History of Japan

The history of Japan seems to start around 500,000 BCE, date when the earliest stone tool implements have been found. Following the last ice-age, the rich ecosystem of the archipelago apparently fostered human development rather earlier than in other geographical areas, yielding the earliest polished stone tools, and to this date, the earliest known pottery in the world. The history of Japan is then punctuated by an alternance of long periods of isolation and periods of radical, often revolutionary, influences from the rest of the world.

Periodization

One commonly accepted periodization of Japanese History:

Related Topics:
Periodization - Japanese

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History of Japan

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:Yayoi ( circa 300 BC - 250 AD )

Related Topics:
Yayoi - 250

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:Yamato ( circa 250 A.D. - 710 )

Related Topics:
Yamato - 250 - 710

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:*Kofun ( circa. A.D. 250 - ca. 538 )

Related Topics:
Kofun - 250 - 538

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:*Asuka ( 538 - 710 )

Related Topics:
Asuka - 538 - 710

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:Nara ( 710 - 794 )

Related Topics:
Nara - 710 - 794

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:Heian ( 794 - 1185 )

Related Topics:
Heian - 794 - 1185

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:Kamakura (see also Kamakura Shogunate) ( 1185 - 1333 )

Related Topics:
Kamakura - Kamakura Shogunate - 1185 - 1333

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:Kemmu restoration ( 1333 - 1336 )

Related Topics:
Kemmu restoration - 1333 - 1336

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:Muromachi (also called Ashikaga) ( 1388 - 1573 )

Related Topics:
Muromachi - Ashikaga - 1388 - 1573

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:*Nanboku-cho ( 1336 - 1392 )

Related Topics:
Nanboku-cho - 1336 - 1392

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:*early part of the Sengoku period ( 1392 - 1573 )

Related Topics:
Sengoku period - 1392 - 1573

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:Azuchi-Momoyama period ( 1573 - 1603 )

Related Topics:
Azuchi-Momoyama period - 1573 - 1603

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:*latter part of the Sengoku period ( 1573 - 1603 )

Related Topics:
Sengoku period - 1573 - 1603

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:Edo (also called Tokugawa) ( 1600 - 1867 )

Related Topics:
Edo - Tokugawa - 1600 - 1867

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:Meiji ( 1867 - 1912 )

Related Topics:
Meiji - 1867 - 1912

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:Taisho ( 1912 - 1926 )

Related Topics:
Taisho - 1912 - 1926

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:Showa ( 1926 - 1989 )

Related Topics:
Showa - 1926 - 1989

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:*Expansionism ( 1926 - 1945 )

Related Topics:
Expansionism - 1926 - 1945

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:*Occupied Japan ( 1945 - 1952 )

Related Topics:
Occupied Japan - 1945 - 1952

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:*Post-occupation ( 1952 - 1989 )

Related Topics:
Post-occupation - 1952 - 1989

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:Contemporary ( 1989 - present )-->

Related Topics:
Contemporary - 1989

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Era Name (Nengou) in Japan ( after Meiji )

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:Nengou are commonly used in Japan together with Gregorian Era.

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:For example, in censuses, birthdays are written using Nengou.

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:Dates of newspapers and official documents are also written using Nengou.

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:Nengou are changed upon the enthronement of each new Emperor of Japan (Tennou).

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:Meiji ( 1868 - 1912)

Related Topics:
Meiji - 1868 - 1912

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:Taisho ( 1912 - 1926)

Related Topics:
Taisho - 1912 - 1926

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:Showa ( 1926 (December 25) - 1989 (January 7) )

Related Topics:
Showa - 1926 - 1989

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:Heisei ( 1989 (January 8) - present )

Related Topics:
Heisei - 1989

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:For Example :

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::1945 was the 20th year of Showa.

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::2001 was the 13th year of Heisei.

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::1989 was the 64th year of Showa through January 7, but on January 8, it became the 1st year(Gan-nen) of Heisei.

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:Before World War II ended, Imperial era (Kouki) is also used in common that the year of enthronement of first emperor (Jimmu-Tennou) is defined as First Year. (= 660 B.C.)

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