Japan (Nippon)

Capital : Tokyo

Size: 146 000 sq m Popn: 124 336 000

Japan is made up of four main islands (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu) and many smaller ones. The Kurile chain east of Hokkaido came under Soviet rule in 1945 but are claimed by Japan.

Provinces

Prefectures

History

The area was first inhabited about 200 000 years ago but the present Japanese people are probably descended from later migrations. They are of Ural-Altaic origin, mostly Mongoloid but with some southern Chinese or Polynesian influence. The Ainu, now just a small minority of Hokkaido, but once dominant in the north, are thought to be Caucasoid or Australoid and may have some links with the Uralic population of Siberia.

During the Bronze Age, trading links with China were established and most Japanese history is only recorded in Chinese documents up to the C2nd AD. The religion now called 'Shinto' was indigenous to Japan but Buddhism was brought in through China and Korea by 552 AD and became the main influence on Japanese art and literature until the C19th.

From the C5th to C6th, part of south-east Korea, the kingdom of Mimana, was under Japanese control. This led to contact with the Chinese civilization and its governmental practices which were promoted by the Soga clan, which was related to the imperial family, although the Mononobe (soldiers) and Nakatomi (priests) opposed this. In 646, succession disputes culminated in the Taika reforms, partly influenced by the Chinese legal system, partly a way for the new leaders to establish power.

The Nara Period (710-84) saw the establishment of the first capital city, Heijokyo (Nara) in the reign of the Empress Gemmei. Buddhism and Chinese civilization became more strongly established and a literary tradition was born. The Great Buddha or Daibutsu (a 16 metre high image of the Buddha still in existence today) was dedicated in 752.

The capital was moved to Heiankyo (modern Kyoto) by Emperor Kammu, the first ruler of the Heian Period (784-1185). Links with China remained close and most scholarly works were written in Chinese. The Fujiwara family were dominant for most of the period and managed to control many of the Emperors through marriage ties, forcing many of them (often still minors) to abdicate. In the C11th there was a period of 'cloister government' during which the Emperor retired from the ceremonial duties of the imperial office but still had power and influence and his own court.

Law and order were strongly enforced during the Kamakura Period (1185-1333) and the samurai military caste was formed. The Taira and Minamoto families vied for power and fought battles against each other. The Mongols took control of northern China after about 1230 but their invasion attempts were prevented from succeeding in Japan. The constant need to keep forces ready, especially during Kublai Khan's lifetime, led to high taxation which was resented as a series of natural disasters had already weakened the economy in the C13th.

The Ashikaga family from Muromachi in Kyoto gained the ascendancy during the Muromachi or Ashikaga Period (1333-1573). For much of the C14th, there were two imperial courts, the Southern and Northern Courts or nanbokucho. Civil war was almost continuous and the period from 1467-1578 is called sengoku or 'country at war'.

The Momoyama Period (1573-1616) saw the first contacts with the west as the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and English established trade and missionary foundations in the Far East. By the end of the C16th, Japan had become a united feudal state due to the influence of the military rulers, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was under Hideyoshi that Japan invaded Korea in 1592 but failed to establish itself although many Korean artists came to Japan during this time. The years from 1543-1640 are known as Japan's 'Christian Century'. The Jesuit missionaries believed there to be about 300 000 Roman Catholics in Japan by 1595 and there are various instances of torture and martyrdom at the hands of the shoguns who issued a decree making Christianity illegal in 1614.

In 1637, the peasants of the Shimabara peninsula, many of whom were Christians, rebelled. Although they were defeated, the authorities became increasingly worried that western influence was weakening their control. Trade with the west was abandoned and Japan cut itself off from the world for over two centuries.

The sakoku or seclusion of the Edo Period (1616-1853) was a time of peace, economic growth and cultural development. The two million samurai no longer had a function in peacetime and heavy taxation was imposed by the shoguns to pay for their extravagant lifestyles. The only port which foreigners could visit was Nagasaki and a Dutch merchant settlement remained on Deshima, but by the end of the C18th, Russian and American ships were beginning to break into the Japanese seclusion.

The weakened bakufu system led to some of the junior samurai beginning to press for change and western powers began to resent the continued refusal to allow contact or to treat shipwrecked foreigners well. In 1853, the American naval commander, Matthew Galbraith Perry, arrived off Uraga with his 'black ships' to deliver a letter and insist on a proper reception. After some indecision amongst the daimyo government, Perry returned in March 1854 and signed an agreement opening some ports to the United States. Treaties with Britain and Russia followed and the government fell in 1860s. The new leaders modernized the political and economic structure and the new Meiji constitution wanted to reach equal status with the western powers.

Imperialism strengthened and there were wars with China from 1894-5, Russia from 1904-5, the annexation of Korea in 1909, the 21 demands on China in 1915, the Manchurian 'incident' of 1931, war with China in 1937 and eventually the attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbour in December 1941. Initially the Japanese seemed undefeatable but their forces became overstretched and there was a serious defeat by the US at Okinawa. Most Japanese cities and industry had been damaged by American air raids by mid-1945 and the entry of the Soviet Union into the war against Japan, combined with the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, made it clear that victory was impossible and Emperor Hirohito made a broadcast announcing the surrender.

After the war, Japan was very poor and under Allied (mainly American) occupation until 1952 when Japan signed a treaty resigning claims to Manchuria, Korea and Formosa (Taiwan). The economy and industry recovered gradually, helped by the Korean War in 1950. There was a security treaty with the USA which led to American forces remaining in Japan to defend against possible invasions by Russia or China but after 1961, Japanese forces gained a greater part in the country's defence. Industry and exports continued to increase, helped by the hosting of the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964 and the trade surplus was so great that by the 1970s and 80s that the west began to suffer from the competition. Japan's standard of living rose immensely and American and European influence on people's lifestyles was very strong. Emperor Hirohito died in 1989, finally ending the era of imperialist aggression, but by the 1990s, there were some problems, including economic conflict with the west and corruption within politics.

Japan (Nippon)

Capital : Tokyo

Japan is made up of four main islands (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu) and many smaller ones. The Kurile chain east of Hokkaido came under Soviet rule in 1945 but are claimed by Japan.

Provinces

Prefectures

History

The area was first inhabited about 200 000 years ago but the present Japanese people are probably descended from later migrations. They are of Ural-Altaic origin, mostly Mongoloid but with some southern Chinese or Polynesian influence. The Ainu, now just a small minority of Hokkaido, but once dominant in the north, are thought to be Caucasoid or Australoid and may have some links with the Uralic population of Siberia.

During the Bronze Age, trading links with China were established and most Japanese history is only recorded in Chinese documents up to the C2nd AD. The religion now called 'Shinto' was indigenous to Japan but Buddhism was brought in through China and Korea by 552 AD and became the main influence on Japanese art and literature until the C19th.

From the C5th to C6th, part of south-east Korea, the kingdom of Mimana, was under Japanese control. This led to contact with the Chinese civilization and its governmental practices which were promoted by the Soga clan, which was related to the imperial family, although the Mononobe (soldiers) and Nakatomi (priests) opposed this. In 646, succession disputes culminated in the Taika reforms, partly influenced by the Chinese legal system, partly a way for the new leaders to establish power.

The Nara Period (710-84) saw the establishment of the first capital city, Heijokyo (Nara) in the reign of the Empress Gemmei. Buddhism and Chinese civilization became more strongly established and a literary tradition was born. The Great Buddha or Daibutsu (a 16 metre high image of the Buddha still in existence today) was dedicated in 752.

The capital was moved to Heiankyo (modern Kyoto) by Emperor Kammu, the first ruler of the Heian Period (784-1185). Links with China remained close and most scholarly works were written in Chinese. The Fujiwara family were dominant for most of the period and managed to control many of the Emperors through marriage ties, forcing many of them (often still minors) to abdicate. In the C11th there was a period of 'cloister government' during which the Emperor retired from the ceremonial duties of the imperial office but still had power and influence and his own court.

Law and order were strongly enforced during the Kamakura Period (1185-1333) and the samurai military caste was formed. The Taira and Minamoto families vied for power and fought battles against each other. The Mongols took control of northern China after about 1230 but their invasion attempts were prevented from succeeding in Japan. The constant need to keep forces ready, especially during Kublai Khan's lifetime, led to high taxation which was resented as a series of natural disasters had already weakened the economy in the C13th.

The Ashikaga family from Muromachi in Kyoto gained the ascendancy during the Muromachi or Ashikaga Period (1333-1573). For much of the C14th, there were two imperial courts, the Southern and Northern Courts or nanbokucho. Civil war was almost continuous and the period from 1467-1578 is called sengoku or 'country at war'.

The Momoyama Period (1573-1616) saw the first contacts with the west as the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and English established trade and missionary foundations in the Far East. By the end of the C16th, Japan had become a united feudal state due to the influence of the military rulers, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was under Hideyoshi that Japan invaded Korea in 1592 but failed to establish itself although many Korean artists came to Japan during this time. The years from 1543-1640 are known as Japan's 'Christian Century'. The Jesuit missionaries believed there to be about 300 000 Roman Catholics in Japan by 1595 and there are various instances of torture and martyrdom at the hands of the shoguns who issued a decree making Christianity illegal in 1614.

In 1637, the peasants of the Shimabara peninsula, many of whom were Christians, rebelled. Although they were defeated, the authorities became increasingly worried that western influence was weakening their control. Trade with the west was abandoned and Japan cut itself off from the world for over two centuries.

The sakoku or seclusion of the Edo Period (1616-1853) was a time of peace, economic growth and cultural development. The two million samurai no longer had a function in peacetime and heavy taxation was imposed by the shoguns to pay for their extravagant lifestyles. The only port which foreigners could visit was Nagasaki and a Dutch merchant settlement remained on Deshima, but by the end of the C18th, Russian and American ships were beginning to break into the Japanese seclusion.

The weakened bakufu system led to some of the junior samurai beginning to press for change and western powers began to resent the continued refusal to allow contact or to treat shipwrecked foreigners well. In 1853, the American naval commander, Matthew Galbraith Perry, arrived off Uraga with his 'black ships' to deliver a letter and insist on a proper reception. After some indecision amongst the daimyo government, Perry returned in March 1854 and signed an agreement opening some ports to the United States. Treaties with Britain and Russia followed and the government fell in 1860s. The new leaders modernized the political and economic structure and the new Meiji constitution wanted to reach equal status with the western powers.

Imperialism strengthened and there were wars with China from 1894-5, Russia from 1904-5, the annexation of Korea in 1909, the 21 demands on China in 1915, the Manchurian 'incident' of 1931, war with China in 1937 and eventually the attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbour in December 1941. Initially the Japanese seemed undefeatable but their forces became overstretched and there was a serious defeat by the US at Okinawa. Most Japanese cities and industry had been damaged by American air raids by mid-1945 and the entry of the Soviet Union into the war against Japan, combined with the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, made it clear that victory was impossible and Emperor Hirohito made a broadcast announcing the surrender.

After the war, Japan was very poor and under Allied (mainly American) occupation until 1952 when Japan signed a treaty resigning claims to Manchuria, Korea and Formosa (Taiwan). The economy and industry recovered gradually, helped by the Korean War in 1950. There was a security treaty with the USA which led to American forces remaining in Japan to defend against possible invasions by Russia or China but after 1961, Japanese forces gained a greater part in the country's defence. Industry and exports continued to increase, helped by the hosting of the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964 and the trade surplus was so great that by the 1970s and 80s that the west began to suffer from the competition. Japan's standard of living rose immensely and American and European influence on people's lifestyles was very strong. Emperor Hirohito died in 1989, finally ending the era of imperialist aggression, but by the 1990s, there were some problems, including economic conflict with the west and corruption within politics.

This collection of names was compiled by Kate Monk and is ©1997, Kate Monk.

Copies may be made for personal use only.