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The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. [ 1 ] The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inventions were introduced from Asia.
Japan - Shintoism, Buddhism, Samurai: It is not known when humans first settled on the Japanese archipelago. It was long believed that there was no Paleolithic occupation in Japan, but since World War II thousands of sites have been unearthed throughout the country, yielding a wide variety of Paleolithic tools.
Japan sought to become a modern industrialized nation and pursued the acquisition of a large overseas empire, initially in Korea and China. By late 1941 this latter policy caused direct confrontation with the United States and its allies and to defeat in World War II (1939–45).
The long and tumultuous history of Japan, believed to have begun as far back as the prehistoric era, can be divided into distinct periods and eras. From the Jomon Period thousands of years ago to the current Reiwa Era, the island nation of Japan has grown into an influential global power.
Few nations on Earth have had a more colorful history than Japan. Settled by migrants from the Asian mainland back in the mists of prehistory, Japan has seen the rise and fall of emperors, rule by samurai warriors, isolation from the outside world, expansion over most of Asia, defeat, and rebirth.
This is a timeline of Japanese history, comprising important legal, territorial and cultural changes and political events in Japan and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Japan.
The principal chronicles describing the origins of Japanese history are the Nihon shoki (“Chronicle of Japan”) and the Koji-ki (“Record of Ancient Matters”).
The early Japanese were mainly gatherers, hunters and fishers. The spread of rice farming leads to the development of more complex social hierarchies and larger settlements. Hundreds of small countries emerge and start to unify into larger countries. Japan is for the first time more or less united.
1904 - Japan becomes first Asian country in modern times to defeat an European power when it routs Russia in Manchuria. 1910 - Japan annexes Korea after three years of...
This overview traces the key periods and events that have shaped Japan's unique cultural identity and its place on the world stage. We'll explore the rise and fall of imperial dynasties, the age of the samurai, periods of isolation and rapid modernization, and Japan's recovery and reinvention following World War II.