History of Japan

mind maps of history: the Floating World of Japan's Edo Period

History of Japan



Experience the History of Japan with WisdomMaps: The Future of the Past!


Perspective


The history of Japan begins with the arrival of the first humans in the Japanese islands around 30,000 BCE. This gave rise to Jōmon period, known for its cord-marked pottery. This was followed by the Yayoi period in which people from the mainland introduced iron technology and agriculture. With a productive rice culture, the Yayoi grew rapidly and overwhelmed the indigenous Jōmon people, who were hunter-gatherers. Then, from the fourth through ninth centuries, Japan’s many kingdoms and tribes became unified in a centralized government ruled by an emperor in a ceremonial role. In 794, a new imperial capital was established at Heian-kyō (now Kyoto). And so began the Heian period, a golden age of classical Japanese culture. During this time, Japanese religion became a mix of animist Shinto beliefs and Buddhism.

Over the following centuries, the power of the imperial house waned and passed first to great civilian clans like the Fujiwara, and then to the military clans and their samurai defenders. After seizing power, the Minamoto clan set up their capital in Kamakura and their leader Yoritomo took the title of shōgun. This Kamakura shogunate repelled two Mongol invasions only to be toppled by a rival claimant to the shogunate in 1333. Regional warlords called daimyō grew in power at the expense of the shōgun.

Eventually, Japan descended into civil war, but was reunified in the late 16th century under the prominent daimyō Oda Nobunaga and his successors, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Their Tokugawa shogunate governed from Edo (now Tokyo) and presided over the prosperous and peaceful Edo period (1600–1868). But the Tokugawa also imposed a strict class system on Japanese society and cut off almost all contact with the outside world.

The history of Japan was altered forever in 1543, when the Portuguese became the first Europeans to reach Japan. They had a significant impact on Japan by introducing firearms. Then the American Admiral Perry arrived in 1853 to demand an end to Japan’s seclusion and Western access. This precipitated the fall of the shogunate and the rise of new national government in the Meiji period.  The Meiji opened Japan to the outside world and brought it to adopt Western models in pursuit of great power status. Although both democracy and a vibrant civilian culture prospered during the Taishō period (1912–26), Japan’s powerful military overwhelmed Japan’s civilian leaders and invaded Manchuria in 1931. Soon, the conflict grew into a long war with China, and Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 led to war with the United States and its allies. Japan’s armed forces soon became overextended, but held out in spite of devastating Allied air attacks that culminated with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945.

The Americans occupied Japan until 1952 and transformed Japan into a constitutional monarchy. Japan experienced very high economic growth under the Liberal Democratic Party, and became a global economic powerhouse. But ever since the Lost Decade of the 1990s, economic growth has stagnated and its relations with its Asian neighbors have deteriorated over recurring historical animosities.


sample map


Here’s a look…



… and here’s a look at what you’re missing. 😕 Subscribe now for access to the entire WisdomMaps collection: more than 3,000 mind maps on all the world’s history and cultures. It’s the best education you’ve never had!


We Invite You to Visit Our Companion Site HawaiiInside.Info • Hawaii’s Inside Story!


Index

Japan Index | Origins | Jomon Period | Yayoi Period | Kofun Period | Classical Period: SocietyCultureReligionShintoBuddhismPower | Nara Period: SocietyCultureArchitectureDramaRitualScholarship | Heian Period: SocietyCultureArchitectureLiteratureReligionPower | Kamakura Period: Power | Muromachi Period: SocietyClassPowerEconomy: InfrastructureTrade | Warring States Period: SocietyReligionPower | Edo Period: SocietyConflictPolicyReformsClassWomenCultureArchitectureArtWoodblock PrintsFloating WorldLiteratureIhara SaikakuPoetryPhilosophyScholarshipTheatreReligionPowerIeyasu: GovernanceForeign AffairsThe WestEconomyCommerceMoneyTrade | Meiji Period: SocietyCulturePower: ProgressionGovernanceEconomy | Taisho Period: SocietyCulturePowerEconomy | Militarism: SocietyPowerWar in Asia: OriginsGoals | Occupation: SocietyPowerEconomy | Modern Japan: SocietyCommunitiesValuesWomenCulturePowerEconomy


Japan: Index


Jomon, Yayoi, and Kofun Periods


Jomon Period

Society: Origins

Yayoi Period

Kofun Period


Classical Period


Classical Period: Index

Up to Index

Society

Culture

Religion

Religion: Shinto

Religion: Buddhism

Power

Up to Index


Nara Period


Nara Period: Index

Society

Culture

Culture: Architecture

Culture: Drama

Culture: Ritual

Up to Index

Culture: Scholarship


Heian Period


Heian Period: Index

Society

Culture

Culture: Architecture

Culture: Literature

Up to Index

Religion

Power


Kamakura Period


Kamakura Period


Power


Muromachi Period


Muromachi Period: Index

Society

Up to Index

Society: Class

Power

Economy

Economy: Infrastructure

Economy: Trade


Warring States Period


Warring States Period: Index

Up to Index

Society

Religion

Power


Edo Period


Edo Period: Index

Society

Society: Conflict

Up to Index

Society: Policy

Society: Reforms

Society: Class

Society: Women

Culture

Culture: Architecture

Up to Index

Culture: Art

Art: Woodblock Prints

The Floating World of Old Edo

Culture: Literature

Literature: Ihara Saikaku

Literature: Poetry

Up to Index

Culture: Philosophy

Culture: Scholarship

Culture: Theatre

Religion

Power

Tokugawa Ieyasu

Up to Index

Ieyasu: Governance

Governance: Foreign Affairs

Foreign Affairs: The West

Economy

Economy: Commerce

Economy: Money

Up to Index

Economy: Trade


Meiji Era


Meiji Period: Index

Society

Culture

Power

Power: Progression

Up to Index

Power: Governance

Power: Military

Economy


Taisho Era


Taisho Period: Index


Society

Culture

Up to Index

Power

Economy


Militarism


Militarism: Index

Society

Power

Power: War in Asia

Up to Index

War in Asia: Origins

War in Asia: Goals


Occupation


Occupation: Index

Occupation: Society

Power


Economy

Up to Index


Modern Japan


Modern Japan: Index

Society

Society: Communities

Society: Values

Society: Women

Culture

Power

Economy


Up to Index

Samples


Exit mobile version
%%footer%%