The years from 794 to 1185 are known as the . This grouping of years is named after city of Heian-kyō, which is the early name of present-day Kyoto. The Heian period produced many cultural achievements, such as the Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu. The Heian Period ended due to the Genpei War.
The period from around the 12th century through the 19th century is called feudal period in the history of Japan. The Japanese Emperor was the head of the government, but he had no real power. Many powerful families (called daimyo and military groups called shogun) ruled Japan during this period. The feudal period of Japan is generally sub-divided into different periods named after the shogunate which ruled during that period.
The years 1185 to 1333 are known as the . This grouping of years is named after city of Kamakura which was the center of power of the Kamakura shogunate. Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate.
The Muromachi Period began in 1336 and ended in 1573. Emperor Go-Daigo lost his throne. The government of the Ashikaga shogunate took control of most parts of Japan. This period ended in 1573. In that year the 15th and the last shogun named Ashikaga Yoshiaki was forced to leave the capital Kyōto.
During this period, in 1542, a Portuguese ship reached Japan and made the first direct contact between both cultures, including the knowledge of firearms. In the next few years, merchants and also some Christian missionaries from several European countries, mainly Portugal, the Netherlands, England, and Spain, reached the shores of Japan.
Azuchi-Momoyama period covers the years from 1568 to 1600. During these years, different parts of Japan became united again. Japan's military power grew. In 1592, Japan wanted to conquer China. At that time China was ruled by the Ming dynasty. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was one of the main leaders of Japan. He sent an army of 160,000 samurai to Korea. The Japanese could not win and retreated back to Japan. In 1597, Japan again sent an army to Korea. In 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi died. After his death, the Japanese dropped the idea of conquering Korea and China.
During this period, the Japanese brought many Koreans to Japan. These Koreans were very good at making pottery and at other arts. Some of them were very educated. Japan gained new information and knowledge from these Koreans.
During the Edo period, Japan had many small rulers. There were about 200 of them. They were called daimyo, and they were all ruled by the Tokugawa Shogunate which was leaded by the Tokugawa clan. The shoguate's capital was relocated to Edo. This place was at modern-day Tokyo. Fifteen shoguns controlled the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo Period.
The Edo period is also a very important period in the history of Japan. The main developments include:
In 1867, the Tokugawa Shogunate returned its political power to the emperor. Although, the emperor did not know how to rule the country because the last time the emperor had power was 500 years ago. So, the shogunate still remained in authority.
In 1868, the Boshin War occurred between the Japanese emperor and the Tokugawa shogunate. Japan again came under the actual rule of an emperor as the Tokugawa shogunate was defeated.
Beginning from the early 17th century, the Tokugawa shogunate followed a policy of seclusion, known as sakoku in Japanese language. They suspected that traders, merchants, and missionaries from Europe wanted to bring Japan under the control of European powers. All traders and missionaries from other countries were forced to leave Japan, except for the Dutch, the Koreans, and the Chinese.
Even during the period of seclusion, the Japanese continued to gain information and knowledge about other parts of the world.
This policy of seclusion lasted for about 200 years until it ended under American military force. On July 8th 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States Navy reached Edo with four warships. The ships were heavily armed and their guns pointed towards the city. After this display of American military power, Japan was forced to agree to trade with other countries. The Japanese called these ships the "kurofune" or the Black Ships.
Next year, on March 31st 1854, Perry came with seven ships and the Japanese signed a treaty (known as the Convention of Kanagawa) that established a diplomatic relationship with the United States. Another treaty (known as the Harris Treaty) was signed with the United States on July 29th 1858. This treaty gave more facilities to foreigners coming to Japan and expanded trade with Japan. Many Japanese were not happy with reopening diplomatic relations and trade with other countries.
The Meiji Restoration is an important period of history of Japan. Emperor Meiji ruled Japan and regained power from the shogunate. The Meiji Restoration began with the Boshin War of 1868. Emperor Meiji wanted Japan to become Westernized. Many changes occurred in Japan’s government and culture.
At the end of the 19th century, many Japanese believed that Japan needed to expand in order to face Western foreign powers. This resulted in wars with its neighboring counties. In 1894-1895, Japan and China had a war. Another war took place with Russia in 1904-1905. Japan became a world power after these wars. Russian influence continued to grow inside China.
By the beginning of the 20th century, Russian influence was increasing in China. Japan and the United Kingdom used to get economic and other benefits from their relationship with China. Japan and the United Kingdom did not like Russia’s growing influence in China. Japan and the United Kingdom formed a military alliance, called the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, on January 30th 1902. Russia was not happy at this type of agreement between Japan and the United Kingdom. Russia tried to form a similar military alliance with Germany and France. On March 6th 1902, Russia formed a military alliance with France but not Germany.
The Russo-Japanese War began between Japan and Russia. Japan won the Russo-Japanese War. The United States mediated the peace negotiations between Japan and Russia. Japan got a number of concessions. In 1910, Japan invaded and annexed Korea.
In 1914, the First World War broke out. Japan also entered the war. It attacked several places (of East Asia), which were colonies of Germany. After the war ended in 1919, Japan developed very fast. It became one of the major powers of Asia.
Before the beginning of the Second World War, Japan was fighting with China. This is called Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Japan went to the side of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The fighting continued for years. When the USA dropped the first atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan accepted defeat and surrendered in 1945.
World War II and Japanese occupation of the Philippines
Japan launched a surprise attack on the Clark Air Base in Pampanga on December 8, 1941, just ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Aerial bombardment was followed by landings of ground troops on Luzon. The defending Philippine and United States troops were under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. Under the pressure of superior numbers, the defending forces withdrew to the Bataan Peninsula and to the island of Corregidor at the entrance to Manila Bay.