The History of~Japan(Part 1: Pre-History Japan)

Japan; the mystical land of "The Rising Sun". Behind the facade of the Megalopolis that is Tokyo, lies a land stained in blood of some of the world's mightiest warriors; the Samurai. A land that has a history of military rulers that at times ruled with an iron hand.

This is part 1 of this 9-part wiki page series of the History of Japan. In this page, we will cover Japan during its pre-history times, from the first humans, to the Minamoto Shogunate.

## Pre-History Japan

According to Japan's native religion; Shinto, Japan was created by the mighty god named "Izanagi" as he thrusted his Naginata (a Japanese bladed staff) into the ocean, and the drops of lava created the Japanese Archipelago.

From a scientific perspective, Japan was probably formed by an upsurge of volcanic activity which created the islands we know today, and because volcanoes created Japan and being situated by converging tectonic plates, it's also why Japan is seismically active.

According to archeological records, the first humans to arrive in Japan would be during the world's last ice age, around to 32,000 years ago as there are caves on Okinawa and Ishigaki island that date back to this period. Though, images of Japan do suggest that Japan was linked to the rest of Mainland Asia, but no actual evidence suggests that Japan was like, say, a land bridge, though it was connected to Siberia via Sakhalin Island but the first humans in Japan arrived on crudely made water boats. Records also suggest that these first people were hunter-gatherers as they used axes with a unique edge (dating from 30,000 years ago).

### Jomon Period

At around the time when the Earth's temperatures were warming and causing the glaciers to retreat, the "Jomon" people continued their hunter-gatherer culture of their older generation.

Now, you may be asking, are modern Japanese people descendants of these ancient Jomon people? Well, that's a hard question to answer as there's little evidence to suggest that modern Japanese people descended from the Jomons. One reason for this is that because Japan was made up of Volcanoes, the soil is quite acidic and little in the way of fossils exist in Japan.

The Jomon Period would also see the first things made out of pottery such as bowls, plates, pots, and statues were made out of hardening clay.

### Yayoi Period

Yes, you heard right, "Yayoi" but it has nothing to do with Anime.

Japan's Yayoi Period is basically Japan's "Neolithic" period, Neolithic (if you saw Raiders of the Lost Ark) is an old word that means "New Stones", and in this case it's things being made out of stone thanks in large part to the ancient empires that are situated in modern day China and Korea. But it wasn't just stone things, metallic materials such as bronze and iron would also make their way to Japan during this period, and it'll pave the way for some of the first metallic tools and weapons in Japan. The Yayoi Period also saw the Japanese knowing how to grow crops, in this case rice, especially to feed more people than just hunting and gathering can. The Japanese in this period also learn to make stuff out of wood and glass that lead to the building of some of the first wood buildings. The population in Japan also grew during the Yayoi period thanks to these brand new methods from mainland Asia, and it also led to some of the first organized tribes in Japan and eventually there would be as many as 100 small kingdoms, but this was only the beginning.

### Kofun Period

The Kofun Period would be the period where Japan would evolve into a unified kingdom (called "Yamato" after the province Emperor Jimmu conquered). Evidence exists in the form of sacred burial grounds called "Kofuns" which look like from a top view (like in the picture above) and old fashioned keyhole. One such burial ground exists today in Osaka as this particular ground was made by the ancient Japanese people, and it took 15 years to complete and it's around 1,580 Feet long.

With a unified empire ruling Japan, this helped them form diplomatic relations with China's and Korea's other empires. This in turn allowed some people from these empires such as craftsmen and scholars to help Japan with its building and political infrastructures.

### Asuka Period

The Asuka Period saw Japan experiencing new religions. Though, Japan has its own religion (Shinto), but other religions were making their way to Japan, like Buddhism, several Buddhist Monks from the Kingdom of "Baekje" (in modern day South Korea) would come to Japan and with it their Buddhist Faith, and the first Buudhist Temples in Japan were built. Though, the Japanese weren't very enthusiastic at first, but eventually let the religion grow in them. The Asuka Period would also see Japan being called the title that it still has now as the Emperor "Shotoku wrote a letter to the Emperor of China at the time about how Japan was "The Land of the Rising Sun" and China was "The Land of The Setting Sun", In old Japanese it was written as "Nihon" which people still use to refer Japan today.

The Buddhist Religion would bring problems to Japan, some time in the 580s AD, the Soga Clan (who were Buddhists) would take over Japan, and rule for the next 60 years, until they were overthrown in a coup in 645 AD. Japan under this new government would go on to make the "Taika Reforms" which used Confusian idea to distribute land equally to the farmers and even form the first form of taxation in Japan. But it wasn't all "honky dory" as in 672 AD Japan would have the "Jinshin War" where the Princes "Oama" and "Otomo" would fight for the throne, eventually Oama would win and get the throne, he would also create what is known as the "Taiho Code".

The Asuka Period would also see the first Buddhist art and architecture.

### Nara Period

The Japanese Government moved to another province in Japan which would be known as "Nara" in 710 AD. The Nara period would see some good as well as bad things. The good things is that some of the first books in Japan would be written and published. The bad is that Japan in the Nara Period would see a series of disasters such as droughts, wildfires, and even a year long outbreak of Smallpox which wiped out a quarter of Japan's population. Emperor Shomu claimed responsibility for these disasters and called for a further promotion of the Buddhist religion. Numerous rebellions attempted to overthrow the emperor, but in 760 AD a Buddhist Monk named "Dokyo" attempted to become Emperor in his own right and establish a dynasty, but his dreams were dashed as his biggest supporter "Empress Shotoku" died, and had no choice but to go into exile. This allowed another Japanese Clan, The Fujiwara, to consolidate its power in Japan.

### Heian period

In 794 AD, the capital was moved again, this time to a well situated area with 2 mountains surrounding it. The Fujiwara would situate the new capital in this area. They would call it "Heian-Kyo" (Peaceful Capital).

A capital that would be known as Kyoto.

Japan in the Heian Period would see yet another big outbreak of Smallpox, this time it was much deadlier, wiping out half of Japan's population. But the worst of the events during the Heian Period is that the Fujiwara clan would begin to fight each other over the ruling of Japan. Soon, power vacuums would occur, over the next few centuries, 2 clans branched from the Fujiwara; the Taira and the Minamoto were in a battle for succession to the ruling of Japan.

Eventually in 1180, a leader of a Samurai force named "Yoritomo Minamoto" challenged the Taira clan for succession. After 4 years of fighting, Minamoto would win over the Taira clan. With this victory, Japan was going to have its first Shogunate; a leader that controls the military. Minamoto also changed the destiny of the Samurai.

That'll do it for this part. In the next part (click here) we will talk about a bit of Minamoto's Shogunate, and how Japan would face a foreign power of the Mongols. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.