Japan Through Time

Glimpses of historical and literary events

Prehistoric- 7th cent. C.E.

• Oldest written record is known as Kojiki.

• This records the history of Izanagi and Izanami, establishes the emperor as direct descendant of the Sun Goddess, thereby legitimizing his divine status.

• The key shaped burial site is assumed to be that of Himiko, first female ruler of Japan.

• Earliest pottery samples were from the Jômon period, with characteristic rope design.

Heian period 794-1185 C.E.

• Genji Monogatari

• Literature flourishes

• Courtly culture

• Empowered women

• Diary Literature

Kamakura Period 1185-1333 C.E.

• Heike Monogatari

• Decline of court

culture

• Rise of the warrior

• Ten Square Hut

Muromachi period 1333-1600 C.E.

• Rise of Noh and Kyôgen

• Brief resurgence of court culture

• Plays based on stories from Genji and Heike

• Oral narratives adapted to theater.

Tokugawa Period 1600-1868 (i)

• Tokugawa hegemony• Political stability• Strong bureaucracy• Samurai become scribes

and ministers• Closed society• Trade with the Dutch• Persecution of Christian

converts

Genroku Period (Tokugawa ii) 1673-1841

• Yoshiwara—the Floating World

• Growth of “popular” entertainment such as Kabuki, Bunraku

• Discontent with Tokugawa oppression

Meiji Period 1868-1910

• From Feudalism towards Elected Government

• Foreign Missions

• Perry’s black ships

• Treaty of Shimonoseki 1895

• Russo-Japanese War of 1905

Meiji Period 1868-1910

• Industrialization

• Modern literature

• Move to urban centers

• Investment in Science

and Modern Military

Taisho Period (1910-1920

• Age of the Flapper

• Wave of Liberalism

• Feminism

• Consumerism

• Lifestyle of Excess

• I-Novels (Naturalism)

Shôwa Period 1920-1989

• Rise of Nationalism

• Economic Decline

• China Incident

• Colonial Imperialism

• Greater East Asia

Co-prosperity Sphere

Pacific War 1931-1945• Invasion of China 1931

• War with China 1937

• Pearl Harbor 1941

• Rape of Nanjing

• Midway, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima

• Landing at Okinawa

• USS Missouri

• “The Emperor is not divine”

SCAP and Reconstruction

• MacArthur in Japan

• Role and scope of SCAP

• Root out militarism

• Tokyo Tribunal

• Rebuild the country

• Rewrite the constitution

The 50’s and 60’s

• Economic Restructuring

• Maihomu

• Prime Minister Yoshida’s cabinet

• Rashomon wins Palm D’Or 1950

• Tokyo Summer Olympics 1964

• Kawabata’s Nobel in literature 1964

70’s 80’s and 90’s

• Bypassing oil shock

• Mishima’s suicide

• Rapid economic growth

• Rockefeller Plaza,

Fox Studio

• The bubble bursts

• Hayao Miyazaki and Anime

• Eco-friendly global power