The Jomon period, the Neolithic Age of Japan, occurred from c.8000 B.C.E. to c.300 B.C.E. There was an absence of power and class structures during this period, but the Japanese managed to make creative, although simple, pottery now called "Jomon pottery." The impression that "Jomon pottery" gives is a sign of their civilization and their high level of craftmanship, of the hunter-gatherers who constantly struggled with the forces of nature. They used bows and arrows to hunt, and houses were shallow ditches or open space floored with stone. Both were roofed. The houses were usually grouped in horseshoe-shaped settlements.
The Yayoi period was the Bronze Age of Japan. Early in this period, which lasted from c.300 B.C.E. to c.300 C.E., rice growing was introduced, and metal implements were common. It was during this period that Japanese history is first recorded, in Chinese records where it is called "Wa". Chinese contact was established and a group of peoples came from the Korean peninsula and "took" Japan out of the Stone Age to end this period.
The Yamato period, which lasted from circa 300 to 593, is the period when Japan "took its first steps to nationhood" because the ancestors of the present tenno, or "emperor of heaven", brought several small states under unified rule. The unification of the states under one court and tenno happened at about the mid-4th century at its latest, but may have happened earlier than 413. Buddhism was introduced to Japan during this period, in 538. Although this period united Japanese states, it fell into rapid decline soon after.
The Asuka period, lasting from 593-710, was the beginning of an organized government. In the beginning of this period, the prince Shotoku was chosen as a regent for the empress Suiko, his aunt who was the first female to attend the throne. She had become empress after the death of her predecessor, Sushun. Shotoku, in his regency, organized the royal court into 12 ranks. As well, he organized a governmental constution, opened Chinese relations, and spread Buddhism. After the death of Shotoku, the Soga family gradually regained power until 643, when they murdered the Shotoku family. This act started a civil war among the individual clans. A survivor of the Shotoku family, Prince Nakano, and a clan chief who was an ancestor of the Fujiwara family (which would later control the government) drove the Soga out of power. Structures from this period are currently the oldest made of wood still standing.
The beginning of the Nara period, which lasted from 710-794, is marked by the change of the Imperial capital to Nara. Nara was the first permanent capital of Japan in its history. During this period, Buddhist culture was at a high point.
The Heian period began whan the capital of Japan was again changed to Heiankyo, now Kyoto, where it stayed until 1868, nearly 1,000 years. The Heian period existed from 794-1192. Artistic development was high in Japan during this period, and Murasaki Shikibu wrote The Tale of Genji, in about 1000, considered the greatest work of literature in Japan. In 806, Shingon, a form of Buddhism, was introduced to Japan. Pure Land Buddhism, which was centered on Amida, the "Buddha of the Western Paradise", became popular. Although the culture was blooming, the members of the Japanese military were gradually becoming more powerful than the court officials. This was the beginning of shogun rule.
The Kamakura period marks the beginning of shogun rule. Existing from 1192-1338, this period marked the victory of the Minamotos and the establishment of the shogunate by Yoritomo. In 1213 power was given to the Hojos, who were the family of Yoritimo's wife. The Hojos maintained the shogunate until 1333. The Mongols attacked Japan twice, both in northern Kyushu in 1274 and 1281. After the fall of the Hojos, there was a restoration of imperial rule, only to collapse in 1338 to mark the end of the Kamakura period.
The Muromachi period lasted from 1338-1573. The samurai started to gain power during this period, but they did not rise in the feudal social organization.
During the Azuchi-Momoyama period, which lasted from 1573-1600, Japan was torn with civil wars fought between provincial lords for supremacy. During this period, over a million people were murdered in the Kiristan Holocaust.
The Edo period, which lasted from 1600-1868, was the end of the constant warring of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Toyotomi Hideyoshi ended the warring in 1600 and in 1603 Tokugawa Ieyasu founded the shogunate in Edo, which is now Tokyo. This shogunate ran for 260 years.
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