.
Incidentally, this was also when the title of Shogun was first introduced, originally given to the commander of the Imperial armies. In , the Minamoto clan also known as the Genji established military rule after destroying the Taira clan at the epic Battle of Dannoura on the Inland Sea. Minamoto Yoritomo became the first of the Shogun as we know them and ruled from Kamakura. Kyoto remained the Imperial capital but the Emperor himself was now no more than a figurehead.
Under Yoritomo's Shogunate, bushido Way of the Samurai and an aesthetic of austerity were developed in order to maintain control over the subjegated clans. Red brick and tile Tokyo Station completed. First census conducted. Population of Tokyo-fu rapidly increases and becomes 3,, Radio broadcasting services launched.
Pacific War begins. Pacific War ends. New local self-government system introduced. Seiichiro Yasui elected first Governor of Tokyo by popular vote. Tokyo launches 23 special-ward administration system. Security Treaty concluded. Start of high economic growth period.
Shunichi Suzuki elected Governor. Fiscal Reconstruction Promotion Plan announced. Say No to Diesel Vehicles! Miyake Island erupts and all residents evacuated. Tokyo Vision formulated. Tokyo Skytree opens. Naoki Inose elected Governor. Typhoon causes huge damages on Oshima Island. Tokugawa Yoshinobu, last shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, resigns and returns governing power to the Emperor.
New Meiji government established. Tokyo-fu Government Building completed in Marunouchi. Japan becomes one of the original members of the League of Nations. Great Kanto Earthquake claims the lives of around , people and destroys about , houses.
March Tokyo hit by heaviest air raid since beginning of war. Constitution of Japan promulgated. Shintaro Ishihara elected Governor. Defense against these invasions weakens structure of the military government at Kamakura. Takauji and his successors become patrons of Zen and spontaneity in ink painting, garden design, and the chanoyu tea ceremony. Firearms introduced by shipwrecked Portuguese soldiers ,Christianity by Francis Xavier Foundation of modern Japan is laid.
Hideyoshi's ambition to conquer Korea and China is thwarted by local resistance. Arts such as painting, monumental decorative designs, and the tea ceremony continue to flourish.
Tokugawa leyasu founds new shogunate at Edo now Tokyo. In national isolation policy limits Chinese and Dutch traders to Nagasaki. Christianity is suppressed. Establishment of rigid social hierarchy ensures peace and stability throughout Japan. Samurai are ranked highest, followed by farmers, artisans, and merchants. By the early s, cities and commerce flourish. A growing merchant class enjoys Kabuki and Bunraku theater.
Printing and publication of books increase; education becomes available to the urban population. Commodore Matthew C. Perry and his steam frigates arrive in Japan ; the United States wants to use Japanese ports as supply bases for its commercial fleet. Japan accepts the U. Dispossessed bushi become soldiers, policemen, and teachers with fall of feudal system and political reform. New national policy is to make Japan a rich and powerful country, to prevent invasion by Western powers.
Emphasis is on building a strong military and strengthening industries. Japan becomes world power through victories in Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars.
Korea annexed Prospering businessmen support Liberal party government, broadening political participation. Universal manhood suffrage begun in Japan's liberal rulers replaced; military-run cabinets make imperialistic inroads in China.
Manchuria taken over in August first atom bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, the second on Nagasaki. The emperor airs by radio a statement of unconditional surrender. Enactment of the new democratic constitution transforms Japan's political life, making it a truly parliamentary state. With a peace treaty signed in , Japan regains its independence. The late s to the early s is called the "High Growth Age" in Japan because of the booming economy.
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