History

The first signs of occupation of the Japanese Archipelago appeared with a Paleolithic culture around 30,000 BC, and they began to be populated in the 20th – 15th centuries BC. In the 3rd 0 6th centuries in central Japan a union of tribes called Yamato was formed which lay the foundation of Japanese statehood. At the end of this period the Yamato rulers introduced a Chinese model of state system (ritsuryo – “punishment and administration”) which replaced the former patriarchic system of udzi-kabane (lit.: udzi – “family, clan”, kabana – “title” that determines the clan’s position in state hierarchy). It was at the same time that Buddhism, the Chinese calendar and the Chinese hieroglyphic script were adopted. By the beginning of the 8th century a powerful centralized state was founded which had imperial ambitions and pursued active foreign policy.

Four centuries later, however, real power passed on from emperors to the hands of large Samurai clans the competition between which resulted in the creation of the Kamakura shogunate (1185-1333) that in 1338 was replaced with the Ashikaga shogunate. Until the beginning of the 17th century Japan was shaken with endless wars between Samurai clans. In 1600 the Samurai clan of Tokugawa came to power and ruled in Japan until 1868. During this peaceful period known as Edo (after the name of the new capital – Edo, at present Tokyo), the government carried out a policy of self-isolation (sakoku – “country in chains”). It led to the crisis of the system of Samurai rule, the decline of economy and, consequently, considerable lag of Japan in comparative with western countries. In 1868, after the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate, direct rule of Emperor Meiji Mutsuhito who abolished the Samurai class was established. The Meiji period (1868 – 1912) became the time of impetuous modernization, industrialization and militarization of Japan. The victory in the Japanese-Chinese (1894-1895) and the Russian-Japanese (1904-1905) wars placed Japan among the leading world countries. Participation of Japan in the Second World War resulted in its defeat, capitulation and further American occupation. The period after 1945 has become the time of formation of modern political and economic system. Having recovered from the post-war devastation (including two atomic bombings), Japan again become one of the leading world economies.

Since 1989 Emperor Akihito has been in power in Japan and his motto is Heisei – “concern about peace and order”.
Main historic eras: Jomon (15th – 3rd centuries BC), Yayoi (3rd century BC – 3rd century AD), Kofun (300–710), Asuka (593–710), Nara (710–794), Heian (794–1185), Kamakura (1185–1333), Muromachi (1333–1568), Azuchi-Momoyama (1568–1600), Edo (1600–1868), Meiji (1868–1912), Taisho (1912–1926), Showa (1926–1989), Heisei (since 1989).

Gates of the Emperor's palace. Japan. Mid-to-late 19th cent.		Samurai castle. Japan. Mid-to-late 19th cent.		Castle of feudal lord. Japan. Mid-to-late 19th cent.
Tomb Soga-no Umako (4th-7th cent.) - Ishibutai. Japan. Asuka. The Japanese. Maykova N., 2006		Ishibutai Tomb. Japan. Asuka. The Japanese. Maykova N., 2006		Toro-Iseki. Reconstruction of a village. A dwelling. Japan. Shizuoka. The Japanese. Maykova N., 2005
Toro-Iseki. Reconstruction of a village. A storage of grains and food. Japan. Shizuoka. The Japanese. Maykova N., 2005