Chronology of Japanese History

1. Paleolithic period (12,000 B.C.)

In the late glacial period, Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, Ryukyu (Okinawa) and Sakhalin were linked to the Asian continent. Around 20,000 years ago, many people began to migrate from the Asian continent through the northern part of the present territory of Japan in pursuit of mammoths, naumann elephants and other sources of food.
2

2. Jomon period (12,000 B.C.400 B.C)

After the glacial period, many people began to migrate to Japan through the southern part of the present territory. The people from the north and the newcomers from the south were gradually intermixed. They made and used pottery decorated with cord-markings (Jomon), ground stone tools, bows, canoes and so on.
3

Jmon Life (12,000 B.C. 400 B.C.)

3. Yayoi period

(400 B.C.300 A.D.)

Newcomers from the Korean Peninsula and China settled in northern Kyushu and Kinki. They brought wet-field rice agriculture, metal working technology, new types of pottery etc. Gradually they and Jmon people were intermixed (Yayoi people)
5

Life of the Yayoi people

The agricultural development increased grain harvest. The population of villages (mura) was becoming larger and larger,and gradually they turned to small countries (kuni). The development of agriculture also contributed to greater social stratification
6

From Chinas Chronicles

Japan first appeared in written history in 57 A.D. with the following mention in Chinas chronicle of later Han: Across the ocean are the people of Wa (in Chinese, Woor dwarf state). Formed from more than one hundred tribes, they come and pay tribute frequently. Chinas chronicle of Wei Zhi in the 3rd century describes the country of Yamataikoku, unifying some 30 smaller countries ruled by a shaman queen named Himiko.
7

4. Kofun period

( 4th c.6th c.)

Around the 4th century one of the small countries the Yamato State became a powerful country. It was located in Nara, and it began to rule other small countries. This shift toward a unified state is characterized by the construction of large tomb mounds Kofun.

Kamuyamatoiwarebikonomikoto

The legendary first king of the Yamato State

8

The largest Kofun.

Daisen Kofun Goshikitsuka Kohun

Kofuns are large tomb mounds in which the imperial families or the powerful chieftains are buried
9

Korean Peninsula around the 5th 6th c.

Since the 5th century there were a couple of migration waves from Korea and China to the Kinki district and the Kyushu district. New knowledge and technology of China were brought by them; ex. Chinese writing, Confucianism, engineering works, blacksmithing, sericulture, weaving, pottery and Buddhism (538)

Kaya was a military base of the Yamato State (till 562

10

5. Asuka Period

(592710)
The portrait of Prince Shotoku

Empress Suiko was crowned and took up residence in Asuka near Nara. Prince Shotoku began to serve as her regent. He not only devoted his efforts to the spread of Buddhism and Chinese culture, but also tried to respect traditional culture and gods.

He built the Horyuji temple and proclaimed the Seventeen-Article Constitution. 11

Horyuji and envoys to china

The oldest extant wooden Building Horyuji was built in 607

Envoys dispatched repeatedly to the Sui and Tang dynasties during the 7th 9th c.
12

6. Nara Period

(710794)

Heijokyo in Nara was established in 710, modeled after the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, Changan. The imperial court aimed at the centralization of power based on the ritsuryo system and the spread of Buddhism.

Heijokyo in Nara
13

Politics during the Nara period

Ritsuryo (Codes of penal and administrative laws) system of government Kochi Komin concept; national control over people and land.< public land allotment system > Gradually the centralized imperial administration and public land allotment system were showing signs of strain. Politics in Nara was upset by rivalries among nobles and priests. The capital was transferred to Nagaokakyo near Kyoto in 784.
14

Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720)

Kojiki (The Record of Ancient Matters) and Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Nihon) are Nippons oldest and second oldest extant historical writings with the massive chronicles. These chronicles give a legendary account of Nippon's beginnings, in which the people were descendants of the gods themselves. According to the myths contained in these 2 chronicles, Japan was founded in 660 B.C. by the ancestral Jimmu Tenno, a direct descendant of the Shinto god Amaterasu, or the Sun Goddess. The myths also claim that Jimmu Tenno started a line of Tenno that remains unbroken to this day.
15

The spread of Buddhism

Buddhist culture and art flourished under official patronage.

A huge Buddha image Daibutsu (752)

16

7. Heian period (7941192)

the capital was moved to Heiankyo in Kyoto by Kanmu Tenno in 794. It was also modeled after Changan. After then, Kyoto was the capital for almost 1,100 years till the Meiji Restoration.

Heiankyo in Kyoto

17

Politics during the Heian period

Kanmu Tenno tried to revive the Ritsuryo system and reinforce his reign. Gradually the imperial court came to be dominated by nobles of the Fujiwara family The Fujiwara family's power exceeded the Tenno and reached the peak in the first half of the 11th c.

Fujiwara Michinaga The head of the Fujiwara family

18

Heian Culture (1) Buddhism

Buddhism flourished in the Heian period, and dominated the religious and philosophical lives of the nobility in combination with native Shinto beliefs. Kiyomizu temple (in Kyoto)
19

 At the beginning of the 9th c., two new sects of Buddhism Tendai and Shingon were established by Saicho and Kukai who had studied in China. Enryakuji temple of Tendai (in Shiga pref.) and Kongobuji temple of Shingon (in Wakayama pref.) are very famous

Enryakuji temple

Kongobuji temple

20

Heian Culture (2) Literature etc

The Heian period saw the full assimilation of Chinese influences and the flowering of an indigenous aristocratic culture
The residence of the aristocratic class and its life

21

The development of the Japanese Kana syllabary; Katakana (the beginning of the 9th c.),
Hiragana (the end of the 9th c.)

22

The spread of Kana gave birth to a truly native literary tradition.

Makura no Soshi by Sei Shonagon (996);
Brief prose sketches describing the social and aesthetic values of the court aristocracy

The Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji) by Murasaki Shikibu (1008); the worlds oldest novel?

Picture scroll of The Genji Monogatari

23

The emergence of Samurai (=Bushi )

In the absence of effective centralized military system, warrior bands Bushidan began to assume more power in the provinces. In particular, warrior bands called the Genji and the Heishi became very influential.

Bushi (=Samurai)
24

The rebellions against the government

The rebellions were suppressed by the government with the assistance of Bushi-dan
The land ruled by the Genji

Rebellion (1051~62) Distribution of Bushi-dan Rebellion (1083~87) Rebellion (935~40)

The land ruled by the Heishi

The land ruled by the Genji and the Heishi

Rebellion (1028~31) Rebellion (939~41)

25

The Genji vs. the Heishi

The battle between the Heishi and Genji. The head of the Heishi Taira no Kiyomori The fall of the Heishi

The Heishi defeated the Genji in the battle in 1159, and became the most influential Bushidan. But about 20 years later, the Heishi was beaten by the Genji in the several battles and finally fell in Dannoura of Shimonoseki in 1185.
26

8. The Kamakura period

Minamoto no Yoritomo (the head of the Genji) established a military government, the Kamakura Shogunate, in Kamakura near Tokyo. The Kamakura Shogunate lasted for about 140 years
Minamoto no Yoritomo (?)

(1192 1333)

Hiraizumi Kyoto Kamakura

27

Shogun?
Originally Shogun (Seii-Tai-Shogun) was appointed by Tenno. Shogun was the supreme commander to conquer the Ezo, but actually Minamoto no Yoritomo became the head of the Bushi all over Nippon. Since the Kamakura period actual political power has not been in the hands Tenno, but in the hands of shoguns,the military and the prime minister.
ABE Shinzo (Japans prime minister)
28

Politics during the Kamakura period

Minamoto no Yoritomo appointed provincial governors Shugo and estate stewards Jito The relationship between the shogun and his vassals was the essential matter for supporting the system. The shogun gave his vassals the guarantee of ownership of their lands or the new appointments of Shugo or Jito, and the vassals swore allegiance to the shogun in turn. Loyalty, honor and frugality became the ideals within the samurai classes. After Minamoto no Yoritomo died in 1199, real power passed to the Hojo family, the family of Yoritomos widow; Masako Hojo. Goseibai Shikimoku, which was the formulary of adjudication, was promulgated by Yasutoki Hojo in 1232.
29

The Mongol Invasion

Two full-scale invasions of Japans islands by massive Mongol forces with superior naval technology and weaponry; the first invasion in 1274 by 30,000 soldiers, 900 ships; the second invasion in 1281 by 140,000 soldiers, 4,400 ships Thanks to the famous typhoons Kamikaze (Divine wind) and Japans good defense, Japan was successful in stopping the invasion of the Mongols This invasion attempt had devastating domestic repercussions, leading to the decline of power and the extinction of the 30 Kamakura shogunate

The spread of Buddhism

Buddhism turned its attention to the common people. Several sects arose; Jodo-shu by Honen (1175), Jodo-shinshu by Shinran (1224), Nichiren-shu by Nichiren (1253). These became popular in the common people. From China Zen was brought to Japan; a sect of Zen, called the Rinzai-shu by Eisai (1191), another sect of Zen, called the Soto-shu by Dogen (1227). The aim of the Zen sect is to meditate in order to eliminate hesitation or delusion and awaken to the truth. Zen became popular in Bushi classes
31

Culture; simple, realistic, popular

Japanese poetry, essays, warrior tales in literature Heike monogatari was recited with the accompaniment of the biwa by a blind priest The wood sculptures by sculptors Unkei and Kaikei were very realistic and vivid Picture scrolls, portrait painting, calligraphy were prosperous in painting.

32

9. Muromachi period (13381573)

The Kamakura shogunate was destroyed by the vassals of Kamakura shogunate, Ashikaga Takauji etc. in 1333. Imperial rule was reestablished for a short time under Go-Daigo Tenno.(133336) During the early years of the Muromachi period (1336-1392) the imperial court was split in two; Northern Court (in Kyoto) and Southern Court (in Yoshino near Nara). Ashikaga Takauji established the Muromachi shogunate in Muromachi in Kyoto. (1338) The Muromachi shogunate lasted for 235 years. 33

Politics during the Muromachi period

The Muromachi shogunate was too dependent upon the independent warlords support to form a strong central government. Later shoguns were less successful in controlling the vassals and feudal coalition. Subjects replaced their superiors in many cases. After the Onin War Onin War (1467-1477), Japan entered the Sengoku period (the Warring States period of fighting and disorder)
34

The Sengoku Period the later years of the muromachi period

In the later years of the Muromachi period , i.e. the Sengoku period (the Warring States period of fighting and disorder), each of the warlords all over Japan obtained absolute authority over his own landholdings and subjects, and they often competed against one another From the middle of the 16th century a movement toward national reunification gradually emerged out of the violence of warring domains War in
Kawanakajima
35

Sengoku Daimyo- Warlords in the Sengoku period

36

Economy in the Muromachi period

The increase in agricultural output, the growth of crafts and demand for payment of land tax in cash instead of rice or cloth

The growth of local markets, greater specialization among merchants and more sophisticated exchange facilities

37

Muromachi Culture
Zen Buddhism remained influential in both military and court circles

Ginkakuji temple

Kinkakuji temple
The garden of Ryoanji temple
38

Ink Painting by Sesshu Fusumae (painting for sliding-door partitions) by Kano Motonobu

39

 Muromachi culture was an intricate blending of elite and popular elements. Noh (dramas incorporating music and dances), Kyogen (comedic drama, usually performed between Noh in the same program) Tea ceremony and Ikebana Education of children in temples Masks for Noh Soy sauce and Miso

Stage of Noh
40