Japanese historical information

Japan is an island country located in eastern Asia and the northwest Pacific. Its territory consists of four major islands: Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Hokkaido and more than 7,200 small islands, covering an area of ??378,000 square kilometers. Regarding the confirmed human history on the Japanese archipelago, it can be traced back to about 30,000 or even 100,000 years ago. The entire history of Japan can be divided into 16 eras from the Paleolithic Age to the Heisei Era (present day). Let me give you a brief introduction below.

1. The Pre-earth Age

2. The Paleolithic Age

3. Ancient times

The Jomon Period was about the pre-Qin Dynasty in China

Yayoi period (3rd century BC - 3rd century BC) around the Han Dynasty

Kofun period (2nd half of the 3rd century, early 4th century - first half of the 7th century, early 8th century) around the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties< /p>

The Asuka Period (end of the 6th century - 710), about the Sui Dynasty and the early Tang Dynasty

The Nara Period (710 - 794), the Tang Dynasty

The Heian Period ( 794 - 1184) Tang, Five Dynasties, Song

4. Middle Ages

Kamakura Period (1192 - 1334) Song and Yuan

Southern and Northern Dynasties (1334-1392) Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Note: The Southern and Northern Dynasties in Japanese history were just palace coups. After the palace coup, the original emperor went to a place not far from Kyoto and established a new court. The time was very short

Muromachi era (1392-1573) (Sengoku era) Ming Dynasty, Note: During this period, Japan's conquest of barbarians was canonized as "King of Japan" by the Ming Dynasty.

5. Modern times

Azuchi Momoyama Edo Period (1573-1598) Ming Dynasty, the so-called "Otoyo Era", the period of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Edo Period (1603-1868) late Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty

p>

6. Modern-modern times

Meiji (1868-1911) Tongzhi Dynasty, Guangxu Dynasty, Xuantong Dynasty

Taisho (1911-1926) Beiyang Warlord Period

Showa (1926-1989) National Government, People’s Republic of China

Heisei (1989-) The third generation of leaders to the present

Japan itself does not have the concept of dynasties, because no matter who is in power, they all coexist with the emperor. Although they did not pay attention to the emperor's intention, they all admitted that they were canonized by the emperor. So there are only eras in Japanese history. But every era can be considered as a change of ruling group. The emperors before Meiji did not form their own political power, nor could they be called a dynasty. The specific eras are as follows:

Yamato Period 300-592 AD

Asuka Period 592-710 AD

Nara Period 711-794 AD

Heian Period 794-1192 AD

Kamakura Shogunate Period 1192-1333 AD

Southern and Northern Dynasties Period 1333-1392 AD

1393- The Muromachi Shogunate Period in 1573

The Oriho Period in 1573-1603 AD

The Edo Shogunate Period in 1603-1867 AD

The Meiji Period in 1868-1911 AD

The Taisho Era from 1912 to 1925 AD

The Showa Era from 1926 to 1988 AD

The Heisei Era from 1989 to the present day

3. Brief description of each historical period

Early history

1. Paleolithic Age

Japanese humans only achieved great development at the end of the Paleolithic Age. Most of the time, a hundred thousand years ago, development was slow. Archaeological research has found that primitive humans from northern China began to live in the Korean Peninsula hundreds of thousands of years ago, and a very small number of people began to migrate to Japan only about 100,000 years ago. The earliest human fossil discovered in Japan was born about 100,000 years ago. Archaeological and anthropological perspectives believe that the Japanese nation is mainly composed of Northeast Asian nomads, the Mongolian people of the Altaic language family, the ancient Central Plains people, the Wuyue people of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and a small number of Malays. And a small number of Indo-Chinese people from Indochina gradually migrated to Japan and evolved from it. Since the late Warring States period, a large number of people from Yan, Qi, Chu and Yue have fled to the Korean Peninsula and Japan to escape the war. Later in the Qing Dynasty, when wars and disasters occurred in northern China, Chinese people began to immigrate to Korea. Peninsula, and later from here eastward or southward to Japan or the Japanese Archipelago.

2. Jomon Period

About 12,000 years ago, rapid warming began due to the end of the last glacial period, which caused great changes in people's culture and life, except for the Ryukyus Outside the archipelago, the entire island entered the next era, the Jomon period. It is divided into 6 stages: initial stage, early stage, early stage, middle stage, late stage and late stage.

At this time, people made Jomon-style pottery and made a living by hunting, fishing, and gathering. They used bows and arrows for hunting, shell mound fishing, and plant collection to make a living. They also used hammered stone tools, ground stone tools, bone horn tools, and so on. It constitutes a society where there are distinctions between rich and poor and classes. After the early period, people moved towards settlement, and most of them lived in semi-burrowed houses (vertical cave dwellings). Cultivation was also carried out, and rice was planted in the late to late period. The Jomon period officially ended in 300 BC.

3. Yayoi Period

The period between 300 BC and 250 AD is called the Yayoi Period. This era was named after the Yayoi-style pottery that was considered a representative feature of this period. A farming society centered on rice cultivation spread rapidly from northern Kyushu to various parts of the Japanese archipelago. At that time, the Japanese archipelago was called Wa and Wa Kingdom by China.

In 300 BC, rice cultivation technology and metal utensil use technology were transferred from Korea to northern Kyushu. Rice farming technology has brought epoch-making changes to Japanese society. It has expanded production, created a gap between the rich and the poor, and made the rural community tend toward political grouping. The beliefs, etiquette, and customs brought by farming gradually spread, forming the prototype of Japanese culture.

4. The Tumulus Period

The Tumulus Period is the era when the construction of ancient tombs was popular (300 AD to 600 AD). After the large and small tumulus with a circle in front and back, clustered tombs appeared. Centered in Nara Prefecture, they were scattered over a wide area starting from Fukushima Prefecture in the north and Kumamoto Prefecture and Oita Prefecture in the south. In the 5th century, they expanded from Miyagi Prefecture to Kagoshima. county. At first, only tribal leaders were buried in the ancient tombs, which were built by tribal members.

Feudal Period

5. Asuka Period

The Asuka Period began in about 600 AD and ended in 710 AD when the capital was moved to Heijo Kyo. This period was named after the political center of Asuka in Nara Prefecture (Asuka Village, which was Fujiwara Kyo at the time). The more significant events included Prince Shotoku's reform and the Daika Reform.

6. Nara Period

The Nara Period, from AD 710 to AD 794, was named after Nara (Heijo Kyo) as its capital. This was the period of prosperity of the legal system society, which was reflected in many aspects such as political and economic systems, class relations, culture, and foreign relations. However, during this period, peasants were impoverished, homeless people increased, and the public land citizenship system essentially collapsed due to the expansion of manors. Contradictions began to be exposed, and political struggles within the aristocracy continued to occur. After the change of King Nagaya, the four ministers of the Fujiwara clan, Tachibana brothers, Monk Xuanfang and others fought for power. After the Fujiwara Hirotsugu Rebellion, Fujiwara Nakamaro rejected the royal family and became the first non-royal Taizheng minister. Monk Dokyo used Takaken to restore the emperor, killed Fujiwara Nakamaro, promoted him to the Dharma King, and attempted to covet the throne through abdication. A series of events weakened the absolute authority of the emperor's dictatorship. During the periods of Emperor Kohito and Emperor Kanmu, the imperial court tried to rectify the chaotic political situation, reduce fiscal expenditures, reform the military system, expand territory to the northeastern region, and seek to reshape and re-strengthen the legal system.

7. The Heian Period

The Heian Period lasted from roughly the end of the 8th century to roughly the end of the 12th century. It can be roughly divided into three periods: the early period (794-967) is a period when the legal system was relaxed but continued to be used. The middle period (968-1068) was the establishment and heyday of Sheguan politics. The later period (1069-1190) was the period of Yuanzheng and the Ping clan.

8. Kamakura Period

At the end of the 12th century, Minamoto Yoritomo was granted the title of the first generation to conquer the barbarians and established the shogunate in Kamakura. From then on, the samurai regime was born. The opposition between the politics of the Wu family and the politics of the public family (referring to the officials and nobles of the imperial court). In the late 13th century, the samurai rule of the shogunate began to face difficulties, and the Kamakura shogunate gradually embarked on the road to destruction.

9. The Southern and Northern Dynasties Period (1334 to 1392)

After Emperor Go-Daigo abdicated, he retreated to Yoshino in Yamato (today's Nara Prefecture) holding the three sacred artifacts that symbolized the emperor. It was the Southern Dynasties. At this point, the Southern and Northern Dynasties were finally formed. History books also call it "Two Emperors in One Day, Nanjing". After many attacks and defenses, the power of the Southern Dynasties declined. Finally, the emperor of the Southern Dynasties handed over the three artifacts to the emperor of the Northern Dynasties, ending the era of the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

10. Muromachi Period

Refers to the period from 1392 AD to 1573 AD. The Ashikaga clan was originally a wealthy Ueno family, and was a member of the same clan as Minamoto Yoritomo, the Kamakura shogunate. Ashikaga Takauji established a shogunate in Muromachi, Kyoto, which was the Muromachi shogunate. The unification of the Northern and Southern Dynasties was carried out by the third generation Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. After the unification, he attempted to usurp the throne. But after his death, the fourth generation Ashikaga Yoshimichi stopped this.

Warring States Period

11. Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1573 AD to 1603 AD)

After the Onin Rebellion, great names rose up all over Japan, and wars raged , the people are in dire straits. But people generally regard Hojo Soun's rise as the beginning of the Warring States Period. It was not until the middle of the 16th century that a hero appeared who was determined to unify Japan by force and end the troubled times. He was Oda Nobunaga. In the third year of Eiroku (1560), Oda Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto's 40,000 troops with 2,000 troops in Okezama, and his reputation became great. Then gradually unified Owari and Kinki, and prepared to attack Sanin and Sanyo. During this period, Nobunaga built the magnificent Azuchi Castle. Therefore, Nobunaga's era is called the "Azuchi era".

12. Osaka-Edo Confrontation Period (1603~1615)

In the eighth year of Keicho (1603), the Emperor decreed that Tokugawa Ieyasu be conferred the title of Conquering the Barbarians. The Kawa Shogunate was established in Edo (today's Tokyo), and soon Ieyasu Zen was located in his son Hidetada's position, calling himself the Grand Imperial Palace, completing the inheritance of the position in the Tokugawa family, and thus entering the Edo period. However, the Toyotomi clan's regime as Kanbai still resided in Osaka Castle and regarded the shogunate as a subject. This period was a period of confrontation between Osaka and Edo. The shogunate finally eliminated the Toyotomi clan in Osaka during the two battles of Osaka in the summer of the 20th year of Keicho (1615). The Toyotomi clan was wiped out in this battle. The Battle of Osaka brought a tragic end to Japan's Warring States Period.

13. Edo Period

The period from 1603 (Keicho 8th year) to 1867 (Keio 3rd year) is called the Edo Period. During this period of more than 260 years, Tokugawa The family rules the country. This period is called the Edo period. Political stability and economic development followed suit. During the Tokugawa Tsunayoshi era, the economy was prosperous, and the Genroku culture (Genroku culture) flourished among merchants and townspeople.

Modern Period

14. Meiji Era

Opening of the Country

In the middle of the 19th century, Japan was still in a feudal society with a small-scale peasant economy. , the emperor had no authority, and power was in the hands of the Tokugawa shogunate, the third feudal military regime. At the end of the Edo shogunate, natural disasters continued, the shogunate's rule was corrupt, and the people were in dire straits. Moreover, the shogunate's financial difficulties made most of the middle and lower-level samurai increasingly dissatisfied with the shogunate. At the same time, the Western capitalist powers used strong ships and cannons to knock on the door of Japan, which had been closed for more than 200 years. In 1853, U.S. Navy Admiral Matthew Perry led four steamships into Japan's Edo Bay, forcing Japan to open its door to foreign trade. Japan was panicked.

The Tokugawa shogunate implemented a "closed-door" policy in Japan, closing Japan's door to the world. Among foreigners, only Chinese and Dutch merchants can engage in commercial activities in Nagasaki, the only open port, and citizens do not have freedom of religion. Under the dual pressure of internal and external troubles, the Japanese gradually realized that the only way to become strong and prosperous was to overthrow the shogunate rule and learn from capitalist countries. So a vigorous movement to reverse the curtain began.

The End of the Curtain Movement

Meiji Emperor

During the protests and opposition movements that took place at that time, some riots involved 4,000 peasants, and various measures were taken Various situations. There was also a lot of ideological reform movement among the samurai?. Soon, the "overthrow" camp grew, including not only farmers, petty citizens, and middle- and lower-class warriors at the bottom of society, but also capitalists who advocated the development of industry and reformists among emerging landlords.

Meiji Restoration

Emperor Meiji, who regained control of the government, worked hard to govern and reform, determined to put Japan on the road to prosperity. [4] The new government actively introduced various European and American systems, abolished feudal vassals and established counties, etc. These reforms were collectively referred to as the Meiji Restoration. On the one hand, the new government established national systems, such as the establishment of the Imperial Parliament and the formulation of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan; on the other hand, it promoted the cultivation of industry and the strengthening of the military (to enrich the country and strengthen the army) as national policies, and rapidly developed into a modern country.

Invasion and expansion

Japan’s national power gradually grew stronger. It defeated the Chinese Beiyang Fleet in the Sino-Japanese War (called the Sino-Japanese War in Japan) and annihilated the Russian Pacific Fleet and Baltic Fleet in the Russo-Japanese War, becoming one of the imperialist powers. While ensuring its international status, it took over the Ryukyu Kingdom, a tributary state of the Qing Dynasty, in 1879 and changed its name to Okinawa Prefecture. Later, it annexed North Korea in 1910. Culturally, Japan has introduced new knowledge from Europe and the United States. In art, literature with individualistic novels that had never appeared in Japan began to appear, competing with cultures different from those before the Edo period. Religiously, the past phenomenon of the merger of gods and Buddhas (the separation of gods and Buddhas) has been changed, and there have been movements to suppress Buddhism (the abolition of Buddhism and the destruction of Buddhism) and other movements.

15. Taisho Era

The Taisho period (1912-1926) is called the Taisho Era. Emperor Meiji died in 1912, and his son Yoshihito succeeded to the throne, changing the Yuan Dynasty to Taisho, which was the Taisho era. In the first year of Taisho, the first constitutional protection movement (Taisho Democratic Movement (Taisho Democratic Movement)) was triggered by the army's fall in government, and party politics began to appear.

In the early Taisho era, World War I occurred. At that time, Japan was at the peak of its national power since the Meiji Restoration. However, in 1921, Emperor Taisho was ill and was regent by Prince Hirohito. A few years later, the Great Kanto Earthquake occurred, and Japan's defeat in international conferences made Japanese society increasingly difficult.

Postwar period

16. Early postwar period

On August 15, 1945 (Showa 20), the Japanese army surrendered and the Japanese army occupied Japan. The constitutional system of real monarch is the constitutional system of virtual monarch, and the emperor is retained as the symbol of Japan.

17. In the late Showa era,

was elected president of the Liberal Democratic Party for the third time and formed the cabinet three times in a row. After he announced his retirement, five people from the Liberal Democratic Party ran for president, including Tanaka Kakuei from the Sato faction, Masayoshi Ohira from the Ohira faction, Takeo Fukuda from the Fukuda faction, and Miki from the Miki faction. Takefu, four people participated in the presidential election.

In the end, only Tanaka and Fukuda made the cut, which was known as the Kakufuku War in the world. Tanaka Kakuei succeeded in wooing Ohira, Miki and Nakasone (Yasuhiro) and defeated Fukuda and was elected president to form a cabinet.

18. Heisei Era

Emperor Showa died on January 7, Showa 64 (1989), and his son Akihito succeeded to the throne, starting the day after his death (January 8) Changed to the Yuan Dynasty Heisei, known as the Heisei era (1989 AD to present).