Key moments in history

Yamato Period
The Yamato Period extends from the year 250 to the 710, and it is
divided into 2 eras, the Kofun (250-538) and the Asuka (538-710).
During the first half of the period, a governing power emerged and
established its centre in the Yamato province. In this location, the
local clan also known as the Yamato, gained poser and established
itself as the imperial bloodline. Yamato Japan extended from
Kyushu to the Kinai plain. During the second half of the Yamato
period, Buddhism was introduced to Japan and was practised by
the ruling class. Also, Chinese writing and other Asian exports
arrived via the Korean Kingdom thanks to their friendly relations
with the Japanese. The prince at the time, Prince Shotoku
promulgated the Constitution of Seventeen Articles about moral
and political principles.

Heian Period
Considered one of the most important periods of culture in Japanese
history, the Heian period saw the success of court high culture. Also,
it is the beginning of the birth samurai, or bushi class, whose
appearance marks the end of Japan’s golden years when the Tire and
Minamoto families fought the Genpei War (1180- 1185). Some of
Japan’s most iconic works of art, such as Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of
Genji and Sei Shō nagon’s (Makura no sō shi) Pillow Book originated
during this era, as well as a departure from Chinese style ink
paintings to yamato style.

Ashikaga Period
After a three-year-period called the Kemmu Restoration (1333-
1336), the Ashikaga period was established with the naming of
Ashikaga Takauji as shō gun. The period is divided in two eras: the
Northern and the Southern courts era and the era of the Warring
States. From 1336 to 1392, the Ashikaga shogunate established the
Northern Imperial Court and fought the Southern Imperial Court
of Go-Daigo, with the Northern Imperial Court emerging
victorious. During the Warring States Era, the military sought
greater local power. This caused a long period of war, which
resulted in a new governing power created by national pacifiers
Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Also,
during this period, the first Europeans arrived in the asian
country.
Tokugawa Period
It is the most stable and peaceful period in Japanese history. The
Tokugawa period began with Ieyasu's victory over Hideyoshi's
army at the battle of Sekigahara, and the consolidation of
political power around the Tokugawa clan in the Kanto plain. It
marked the beginning of 3 centuries of shogunal rule by the
Tokugawa family, as well as a similar period of peace and
stability. Christianity was suppressed, and European
missionaries were expelled from Japan; Trade was conducted
only with the Dutch and China at selected trading stations.
Regardless of the isolation from external influences, Japanese
intellectuals were able to translate and understand Western
philosophy, history, and medicine. This isolation ended in 1854,
when United States naval commander, Commodore Matthew C.
Perry, entered Edo Bay and demanded that trade be opened with
the United States. This caused the end of the Tokugawa
jurisdiction and the restoration of imperial authority.

Meiji Period
With the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the l defeat of the
Tokugawa loyalists in the Boshin War (1868-1869), the Meiji emperor
was restored to the throne and the imperial court was moved to Edo
,and was called Tō kyō . The new imperial government began to
reorganize the country to modernize itself and catch up with the
industrialized Western business world, and to try to prevent
imperialism by Western powers. The country was reforming, and
while Japan continued to be treated unequally by many Western
nations, it was able to avoid the colonial fate that China had. Japan
began its own imperialist expansion, expanding the north to occupy
the Ainu nation of Hokkaido, and took Korea, Taiwan, and the
southern part of Sakhalin Island to the first Sino-Japanese (1894-
1895) and Russo-Japanese (1904). -1905) Wars.

Showa Period
When Prince Hirohito ascended the Chrysanthemum
throne and became Emperor Shō wa, he and his war
cabinet began to expand the Japanese army’s presence in
East and Southeast Asia, and later established an empire
that stretched from Sakhalin in the north to the island of
Borneo in the south, parts of China and the Micronesia and
Marshall Islands to the east. During this period, the atomic
bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, at the defeat
of Japan at the end of World War II. After the Emperor
announced the country’s surrender on August 15, 1945. The
surrender was signed on 2 September, the Allied
occupation of Japan began, lasting 7 years.
Postwar Period
After the end of the Allied occupation established in the
Treaty of San Francisco on September 8, 1951, Japan became
an independent nation again when the treaty went into
effect April 28, 1952. The nation started to rebuild itself,
now under a new government in which all the rights of the
emperor were abolished. Most of Japan's territory was lost,
reducing it to the four main islands of Honshū , Shikoku,
Kyū shū , and Hokkaido. Culturally, postwar Japan was
marked by constant intercultural change, with western and
Asian pop culture gaining significant influence over their
Japanese counterparts. The most recognized post-war
Japan’s accomplishment is the "economic miracle," in which
the country went from a destroyed economy, to the second
or third-largest economy in the world.

Contemporary Period
Nowadays, Japan has a population of 126,730,000 million
people and has an area of 377 915 km, that consists of 6852
islands. Its government is a Parliamentary Constitutional
Monarchy, with Naruhito as it’s emperor since 2019. It
isn’t isolated from the rest of the world any more, the
country is a member of the United Nations and has signed
various agreements with the United States, India and
Australia. On March 11, 2011, Japan suffered one of the
largest earthquakes registered in its history. This natural
disaster is responsible for the Fukushima nuclear
disaster. After that, the citizens protested against nuclear
power plants, this encouraged to decommission of old
and small power plants around the country.