The development of Japanese history

Archaeologists believe that as early as 100,000 years ago, when Japan was still connected to the Asian continent, there were people living on the islands, which is historically called the Paleolithic Age. People at that time made a living by hunting and scavenging. By the Neolithic Age, about 10,000 years ago, people began to make finer stone tools and pottery. People began to learn to use bows and arrows to hunt, cook and store food.

The period from the eighth to the third century BC is known as the "Jomon Age", when people began to make rope-like patterns on pottery.

Around the third century BC, agriculture and methods of making metal utensils were introduced from the Asian continent. The introduction of iron tools led to the development of agriculture. People began to make weapons and use bronze mirrors and mirrors in religious ceremonies. Bronze sword. Due to the division of labor, society was divided. Rulers and the ruled began to appear, and tribes and countries also emerged.

The period from the third century BC to the third century AD is known as the "Yayoi period". Advanced pottery tools and technologies such as windlass kilns and kilns were successively introduced to Japan. By the fourth century, the Yamatai Kingdom became powerful and unified the countries.< /p>

From the fourth to the sixth century, Chinese culture was introduced through Korea, and Confucianism and Buddhist thought were also spread to Japan. Japan and Korea established relations, and introduced textiles, metalworking, and tanning invented by the Han Dynasty from Korea. , shipbuilding and other technologies. Japan also introduced ideograms from China, learned Chinese medical skills, astronomical calendar and Confucianism, and established its political system in Nara in the early eighth century. The capital, the Nara Period, began. Members of the imperial family lived in Nara for more than seventy years, and their power gradually spread across the country.

The Heian Dynasty began in 794 AD with the then capital of China as its capital. Based on this, a new capital was established in Kyoto, called "Heian Kyo". Heian Kyo has been the capital for almost a thousand years. In the early days, Japan absorbed a lot of Chinese culture. This was a process of absorption and assimilation, and foreign things gradually became Japanese. Color. The Japanese writing "kana" was formed during this period. "Kana" is divided into "katakana" and "hiragana". It is based on Chinese characters and is made from the radicals and part of the Chinese characters. A unique writing system was established.

In 1192, Minamoto Yoritomo established the shogunate in Kamakura (near today's Tokyo). The Kamakura shogunate implemented strict new policies and encouraged people in the shogunate to practice martial arts and strengthen discipline. During the Kura period, Bushido was at its peak.

In 1213, the Hojo clan seized power from the Minamoto clan. The Hojo clan was the family of Minamoto Yoritomo's wife and took charge of the shogunate during the regency. From 1333 to 1338, Takashi established a new shogunate in Muromachi, Kyoto, which was historically known as the Muromachi era. The Muromachi samurai ruled for more than 200 years. Due to the strict discipline of samurai during this period, art and religious activities have been deeply affected to this day. Japanese art was still very formal and simple in lines.

At the end of the 16th century, Japan was ravaged by civil war. In 1590, the great general Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified the country. The Tomi clan twice sent troops to attack Korea, but they were resisted by North Korea and China and ultimately failed.

In 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi fell ill and died at Fushimi Castle, and the general Tokugawa Ieyasu was completely wiped out in the battle of Sekigahara. Opposing faction. In 1603, the Tokugawa clan established the shogunate in Edo, and history entered the Edo period, which lasted for 264 years.

After Tokugawa Ieyasu completed the unification in 1853. In 1998, U.S. Navy Commodore Perry led four ships into Tokyo Bay, and in the following year he tried to persuade Japan to sign a peace treaty with the United States. In the same year, Japan signed treaties with Russia, Britain, and the Netherlands, and restored foreign relations for four years. Later, a trade treaty was concluded. A similar treaty was concluded with France soon after.

The Meiji Restoration began in 1868, and the Emperor regained power from 1868. The year 1912 was a glorious and glorious era in Japanese history.

In the early years of Meiji, the emperor moved the capital from Kyoto to Edo and renamed it Tokyo. The Meiji government proposed three major policies: "making the country strong", "colonizing industry and developing industry", and "civilizing and enlightening", with Western advanced capital as the main focus. role model and develop advanced science and technology. In less than half a century, Japan has completed the modernization process that took the major Western capitalist countries two hundred years to complete. However, the success of the Meiji Reform stimulated Japan's ambitions for outward expansion, and finally led Japan to embark on the path of militarism. During the two wars, the Japanese government caused great disasters to the world and the Japanese people.

In 1985, Japan had become the world's largest creditor country, with overseas net assets of US$180.4 billion at the end of 1986. In 1993, Japan's overseas assets rose to 685 billion, and it is estimated that they will rise to more than 1 trillion by 2000. Japan has become the world's largest supplier, the role of Tokyo's international financial market is expanding, and Japan is developing in the direction of becoming a financial power.