Chronology of Japan

0. In prehistoric times Japan was connected to Asia by various land bridges.  People have been in Japan for over 35,000 years!  The Ainu people are the descendants of the first people in Japan.  They are hairy and they look like Australian (Aboriginal) people.  They are close to nature and they like to hunt and fish.  Bears play a big role in their religion.  They are greatest basketball players in Japan. Legend has it the Ainu people lived in Japan 100,000 years b4 the Children of the Sun (Japanese people).

1. The first known culture in Japan was the Jomon.  The culture began over 12,000 years ago.  This culture has 6 phases.  Most of the phases lasted for over 1,000 years.  The Jomon people made pottery at in the first phase.  The fished, hunted with stone tools, and set reps for prey.  They may have come to the west coast of the North America in prehistoric times.  In the next phase, sea levels rose and islands broke apart.  Food became more plentiful as the temperature rose.  In the early phase, people wrote poetry that had a lot in common with Korean poetry.  This suggests there was intercourse between Jomon people and Koreans. In the middle phase, a lot of handicrafts were made. Religion became very important at this time.  In the late phase, people left the mountains and moved to the coast.  In the final phase, food became less abundant and Koreans took over Japan.

2. The Koreans that took over Japan were known as the Yayoi.  They were more technologically advanced than the Jomon people.  They introduced rice to Japan and created pottery.  Yayoi society was more stratified than Jomon society.

3. Yamato period lasted for 460 years! There was a lot of cultural diffusion during this period because a lot of Chinese and Korean people moved into Japan at this time.  There was a kingdom in Korea that was called Baekje.  That kingdom was attacked by Silla (Korean Kingdom) and China.  Some of the ruling class of Baekje went to Japan.

There were over 1,000 clans in Japan at this time!  Each clan was headed by a patriarch.  The patriarch did rituals for the clan's kami (spirits) for blessings.  Burial mounds were built for royalty. They were called Kofun.  Shinto was the most popular religion in Japan at this time.

Confucianism and Buddhism became the state religions of Japan around 600 CE, but Japanese people kept following Shinto as well.  Japanese people became more political and artistic.  The Japanese written language and constitution was created during this period.  Both were based on the Chinese script and law.

4. The Nara period only lasted for 84 years.  Nara was Japan's first city.  Most people were farmers living in villages.  Nara was the capital of Japan.  It was based on the capital of China.  The first Japanese poetry was written at this time(excluding the poetry written in the Jomon period).

Buddhism was heavily promoted by the Emperor Shomu.  Many Buddhist temples and statues were built. Buddhism and Shinto got mixed together.  A Buddhist monk named Dokyo healed the Empress Koken. The empress elevated Dokyo politically for healing her.  He became the chief priest and judge.

Japan had diplomatic relationships China and several Korean Kingdoms.  Many Japanese students went to Chinese schools to study.  Abe no Nakamaro passed the civil-service exam.  He later became the governor of Vietnam. Vietnam was ruled by China at that time.  He tried on several occasions to go back to Japan but was unable too.  He was a great poet.

The second oldest hotel in the world was created during this period.  The name of the hotel is Hoshi Ryokan. It is operated by a family that has been running it for 46 generations!  The oldest hotel was also created in Japan 12 years b4 Hoshi Ryokan.

5. The Heian period lasted for almost 400 years and it was very peaceful.  It was the greatest period in the history of Japan!  Kyoto was the capital at this time.   The Japanese lost respect for the Chinese once Buddhist monks were persecuted.  They became more isolationist after this.  2 new forms of writing was created at this time.  One of which is completely Japanese!  Fujiwara clan became more powerful than the emperor.  They had the power to dethrone an emperor.

The Japanese government didn't have a military at this time; so they depend on local warriors.  These local warriors became the Samurai.  They were used by the emperor to squash rebellions and conqueror new land. The Samurai became friends with nobility, which gave them political clout.

There were 2 schools of Buddhism in Japan.  It was Tendai and Shingon.  Both were imports from China. Tendai stressed the importance of the Lotus Sutra.  Shingon is esoteric.  Poetry was popular among the upper class.  A book of medicinal herbs was created at this time.  Japanese medicine is called Kempo.  They learned it from the Chinese.  The nobility thought beauty was a part of being a good person.  Men and women doctored themselves up so they could be beautiful.  Rice became currency because the government forgot how to issue $.  Police were disorganized, so a lot of people got robbed when they were traveling.

6. The Kamakura period lasted 148 years.  This is the time the samurai ruled.  Minamoto Yoritomo was the first shogun of this period.  He copied the government of the Fujiwara clan.  His son ruled after he died.  A member of the Hojo clan became regent of the shogun.

There were still other rulers at this time, but they were less powerful.  The emperor forces fought the troops of the regent and lost.  After that, the emperor became a figurehead.  A member of the Hojo clan created a legal code that was used for 635 years.

There were several new Buddhist sects created during this period.  Jodo-shu and Zen.  Jodo-shu is a branch of Pure Land Buddhism.  The pure land is something like heaven.  Zen comes from China.  It is known as Chan in China.  The focus of Zen is meditation.  Nichiren was a Buddhist priest that created his on form of Buddhism.  People that follow this set believe you can become enlightened by studying the Lotus Sutra.

The Mongols took over China and demanded the Japanese pay tribute.  The Japanese refused.  The Mongols sent 600 ships of soldiers to conquer Japan.  The samurai defended Japan against the Mongols; then a typhoon wiped out the Mongol force and/or simply block them from invading.  The typhoon is called Kamikaze (divine wind).  There was a second invasion and the same thing happened again.

A member of the Hojo clan allowed 2 royal families to exist. The Northern Court and Southern Court was what they were called.  They would alternate on the who was emperor.  A person from the southern court disobeyed and attacked the shogun.  He was able to defeat the shogun because he had some help.

7. Kenmu Restoration period: a emperor attempted to restore civilian rule to Japan it lasted for 3 years.  Landowners didn't pay taxes when the shogun ruled; so Emperor Go-Diago made they pay taxes.  He didn't reward most of the samurai that helped him and he didn't give civilians control of the provinces.  He increased the taxes on the samurai so he could have a palace built.  He gave most of the land to the nobility.

8. In the Muromachi period, the shogun took over again.  Ashikaga Takauji was the first shogun of this period.  He was able to defeat Emperor Go-Diago because he had the support of the samurai. China asked Japan for some help in defeating pirates.  Japan obliged, then they did a lot of trading. Shinto became more popular during this period.  There was a civil wars in Japan at this time.  Peasants fought the landlords and the samurai fought the government.

At the end of this period, the Japanese came in contact with Europeans.  They were fascinated by their gadgets and gizmos.  The Jesuits came to Japan and promoted Christianity.  150,000 people converted. Later on, Christianity was suppressed.

9.  Azuchi-Momyama period lasted for less than century.  The military government still controlled Japan (somewhat), but there was still civil wars.  Hideyoshi unified all of Japan after winning a war. He created a new governmental structure and divided the land based on rice cultivation.  Class distinctions became less pronounce because people were no longer forced to only live with people of the same socioeconomic status. Hideyoshi created checks and balances in the government.

Hideyoshi wanted to conquer China.  He wanted to attack China from Korea.  The Korean government wouldn't give the Japanese a military base.  In response to this, the Japanese invaded Korea.  The King of Korea asked the Chinese Emperor for help.  Chinese troops pushed the Japanese out of Northern Korea. Chinese and Japanese troops battled each other for about 4 years until they decided to squash the beef.  The Japanese invade again, but it was very tough this time.  It was hell (civil wars) in Japan at that time, so they left Korea.

10. In the Edo period, shoguns ruled again.  It lasted for 268 years.  250 of those years was peaceful.  The shogun was over the national government and daimyos was over the regional governments. Daimyos were governors and they owned a lot of land.  The Japanese built ships for the ocean in this period.  They used these ships to visit Europe, US, and various parts of Asia.

The shogun wanted to control the Christian daimyo and his trade with Europeans.  Christianity and trade were being suppressed at this time.  No one was allowed to leave Japan if someone somehow escaped they wouldn't be allowed back in. The Portuguese were expelled from Japan.  During this time if any European came to Japan they were put to death swiftly.

The land owned by the samurai was given to the daimyos.  Every daimyo had to live in the capital every other year.  Laws were based on Confucian ideas.  There were no individual rights, but there were family rights.  The Japanese people loved studying Western science.  They even made a clock. The Children of the Sun made great political and leisure advancements in this period.

11. In the Meiji period, the emperor is in control again.  The government was reorganized.  New land and tax laws were created.  Different people wanted to establish a more democratic government during this period.  Nobility was broken up into 5 ranks.

The industrial revolution started in Japan at this time.  There were 3,000 European teachers in Japan to help them modernize.  They embraced European culture while retaining their own.  A lot of buildings were built at this time.  A modern military was created and they studied European military tactics.  Japan became a great military power.  They defeated China and Russia in less than 4 years!

12. In the Taisho period, Japan became more powerful after WWI.  They helped the allies fight the Bolsheviks in Russia.  Japan got a permanent seat on the League of Nations because they helped create it.  A communist party was created in Japan in 1922.  A communist tried to assassinate a Japanese prince.

13. In the Showa period Japan was in WWII.  Japan became very nationalistic and militaristic.  Japan was conquering Asia during WWII.  They attacked Pearl Harbor, which "awoken a sleeping dragon."  After Japan lost the war it was occupied.  It was stripped of its military power.  I think its history books were rewritten to make Japanese people more docile.  The emperor's political power was taken away.  After the 50's the Japanese economy became very strong.

14.  The Heisei period is the current period Japan is in now.  The emperor died on 1989.  Now his son is the emperor.  The Japanese economy went downhill in 1991.  In 2007 an earthquake caused Fukushima to fall into the ocean and spill radiation.  Today Japanese people have low birth rates, high suicide rates, low levels of pair bonding, and a radiation problem.    They will rise again!  They are highly intelligent and make sweet cartoons.  They created Ninjutsu and Karate.  Long live Japan!!!!!!!!!              

                                                         
References
http://www.wa-pedia.com/history/origins_japanese_people.shtml
http://news.softpedia.com/news/10-Things-About-the-Japanese-Civilization-78773.shtml
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jomon-culture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Japan
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/jomo/hd_jomo.htm
Ainu
Japanese DNA
Empire of Japan
Heian Period
Samurai
Japanese economy after WWII
Prehistoric Japan