History

Explore Japan

Major Events and Cultural Milestones in Japan		Major World Events
	From the age of hunting to the age of rice cultivation	C. 3500 BC	First civilization develops in Mesopotamia
Stone Age	People live by hunting and gathering	C. 3000 BC	Unified state emerges in Egypt
Jomon Period	Permanent settlement begins; people use polished stone tools and earthenware	C. 2500 BC	Indus civilization develops in India
Yayoi Period	Start of rice cultivation and use of metal utensils	C. 1760 BC	Code of Hammurabi is established in Babylonia
		C. 1600 BC	Yin dynasty is founded in China
		116	Roman Empire covers its largest area
4th-5th C.	Unification of the Yamato court proceeds; burial mounds built around the country; Buddhism, Chinese characters, new technologies, and other culture brought to Japan from the continent The Nintoku-Tenno-Ryo Tumulus	313	Christianity officially recognized by Emperor Constantine I
4th-5th C.		589	Sui dynasty unites China
	Age of city building and nobility
593	Prince Shotoku becomes regent
607	Horyuji temple, including the oldest surviving wooden structure in the world, is completed Horyuji temple	7th C.	Islam founded by Mohammed
710	Capital moves to Nara
752	Great Buddha at Todaiji temple is completed
794	Capital moves to Kyoto The nobility becomes more powerful Use of Japanese kana syllabaries begins Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji), the world's oldest novel, is written by Murasaki Shikibu	800	The Frankish king Charlemagne or Charles the Great is crowned emperor of the Western Roman Empire
794		962	Otto I is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
	From the age of nobility to the age of warriors
1192	Minamoto no Yoritomo establishes the Kamakura shogunate	1206	Genghis Khan establishes the Mongol Empire
1274	Mongols attack Japan (and again in 1281)	1299	Ottoman Empire is established
1336	Ashikaga Takauji establishes the Muromachi (Kyoto) shogunate	1337	Hundred Years' War between England and France begins
1397	Temple of the Golden Pavilion is built in Kyoto
1482	Temple of the Silver Pavilion is built in Kyoto Wars among feudal lords spread throughout the country Samurai armor	1492	Christopher Columbus discovers the American continent
1543	Portuguese introduce the first firearms to Japan
1549	Christianity introduced to Japan by Francis Xavier
1590	Toyotomi Hideyoshi unifies Japan
	Himeji Castle (Himeji City Hall)
	From the age of warriors to the age of merchants	1600	England establishes the East India Company European powers colonize large parts of the world
1603	Tokugawa Ieyasu establishes the Edo(Tokyo) shogunate Merchants become more powerful as commerce flourishes
1639	Japan becomes completely closed to the world The number of temple schools increases; reading, writing, abacus, morals, and other subjects are widely taught	C. 1750	Industrial Revolution begins in Europe
1639		1776	America declares independence
1853	US Navy Commodore Matthew Perry arrives in Uraga to demand that Japan open up	1789	French Revolution begins, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man is issued
	The Matsuzakaya department store as it looked in 1768 (Matsuzakaya Co., Ltd.)
	Japan opens up to the world
1854	Japan and the United States conclude the Convention of Kanagawa, ending Japan's seclusion
1858	Commerce treaties are concluded with various countries
1867	Edo shogunate falls, and the Emperor becomes central to politics
1868	Meiji Restoration occurs, and Edo is renamed as Tokyo Big changes in political and social systems and people's lifestyles Compulsory education system is established; construction of elementary schools begins around the country	1876	Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone
1889	Constitution of the Empire of Japan is issued	1886	Karl Benz invents the gasoline-powered car
1890	First Imperial Diet is held
1894- 95	War between Japan and China Silk industry develops
1904- 05	War between Japan and Russia	1903	Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first flight by airplane
1914- 18	World War I Heavy industries develop	1914- 18	World War I
1923	Great Kanto Earthquake
1925	Universal male suffrage is introduced	1929	Great Depression begins
1941- 45	Pacific War	1939- 45	World War II
1945	Atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki	1945	United Nations is established
	Kaichi School, one of the oldest schools in Japan (Matsumoto City Hall)
	Toward a new postwar Japan
1946	Constitution of Japan is issued Social reforms are carried out
1949	Yukawa Hideki becomes the first Japanese to win the Nobel Prize in physics
1951	Peace treaties are concluded with various countries	1957	Soviet Union launches Sputnik, the first man-made satellite
1956	Japan becomes a member of the United Nations Economic growth proceeds	1961	Yuri Gagarin of the Soviet Union becomes the first human in space
1964	Olympic Games are held in Tokyo, the first Games in Asia; Tokaido Shinkansen (bullet train) begins operating	1969	Humans set foot on the moon for the first time
1970	World Exposition is held in Osaka, the first EXPO in Asia
1972	Okinawa is returned to Japan Winter Olympics are held in Sapporo
1995	Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake
1998	Winter Olympics are held in Nagano
2002	FIFA World Cup is cohosted by Japan and the Republic of Korea
2004	Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake	2004	Major tsunami in the Indian Ocean
2005	Kyoto Protocol comes into force World Exposition is held in Aichi on the theme of "Nature's Wisdom"
	Cityscapes like this are a symbol of Japan's postwar development (JNTO)
2011	Great East Japan Earthquake
2013	Mt. Fuji is designated as a World Cultural Heritage Site

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