page_title: Outline of Japan
section_title: History of Japan
hierarchical_section_title: Outline of Japan / History of Japan
caption_attribution_description: Photograph of Japanese samurai in armour Čeština: Samuraj v plné zbroji Deutsch: Samurai in voller Montur (circa 1860) English: Samurai in complete armour Français&#160;: Samouraï en armure complète Español: Samurai en armadura completa Italiano: Samurai in armi (circa 1860) Svenska: Samuraj i full rustning
context_page_description: The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Japan:
  Japan – an island nation in East Asia, located in the Pacific Ocean. It lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun". Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku, which together comprise about ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area.
context_section_description: History of Japan by year
  History of Tokyo
  Japanese nationalism
  Military history of Japan
  Samurai
  Shōgun
  Ninja
  Japanese militarism
  Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
  Attack on Pearl Harbor
  Kamikaze
  Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
  Surrender of Japan
  Aftermath of World War II: Occupation of Japan
  Naval history
caption: Japanese bushi in armour
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