A brief history of Japan in five distinct historical periods. The summary hopefully provides a basic insight into the country’s tumultuous past and provides some foundations from which the unique culture and customs of today’s Japan can be understood.
The Emergence of Japan
From Japan’s mythological beginnings and hunter-gather culture, early forms of governance and a political structure emerges… read more
Samurai Rule & Civil War
The emergence of Japan’s warrior class and the countries collapse into civil war. Japan’s feudal era defined the country’s culture and shaped much of its landscape… read more
The Edo Period
The reunification of Japan and Tokugawa rule. Japan’s 250-year period of isolation and relatively domestic peace shaped much of the culture and customs of the country that we see today… read more
The Meiji Restoration & Imperial Japan
The end of Tokugawa rule and the re-consolidation of power back in the hands of the emperor. The country underwent rapid industrialization as it opened to the world, but imperialism was in the shadows … read more
The Post-War Era & Modern Japan
Defeat in the war left the country in ruins, but it rose from the ashes in the latter half of the twentieth century to become a global superpower… read more