Japan .

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History of Japan

The history of Japan (日本の歴史 or 日本史, Nihon no Rekishi

/ Nihonshi?) Is the sequence of events that occurred within the Japanese archipelago, with the appearance of isolated facts influenced by its geographical nature as an island nation also influenced by events, First, the Chinese empire, which defined its language, script and also its political culture. On the other hand, was also Western influence, which turned the country into an industrial nation, was able to exercise a sphere of influence and territorial expansion on the Pacific, but after the Second World War stopped, maintaining a national scheme Linking to industrial country's cultural tradition.

The appearance of the first human inhabitants of the Japanese Archipelago dates from the Paleolithic about 35,000 years ago. Between 11,000 and 500 BC C. these people developed a type of pottery, called "Jōmon", considered the oldest in the world. Then came a culture known as "Yayoi", which used metal tools and cultivated rice. In it were several chiefdoms, even excel the Yamato. In later centuries the rulers of Yamato strengthened their p

osition and began to spread through the archipelago under a centralized system, doubling the existing number of tribes, claiming his divine descent. At the same time, the central government began to assimilate the customs of Korea and China. The rapid imposition of foreign traditions place a strain on Japanese society and in 794 the imperial court established a new capital, Heian-kyo (now Kyoto), giving rise to a very highly sophisticated culture from the aristocracy. However, in the provinces the centralized system was a failure and began a process of land privatization, giving results in a collapse of public administration and the breakdown of public order. The aristocracy began to need the help of warriors to protect their properties, giving rise to the samurai class.

Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1192 assumed the leadership of Japan, establishing the figure of the shogunate as a military de facto permanent rule for almost 700 years

. The Ōnin War broke out in 1467 led to a string of wars that swept through Japan, a period which culminated in 1573 when Oda Nobunaga began to unify the country, but could not finish the job because he was betrayed by one of its main general. Toyotomi Hideyoshi avenged his death and completed the unification in 1590. At his death, the country became divided into two camps, the supporters of his son and supporters Hideyori one of the major daimyo, Tokugawa Ieyasu. Both sides faced during the battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu which came with the victory, being officially appointed shogun in 1603, establishing the Tokugawa shogunate. The Edo period was characterized by peaceful, and the decision to close the borders to prevent contact with the outside. The isolation ended in 1853 when Commodore Matthew Perry forced Japan to open its doors and sign a series of treaties with foreign powers (called "Unequal Treaties"), which caused unease among some samurai, who supported the emperor to resume their role in politics.

The last shogun Tokugawa resigned in 1868, ushering in the Meiji era, named after the reigning emperor who assumed political power. Began leaving the country's modernization and the feudal system of the samurai, the capital was moved to Tokyo, started a strong process of Westernization and Japan would emerge as the first industrialized Asian country. Came a process of territorial expansion to neighboring nations, which led to militarily confront the Russian Empire and the Chinese Empire. On the death of Emperor Meiji, Japan had become a modern state, industrialized, with a central government and as a power in Asia, competing with the West. There was a social explosion due to economic and population growth and began to gain political extremism and to the 1930 military expansion accelerated, with China facing a second time. After the outbreak of war in Europe, Japan took advantage of the situation for the annexation of other areas of Asia. In 1941, diplomatic relations between Japan and the United States were strained, as U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had blocked oil supplies to Japan and froze all Japanese credits in the United States. On December 7, 1941 Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, which this country entered the World War II as part of "Axis Powers." Despite a series of early victories, defeats the Allies in battles like Midway have changed the roles in the Pacific theater. After the horrific atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan submitted its unconditional surrender, so it was occupied by U.S. forces, which dismantled the army liberated the occupied areas, the political po

wer of the Emperor was removed and the prime minister would be elected by parliament.

In 1952 Japan regained its sovereignty after the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco and grew up economically with the help of the international community. Politically, the Liberal Democratic Party's conservative, was ruling on an almost uninterrupted during the war. With the start of the Heisei era, Japan suffered an economic recession in the 1990's and socially faced a declining birth rate and rapidly aging population. In the early years of this century, Japan has begun to reform the practices governing post-war society, the government and the economy, which adds an important political change in 2009 with the arrival of central government administration -left.

Periodization

For their study, the history of Japan is divided into major periods in terms of artistic production and important political developments. The classification tends to vary depending on the discretion of the author, as well as many of them can be subdivided. On the other hand, there are also differences in the beginning and end of some of these periods.

Japanese Eras

The nengō (年号, 'nengō'?) Are another division of its history as the reigning emperor. The rating system were based on the emperor's name followed by your year of office. For example, 1948 is the year Showa 23. In Japan currently used Gregorian calendar so as nengō system, although this system is rarely used in Western literature.

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History

Paleolithic Period in Japan

By definition, the Paleolithic period in Japan ended with the a

ppearance of the first techniques of pottery, at the end of the last glacial period, makes 13,000 to 10,000 years BP The dating of the beginning of the Paleolithic is a matter of much controversy, although it is generally accepted that this period was found between 50/35.000 - aP 13/9.500

The late Palaeolithic, dating from the excavation site Iwajuku 1949 and which has obtained extensive information from the 1960's.

It has little evidence on how people lived in Japan during this period, in addition to human presence before 35,000 BP is controversial. The transition between this and the next period was gradual and have not found clear evidence of a breach or disagreement between the two cultures.

It is known that the first inhabitants were hunter-gatherers who came from the continent and used the stone, but had no pottery or settled agriculture.

Jomon period

The Jomon period (縄文时代, Jōmon-jidai?) Differs from the previous by dating the appearance of pottery in the country, commonly associated with early agricultural cultures. During the first 10,000 years since its inception, from about 11,000 to 500 BC C., the livelihood of the inhabitants depended mainly on hunting, fishing and gathering.

This period takes its name precisely the type of pottery developed, and its meaning "mark of rope," distinguishing mark left by the strings of wet clay, which is formed with strips of clay fired at low temperatures. According to his dating, pottery of this period is the oldest in the world.

Yayoi period

The culture of the Yayoi period (弥生时代, Yayoi jidai?) Is defined in Japan as the first to implement the methods of rice cultivation and the use of metal, but archaeologically classified by identifying certain artifacts, especially styles pottery. Generally considered that this period covered the period from 300 BC C. until 500 AD.

The members of the Yayoi culture were very different physically from the Jomon culture, so there are three theories about the origin of the Yayoi:

1. They were descendants of the Jomon, but suffered physiological changes due to changes in your diet and lifestyle.
2. Were immigrants from the continent (by Korea).
3. They were descendants of a mix between Jōmon and immigrants.

The use of metal diversified, ranging from bronze swords, mirrors for religious rites and iron weapons to farm tools. With the division of labor grew a deep stratification of society, establishing the ruling classes and their subjects, and giving as the source areas or chiefdoms.

At the end of this period there were large number of chiefdoms, one of the most important Yamatai-koku, which lays the foundations for the emerging nation during the next period, and whose existence is recorded in the Chronicles of Wei. In these features contain the existence of a nation known in China as "Wa", directed by a woman named Himeko, probably Empress Jingu.

Kofun Period

The Kofun period (古坟时代, Kofun jidai?) Takes its n

ame from the Kofun (古坟, 'kofun'? Lit. "Ancient tomb" or "ancient tomb), burial mounds in which members of the aristocracy were buried along with their weapons, armor, and bronze mirrors, and generally tended to have the shape of a horseshoe eye. The bases of these mounds varied in size, reaching some to be as big as the pyramids of Egypt, reflecting the magnitude of the power of the rulers.

During this period Japan had much contact with China and Korea, especially with the latter. During the year 400 an army of infantry came to the rescue of the Kingdom of Paekche, located in the southeastern part of the Korean peninsula, but suffered a major defeat at the hands of the kingdom of Goguryeo cavalry from the north of the peninsula.

The Kofun period marks the end of prehistory and, due to lack of Japanese records, the history of this period depends on external sources (the first Korean and then chronicles the Chinese) as well as the writings of the early Nara period , around the eighth century. Although there is no written mention from China to Japan from the years 266 to 413, IV century Korean records provide extensive information on the activities of the Kingdom of Wa on the Korean peninsula. On the other hand the Chinese records, dating from the V century, show the close relationship between the emerging government Yamato (located in present Nara prefecture) and China. Between 413 and 502, the five kings of Wa, a name that is mentioned 5 monarchs in Japan, maintained a close relationship with that country, sending emissaries continually.

The Kofun period usually is dated between 250/300 - 538/552, being ushered in by the construction of the first kofun, and the final date is considered that Buddhism was introduced to Japan. On the other hand, several historians and archaeologists, as the case of Charles T. Keally, extend the period until the year 710, so the Asuka and Hakuho periods would be considered sub-periods of Kofun.

The government of the Yamato court focused on a Kimi (君, 'Kimi'? "King"), but from the V century the president was called Okimi (大君, 'Okimi'? "Great king"). The title Tennō (天皇, 'Tenno'? "Emperor"), which is used to this day, was used from the command of Emperor Tenmu.

Asuka Period

Asuka period (飞鸟时代, Asuka jidai?) Is marked by the

introduction of Buddhism in Japan, usually dated in the year 552. The arrival of Buddhism brought a series of conflicts within the country, as some members of the court were welcomed its dissemination, given that through its implementation is more easily achieved national unity: it was easier to lay a new foundation religious hierarchy under the figure of an omnipotent deity (Buddha), unlike the hundreds of kami of Shinto or Shintoism. The conflict ended with the victory of Soga no Umak in 587, as well as the subsequent implementation of Buddhism as official religion by Prince Shotoku and Empress Suiko in 593. Curiously, the Shinto Buddhism did not replace, but both religions coexisted peacefully most of the history of this country.

Prince Shotoku established a centralized government and the Japanese court built temples, palaces and capital based on Korean models, and then Chinese models. Prince Shotoku was also fascinated with these nations, which prompted the use of Chinese characters (giving rise to the kanji), laid the foundation for the development of codes of conduct and government ethics based on Buddhism (Constitution seventeen articles, 604) and sent envoys to China during the Sui Dynasty (600 to 618) to establish diplomatic relations egalitarian.

In 602, Prince Kume led an expedition to Korea accompanied by 120 to 150 local chieftains, who held the title of Kuni or Miyatsuko. Each was accompanied by a personal army, depending on the richness of each soil. These troops formed what would become the prototype of a samurai army centuries later.

The art at this time focused on the fine Buddhist art, with the main Buddhist temple work Hōryū or Hōryū-ji, commissioned by Prince Shotoku in the early seventh century, and is the oldest wooden structure in the world.

Hakuho period

After the death of Prince Shotoku in 621, came within the court called Soga cla

n, which slowly grabbed political power and posed a threat to the imperial government. By 645 the situation was so critical that the Prince Naka no Oe, along with others, organized a plot (Isshi Incident) in which the prince killed the leader of the clan, Soga no Iruka in full Kōgyoku audience with the Empress. As a result, immediately gave in the Empress ascended the throne by his second son, Emperor Kōtoku, and the Soga clan was destroyed. The new emperor, along with Nakatomi no Kamatari and Prince Naka no Oe, wrote a series of laws called Taika Reforms in the year 646 in order to strengthen the central government to establish an agrarian reform, restructure the imperial court as the Chinese model Tang Dynasty, and even be motivated to send students to China embassies and to imitate the cultural aspects of this country, dramatically affecting the culture and society. This period is known as Hakuho (白凤文化, Hakuho bunka?).

After the death of Emperor Kōtoku (in 654) and Empress Kōgyoku (who resumed the throne under the name of Empress Saimei and died in 661), assumed the throne Prince Naka no Ōe the name of Emperor Tenji, who enacted the formally the first ritsuryō (compilation of laws based on Confucian philosophy and Chinese law), the IMO Code (669). Nakatomi no Kamatari, who wrote the code, was rewarded by receiving the surname Fujiwara, and became the founder of the Fujiwara clan.

After applying the ritsuryō, former powerful clans were deprived of their privileges and were converted into high-rank bureaucrats, while the lower layers of the old elite became local officials.

Armed conflicts continued to occur in China and Korea. In the year 618 the Tang Dynasty took power in China, and joined the Korean kingdom of Silla to attack Paekche. The Japanese army sent three expeditions (in 661, 662 and 663) to help the kingdom of Paekche. D

uring these expeditions were one of the worst defeats in its ancient history, losing 10,000 men and large boats and horses. Japan began to worry about an invasion by the new alliance between Silla and China. In 670 it was ordered a census of the population to recruit for the military elements. You can fortify the northern coast of Kyushu, fixed guards and beacons built on the shores of Tsushima Island and Iki Island.

The Japanese have forgotten the external war to the death of Emperor Tenji in the year 671. In 672 his two successors disputed the throne in the War Jinshin. After the victory of Emperor Tenmu in 684, he ordered all civilian and military officials dominated the martial arts. The successors of Emperor Tenmu culminated in the year 702 military reforms Taihō Code (大宝律令, Taihō-ritsuryō?), Which was achieved by a large army and stable under the Chinese system. Each heishi (soldier) was assigned to a second (regiment) during part of the year and the rest was devoted to farming. Each soldier was equipped with bows, a quiver and a pair of swords.

Establishment of the imperial system

During this time, in the eighth century, the rulers of Yamato was ordered to put on record the myths as a form of legitimacy facing the population. The most important of these legends is that concerning the creation of Japan, attributed to the kami Izanagi and Izanami. According to legend, these two would have been born three major kami, Amaterasu, the sun goddess and mistress of the heavens, Susanoo-god of the oceans, and Tsukuyomi-goddess of darkness and the moon. One day discussed Amaterasu and Susanoo, Susanoo was so drunk, destroying everything in its path. Amaterasu was so frightened that he hid in a cave, refusing to leave, so that the world was deprived of light. In order to make her leave, a female kami, Ame-no-Uzume, made an obscene dance which was accompanied by laughter from the multitude of gods who were gathered in assembly. At the time Amaterasu asked what was happening, he said there was a more powerful kami, so left the cave and gradually came closer to a mirror placed in front of her. She was so surprised to see his own reflection, which was blinded for a moment and then took advantage to capture and illuminate the light returned to Earth, so that the mirror was part of the imperial regalia of Japan.

The second element of the three crown jewels of the Japanese is described later in the same legend. Susanoo was banished by the harm caused and as he wandered through the land of Izumo heard an eight-headed serpent called Yamata-no-Orochi, frightened villagers. Susanoo killed the snake getting drunk on sake and cut off their heads. In its tail was found a sword, he decided to give it to her sister in peace. This sword is the second icon from the imperial insignia.

The third and final logo is a jewel-shaped curve, which Amaterasu gave her grandson Ninigi when he was sent to the underworld to rule. The jewel in turn passed to his grandson, Emperor Jinmu, the first Japanese emperor. Thus, sponsored in popular belief, the rulers of Yamato legitimized the process by which Japan would be ruled by an imperial system, strongly supported by the Shinto belief.

Nara Period

The Nara period (奈良时代, Nara-jidai

?) Data is usually between 710, when the capital was moved to Heijō-Kyo, near the city of Nara, and ends in 794, when the capital was moved again to Heian-kyo, in what is now Kyoto. During this period the Chinese bureaucratic state reached its climax: the new capital was built in the style of the Tang dynasty capital, Chang'an. Buddhism and Confucianism flourished under the patronage of the government, and were used to support political and temples were built in the capital and in each of the provinces. Chinese cultural influence became more evident and literature first appeared in historical records compiled by the Imperial Court: the Kojiki (712) and the Nihon Shoki (720). The emergence of written language also gave rise to the first manifestation of Japanese poetry, waka, and 759 is the first compilation of importance, the Man'yōshū.

However, the Chinese system did not match the Japanese society and the imperial court disputes were common between members of the imperial family, the Fujiwara clan and Buddhist monks. Fujiwara no Fuhito, son of Kamatari and powerful bureaucrat in the court, Yōrō Code compiled in 720, but his death in that year generated a division of power among their children. Prince Nagaya seized the moment, but the children of Fuhito was arrested and sentenced to death in 729. However, few years after the children of Fuhito died after a smallpox epidemic, attributed to a curse that launched the prince before he died. This caused the Emperor Shōmu moved to several cities that were declared as short as a capital between 740 and 745, before returning to Nara.

Following the abdication of Emperor Shomu in 749, the Buddhist clergy took power with the support of the Empress Koken, who, although he abdicated in 758, continued to exercise power over the court, favoring a major Buddhist monk Doky. This caused the Fujiwara clan and tried to make a Junnin Emperor coup in 764 that failed, causing the deposition of the emperor and the implementation of Fujiwara no Nakamaro, leader of the conspiracy. The Empress resumed the throne under the name of Empress Shotoku, continuing the transfer of power to Doky, who came even to be nominated by an oracle as the successor to the emperor. However, the empress died of smallpox at 770, Doky was exiled and began a new course in politics driving the Buddhist monks of the government and suspending the government sponsorship of that religion. Measures powered by the Emperor Konin (770-781) and Emperor Kammu (781-806) did finally leave the imperial court Nara, considering unhealthy and in order to disconnect from the Buddhist temples that existed in the city. First moved temporarily to Nagaoka-kyo in 784 and finally to the new capital of Heian-kyo ("Capital of Peace and Tranquility") at 794.

With the birth of the State Unified Silla disappeared the threat of invasion from Korea to Japan, so that the Court of Nara focused on the Emishi (虾夷, 'Emishi'? "Barbarians") living in northern Japan with whom had had several altercations. In 774 a major revolt broke out, known as the War of the Thirty-Eight Years, where Emishi used a system of "guerrilla warfare" and a curved blade sword, which had better performance when riding, as opposed to the sword line of Army Court of Nara. It was not until 796, through Sakanoue Tamuramaro not, they succeeded finally overcome. Sakanoue received the title of Seii taishogun (征夷大将军, 'Seii taishogun'? "Great General Calm of the Barbarians"), an expression which is then used to designate the leader of the samurai.

The system of recruitment of peasants ended in 792, recognizing that the main military force came from the chiefs and their soldiers, not peasants who had no proper training and discipline to the battlefields.

Heian Period

The Heian period (平安时代, Heian jidai?) Began with th

e establishment of the capital in AD 794 in what is now Kyoto, and its end is bounded by the establishment of the first shogunate in the history of the country: The Kamakura.

Consolidation of the aristocracy

During this period the Chinese government framework was modified and adapted to Japanese needs, giving rise to a very sophisticated culture. With the decline of the rigid bureaucratic system of Taika and Taiho code, the imperial institution was strengthened in the early years of the reign of Emperor Kammu, but after his death in 806 was progressively abandoned cultural assimilation with China and to 838 were given for completion of the relations with the Tang Dynasty. Also, with the disappearance of the old political system, the Fujiwara clan began a process of taking over the top hierarchy of government from the first half of the ninth century, establishing close ties with the imperial family wedding. The clan leaders were positioned so that they became rulers (Sesshō and kampaku) of the emperors, while other members of the Fujiwara clan managed to monopolize top positions as the Council of State (Daijō-kan). The officers of middle and low range were divided by heritage other aristocratic clans. By the late tenth and early eleventh century the Fujiwara governed Japan and de facto very few emperors ruled their own, and who assumed the throne and were forced by the clan leaders to abdicate very young, leaving the administrative decisions Regents and Daijō-kan.

Esoteric Buddhism Tendai and Shingon sects became very popular in this period and the aristocrats sought "salvation" through ceremonies and rituals. There was a sophistication of Japanese culture, which until then was driven by the Chinese script, taking as central to the imperial court. There was a striking literary breakthrough with the creation of Kana, a syllabic script which was in line with Japanese phonetics. Established new genres like the novel (monogatari), overhanging the Genji Monogatari by Murasaki Shikibu, written around 1000, journals, personal essays and other writings made by courtiers as Makura no Soshi of Sei Shonagon, also written around the year 1000 .

In the military field, to 860 could be seen most of the characteristics of future samurai warriors, horsemen skilled in the use of the bow, and the use of curved blade swords. These horse soldiers enjoyed the total confidence "Chrysanthemum Throne" and were responsible for the safety of the cities and to combat the riots to happen.

However, the public land system extended over the provinces was about to fall, so many places were created in private lands (shoen) were harvested in the first instance of the aristocracy and the great temples. With the suspension of family records and the allocation of farmland to the tenth century, state lands were integrated into private land. The private land owners appointed as administrators to the local clans and farmers, eventually transferring power to them. However, the existence of numerous private properties significantly reduced taxes and got to the point that the imperial family itself was forced to obtain private land to ensure that income.

Emergence of the samurai class

The decentralization process suffered by the government made the implement

ation of the local administration had difficulties, and results in the eventual breakdown of law and order. During the ninth century Japan suffered a severe economic decline as a result of famines and plagues and various early tenth century there were numerous disturbances, riots and rebellions by the situation that existed. The government took the decision to grant extensive powers to local governors to recruit fighters troops with sword (katana), archers and cavalry, enlisting the peasants and their followers and act against the growing rebellion in accordance with what they saw fit, which gave the governors a huge political power. It is during this period that is documented for the first time the word "samurai", "those who serve" in a purely military context.

The first big test of stability of the system took place during the year 935 by a revolt led by Taira no Masakado, a descendant of Prince Takamochi imperial authority who had been sent to quell unrest in Kanto and he received the nickname "The Peacemaker" . At first the Heian court held that the incident involving Masakado was just a local incident until he came to proclaim "new emperor." Because of this, it sent a provincial army to quell their rebellion, killing beheaded in 940. At this time, due to their social origin, these warrior leaders begin to define a local aristocracy.

Some aristocrats who could not get high positions in the power migrated to the provinces and took the lead on local samurai warriors, standing out the Taira clan and Minamoto clan, the same way in the capital Fujiwara clan had warriors who guarded and Buddhist temples were armed monks (Sohei) protecting their properties. Minamoto Yoriyoshi was involved in a major conflict of the era called the War Zenkunen or "war in the first nine years." This conflict lasted from 1051 to 1062, the first war that lived in the country since the fighting against Emishi. The incident began when Abe Yoritoki not descended from the clan member Emishi and Abe, the Court gave no taxes raised, so Yoriyoshi was sent to deal with it. Yoritoki Yoriyoshi and had reached a peaceful settlement but internal conflict broke out and Yoritoki Abe clan was killed. With this fact declaring war between Abe no Sadato, Yoritoki son, and the Minamoto. [42] It was not until 1062 when Yoriyoshi Abe could beat the Battle of Kuriyagawa the head of the rebel leading up to Kyoto signal triumph. Minamoto no Yoshii, Yoriyoshi son, stood next to his father throughout the conflict, gaining a reputation for military prowess. This earned him the nickname Hachimantarō or "the first born son of Hachiman, the god of war."

While the economic downturn and the uncertainty was putting in confrontation to the Fujiwara clan, Taira and Minamoto both inside and outside the court in the second half of the tenth century, the imperial family restored his political power with the ascent to the throne of Emperor Go -Sanjō (1068 - 1073) left prevented the Fujiwara clan in administrative decisions, regulated Shoen, decided to implement economic reforms on ritsuryō obsolete and established an institution called insei (cloistered government), where the emperor to abdicate when it retire to a Buddhist temple but maintain a position of regent for his successor, filling the power vacuum left by the Fujiwara clan and factional infighting. His successor, Emperor Shirakawa (1073 - 1087) was the one who applied the insei at its best to rule as emperor removed for more than 40 years until 1129, run on three emperors who were puppets. Emperor Toba (1107 - 1123) also welcomed the ruling insei for more than three decades until his death in 1156 while maintaining their influence on three emperors. During this period, however, there were contradictions between the reigning emperor and retired, giving way to the military the authority to govern the country on the civil authority.

In the year of 1083 armed conflict broke out again in which the Minamoto would be involved, now Gosannen war or "war of the last three years," caused by differences between the leaders of the ancient clans and Kiyowara Minamoto allies. After a fierce battle of three years in which the Court refused to assist the Minamoto, they were able, however, finally come out victorious. When Yoshii Kyoto attended in order to find a reward, the Court refused, and even scolded him back taxes he owed, which begins with a clear gap between them. Meanwhile, their rivals, the Taira, increasingly enjoyed better relations with the Imperial Court because of his exploits in the West. The rivalry between the Minamoto and Taira clans grew and became increasingly evident. In 1156, taking the death of Emperor Toba, there was a conflict between two clans, when Minamoto no Yoshitomo joined Taira no Kiyomori against his father Minamoto no Tametomo Tameyoshi and his brother, during the Rebellion Hōgen. The battle was brief and final Tametomo Tameyoshi was executed and was punished with banishment. This rebellion also questioned the power of the retired Emperor insei when Sutoku was defeated by the ruling Emperor Go-Shirakawa, and sealed the fate of the Fujiwara clan was banished from power, to be captured exclusively by the Taira clan and Minamoto.

In 1159 there was another confrontation known as the Heiji Rebellion, where Kiyomori Yoshitomo faced. Taira clan's victory was so decisive that the Minamoto clan members fled to try to save themselves. Taira Yoshimoto was chased and captured and executed. Members of the original branch of the Minamoto family, there were only a few, being almost completely destroyed. Taira no Kiyomori in 1167 received the title of Emperor Daijō Daijin (Great Minister), which was the highest rank that could grant the emperor, so he became the de facto ruler of the country, the first military ruler Japanese history. However, the monopolization of power by Kiyomori, came into conflict with the retired emperor Go-Shirakawa who was trying to exert power through insei from 1177 to 1158 and Emperor planned a coup that failed and was exiled suppressing their political power, while Kiyomori appointed in 1178 as heir to the throne to his infant grandson, who assumed the throne in 1180 under the name of Emperor Antoku, angered opponents of the Taira clan, starting Genpei Wars.

Genpei Wars

Genpei Wars (源平合戦, Genpei Kassen, Genpei gassen?) We

re a series of civil wars staged again by the most influential clans of the country's political scene: the Taira and Minamoto. These wars took place between 1180 and 1185. In 1180, the country exploded in two separate rebellions and starring two different generations of the Minamoto clan, in Kyoto by veteran Yorimasa Minamoto and the Izu Province by the young Minamoto no Yoritomo. Both revolts were put down with relative ease, first forcing Kantō Yoritomo to escape, while Yorimasa was defeated at the Battle of Uji, where he committed seppuku before being captured.

After two years during which both sides staged minor skirmishes, the Taira decided to deal with Minamoto no Yoshinaka, Yoritomo's cousin, in 1183, to prevent it could help him. Yoshinaka defeated the Taira in the Battle of Kuriko his army and headed toward the place where Yoritomo. Yoshinaka's armies and finally found Yoritomo at the Battle of Uji in 1184. Yoshinaka lost the battle and tried to flee but was caught in Awazu, where he was beheaded. With this victory, the main branch of the Minamoto focus its efforts to defeat its main enemies, the Taira. Yoshitsune led the army of the clan on behalf of his elder brother Yoritomo, who was in Kamakura. Finally, at the Battle of Dan no Ura rose Minamoto victory. His brother Yoritomo considered a threat and a rival, so that his men chased Yoshitsune until he won the Battle of Koromogawa in 1189, where the latter committed suicide.

Kamakura Period

Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1192 proclaimed himself Shogun, a title which u

ntil then had been temporary and became a high-level military title. This was instituted as a permanent fixture shogunate, which lasted about 700 years until the Meiji Restoration. With the new position of shogun, the emperor became a mere spectator of the political and economic situation of the country, while the samurai become the de facto rulers.

Yoritomo established the coastal town of Kamakura in eastern Japan, as the seat of the Shogunate, so this historical period samurai government gets its name. The Imperial Court granted Yoritomo the power to appoint their own subjects as protectors provincial (shugo) and Butler (Jito), who took charge of managing private estates. In parallel, the Imperial Court continued naming provincial officials and private property owners appointed the administrators of the land. Thus, the political structure during the Kamakura period was twofold: a civil administration sponsored by the imperial court and feudal administration sponsored by the shogunate.

After just three shoguns of the Minamoto clan and after the death of the last, the Minamoto clan had no other heirs. Hojo Masako, the widow of Yoritomo, took the decision to raise a child of only one year of age belonging to a branch of the Fujiwara clan and was named shogun. Thus, the Hojo clan would be perpetuated in power for decades, naming a child and disposing shogun to meet their twenties, making puppet rulers to exercise control of the country. For this reason in 1219 the retired emperor Go-Toba, seeking to restore the imperial power that they enjoyed before the establishment of the shogunate, Hōjō accused of outcasts. The imperial troops were mobilized, resulting in Jōkyū War (1219 - 1221), which culminate in the Third Battle of Uji. During this, the imperial troops were defeated and exiled Emperor Go-Toba. With the defeat of Go-Toba's government confirmed the country's samurais.

After the war gave rise to various land disputes between the tenants, aristocrats and peasants, so the Hojo clan in 1232 drafted the Goseibai shikimoku, who served as legal code in the shogunate, which in turn consolidated the military customs samurai, earning trust, and not based on Confucianism and codes applied to the Imperial Court and was very precise and concise in terms of penalties, so it was ineffective until the end of the Tokugawa shogunate.

On the literary side, the works reflect the nature of conflict and chaos, as Hōjōki written by Kamo no Chomei in 1212. In poetry, the collection stands Shin Kokin waka poetry Wakashū, submitted in 1205. In the religious aspect, there was a popularization of Buddhism, which used to offer "salvation" in times of chaos. Created new forms of Buddhist beliefs, easily understood and despised the ritual, extending into the samurai class and peasants. The most important sects that emerged were: Jodo shū Hōnen founded by the monk in the late Heian period and was banned between 1207 and 1211 over differences with the Imperial Court, the Jodo Shinshu created by Shinran, disciple of Honen, the shū Ji created by Ippen, the schools of Soto and Rinzai Zen Buddhism, founded by Dogen and Eisai respectively, and Nichiren Buddhism founded by Nichiren.

Invasions of Japan by the Mongols

After Kublai Khan claimed the title of Emperor of China, d

ecided to invade Japan for the purpose of submitting to his rule. This would be the first time that the samurai could measure the forces of foreign enemies. On the other hand, the latter did not feel any interest in Japanese traditional form of warfare.

The first invasion took place in 1274, when Mongolian troops landed in Hakata (Fukuoka present). The sounds of drums, bells and war cries frightened the horses of the samurai. During this battle the Japanese troops faced a very different technique in the use of the bow that were used, since the Mongols were shooting at long distances and at the same time generate "clouds of arrows" unlike the solitary shot and a short carried away by the Japanese archers. Another big difference between the two forms of combat was the use of catapults by the Mongol army. During the night of the battle, a strong storm inflicted serious damage to the invading fleet so they decided to return to Korea to rearm its military. After the withdrawal of the enemy, the Japanese took a series of preventive measures, such as building walls in the vulnerable points of the coast as well as the implementation of a guard.

The second invasion attempt took place in 1281. The samurai carried out raids on enemy ships from small ponds, which only had the capacity to carry tw

elve warriors, eager to prevent the landing of troops on the coasts. After a week of fighting, an imperial envoy was sent to ask Amaterasu, the sun goddess, to intercede for them. A typhoon swept through the Mongol fleet that sank almost in its entirety. This gave rise to the myth of the Kamikaze (神风, lit. "Divine Wind"?), Considered as a sign that Japan was chosen by the gods and, therefore, they are responsible for their safety and survival. The few survivors decided to retire and thus the country would never face a large-scale invasion until several centuries later.

Restoration Kenmu

In the early fourteenth century the Hojo clan, which

was in decline, faced an imperial restoration attempt, now under the figure of Emperor Go-Daigo (1318-1339). When Hōjō heard of this, sent an army from Kamakura, but the emperor fled before they arrived, taking with him the imperial insignia. Emperor Go-Daigo fled to Kasagi between warrior monks who welcomed him and prepared for a possible attack.

After attempts at negotiation by Hōjō with Emperor Go-Daigo to abdicate, and the refusal of it, decided to take the throne to another member of the imperial family. However, because the emperor had been the royal insignia, could not perform the ceremony. Masashige Kusunoki, a leading warrior in the end serve as a reference and model for future Samurai fought for Emperor Go-Daigo from Yamashiro (castle in the mountains). Although his army was not very large, the topography of the place was offered an extraordinary defense. The castle finally fell in 1332, so Masashige decided to flee to continue after the fight. The Emperor was captured and taken to the headquarters of the Hōjō located in Kyoto and later be exiled to the island of Oki. The Hojo attempted to end the army led by Masashige, who built another castle in Chihaya even with better defenses than the previous, so the Hojo were detained. The strong defense of Masashige motivated Go-Daigo to return to the scene again in 1333. On hearing the Hōjō his return, decided to send one of his top generals behind him: Ashikaga Takauji. Ashikaga at that time decided it would be more beneficial for him and his clan allied with the Emperor's side. For this reason, decided to launch the attack along with his army headquarters at the Hojo Rokuhara.

The blow dealt to the betrayal of Ashikaga had serious consequences for the regents, his army being severely undermined. The final blow would come that same year of 1333, when a warrior named Nitta Yoshisada supporters joined the imperial and increased its strength. Nitta and his army went to Kamakura and defeated the Hojo.

Muromachi Period

The Muromachi period (室町时代, Muromachi-j

idai?) Covers the length of the Ashikaga shogunate (足利幕府, Ashikaga bakufu?) Second military feudalism which was in force since 1336 to 1573. The period takes its name from the Muromachi area in Kyoto where the third shogun Yoshimitsu established his residence.

After helping the Emperor Go-Daigo to return to the throne, Ashikaga Takauji expected to receive a substantial reward for his services. However, because it considered that it offered was not enough and the samurai class dissatisfaction with the new government, decided to rebel. The Ashikaga were descendants of the Minamoto clan, so they could access the imperial throne. For this reason, the emperor decided to act quickly and sent an army against Takauji, following him to Kyushu. Takauji was never defeated and returned to the scene in 1336. Masashige The emperor sent troops to confront rebels in Minatogawa (now Kobe), resulting in a decisive victory for Takauji. In this situation, Masashige decided to commit seppuku. At this time the shoguns appointed his own emperor (Emperor Komyo), while the Emperor Go-Daigo fled to Yoshino town, so during the next fifty years there would be two imperial courts, the Southern Court in Yoshino and Northern Court in Kyoto. This conflict became known as Nanbokuchō (南北朝, 'Nanbokuchō'? Literally "Cortes South and North). It was not until 1392 and thanks to the diplomatic skills of one of the greatest rulers in the history of Japan, the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the two lineages were reconciled and the Southern Court capitulated.

With the division of imperial government lost all effective political power, as the Northern Court received the patronage of the shogunate and the Southern Court controlled a few territories. The Ashikaga shogunate emerged as central government, but government was very weak in contrast to the Kamakura shogunate. The main reason is that Japanese savers and provincial officials were not simple, and had organized and trained local samurai armies based on the concept of lord and vassal, evolved into feudal lords with independent control over several locations. This new kind of local leader called daimyo (大名, 'daimyo'? Lit. "Big names").

Sengoku Period (1467 - 1568)

After a brief period of relative stability, it created a po

litical vacuum during the shogunate of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, grandson of the famous Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Yoshimasa used to be dedicated full time to art and cultural issues, so completely disregarded the economic and political situation in the country. Because of this, opportunistic landowners began an internal struggle for power and land, known as the War Ōnin (応仁の乱, Ōnin no Ran?), And also took to themselves the title of daimyo. This period of history between 1467 and 1568, is known as the Sengoku Period (戦国时代,, Sengoku jidai?) Or "warring states period." It is precisely in this climate of instability and armed conflict, in which the Samurai have their greater participation.

Among the most important figures of this period are highlighted Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin, whose legendary rivalry has inspired several literary works. The armies of Shingen and Kenshin fought the famous Battle of Kawanakajima (1553 - 1564). Although some of them were mere skirmishes, the Battle of Kawanakajima Fourth, in 1561, had great importance for the application of combat tactics, where heavy casualties on both sides in the melee confrontation between the two leaders and the close one that was obtained after the match.

The war brought down the old state order and the system of private lands, however, demonstrated the strength of the warrior class and peasants as autonomous entities instituted locally. Similarly, cities that had been built on key traffic routes in Japan came to be administered by armed citizens. The daimyo who managed to incorporate these locations autonomous political power, therefore, gained more status and power. This dynamic, with the emergence of new political and economic centers across the country, made the Sengoku period society was very different from what existed previously, where power was concentrated exclusively in the capital.

This excessive internal struggle with the desire to gain more power and land, was only a matter of time before a powerful daimyo tried to get to Kyoto to seek to overthrow the shogun, what happened in 1560. Imagawa Yoshimoto marched to the capital accompanied by a great army with the aim of overthrowing the then leader. However, did not deal with the troops of Oda Nobunaga, a secondary daimyo who outnumbered twelve to one in the number of soldiers. Yoshimoto, confident of its military power, used to celebrate the victory even before finishing the battle. Oda Nobunaga was able to attack by surprise during one of his famous celebrations in the Battle of Okehazama. When Yoshitomo left his shop because of the scandal that was struck and killed on the spot. Nobunaga then became a secondary character to a prominent figure in the political arena and the country's military.

Cultural flowering and contact with Western

Despite the state of war in this period developed many cha

racteristic elements of Japanese culture such as architecture, painting, singing and poetry. The third shogun, Yoshimitsu, was a great promoter of the arts and during his reign came Kitayama culture that spanned the second half of the fourteenth and early fifteenth century. Born in this period drama and Noh and Kyogen shogun himself ordered the construction of Kinkaku-ji (金阁寺, Kinkaku-ji? Temple of the Golden Pavilion). Then in the second half of the fifteenth century, the eighth shogun, Yoshimasa, Higashiyama culture promoted in which Zen Buddhism and the wabi-sabi aesthetic influenced the cultural alignment between the Imperial Court and the samurai class, and the flourishing artistic expression as the Japanese tea ceremony, ikebana, the kodo, and the lame, among others.

During the final stage of the Sengoku period saw the arrival of the first Europeans to Japan. Occurred in 1543, when a Portuguese boat on board capsized off the coast of the island of Tanegashima (southern Kyushu) and on the ship were firearms, which would be the first to be introduced to Japan. Later in 1549 the Spanish Jesuit Francis Xavier arrived in Kyushu and began to spread Christianity in Japan. During the following years, Portuguese traders, Dutch, English and Spanish arrived in Japan, as Jesuit missionaries, Franciscans and Dominicans. The Japanese regarded the European visitors as Nanba (南蛮, 'Nanban'? "Southern barbarians") because they came to Japan from that direction, while the Europeans regarded the Japanese as a complex feudal society with a large urbanization of the country and a sophisticated pre-industrial technology.

Firearms brought by the Portuguese were the greatest innovation during the period, since it began producing firearms in many areas of Japan and was a decisive factor in the use of muskets in the battle of Nagashino in 1575. Christianity spread very rapidly, particularly in the west, and included the conversion of some daimyo. However, the Japanese authorities eventually saw Christianity as a threat that could trigger a possible European conquest of Japan, which banned violent practice and gradually cut its commercial ties with the rest of the world (excluding China and the Netherlands) early Edo period.

Azuchi-Momoyama period

In 1573 Nobunaga went to Kyoto and removed the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki, which marked the beginning of what is known as Azuchi-Momoyama period (安土桃山时代,, Azuchi Momoyama jidai?), Which takes its name from two castles emblematic time: Azuchi Castle and the Fushimi-Momoyama. Just a week after achieving the withdrawal of the shogun Yoshiaki, Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) convinced the Emperor to make the change of name was to "Tensho" as a symbol of the establishment of a new political system. Also, the Emperor granted him the title of Udaijin (太政大臣 'Udaijin'? Lit. "Grand Minister of State), the same he held for four years until, citing military duties delegated to her son.

Oda Nobunaga

Nobunaga was born in 1534 in the province of Owari and until 15

60 had been a minor daimyo. In 1560 Nobunaga achieved fame and recognition to overcome the large army of Imagawa Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama. After helping to get the shogunate Yoshiaki, launched a campaign to gain control of the central part of the country. In 1570 Azai beat and Asakura clans during the Battle of Anegawa and in 1575 defeated the legendary Takeda cavalry during the Battle of Nagashino. Another of their main enemies were the Ikko-Ikki warrior monks, members of the sect of Jodo-Shinshu Buddhist. With the Ikko-Ikki Nobunaga had a rivalry of twelve years, ten of which spent the longest siege in Japanese history: the siege of the Ishiyama fortress Hongan-ji.

In 1576 he built the Azuchi Castle, which became his base of operations. For 1582 Nobunaga dominated almost the entire central part of Japan and its two main ways: the Tokaido and Nakasendō therefore decided to extend its dominance to the west. Two of his top generals were entrusted with this task: Toyotomi Hideyoshi pacify the southern part of the west coast of the Seto Inland Sea, in Honshu, while Akechi Mitsuhide would go along the north coast of the Sea of Japan. During the summer of that same year, Hideyoshi was detained during the siege to Takamatsu Castle, which was controlled by the Mori clan. Nobunaga Hideyoshi requested reinforcements, who ordered Mitsuhide to go ahead and then join them. Mitsuhide in the middle of the march, decided to turn back to Kyoto, where Nobunaga had decided to stay in the temple Honnoji with only his personal guard. Mitsuhide attacked and burned the temple in what is known as "Incident Honnoji" where Nobunaga died by committing seppuku.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (

1536-1598) came from a family of very humble origins and his father was a farmer who had fought in the army as a soldier Nobunaga ashigaru until a musket shot forced him to retire. Hideyoshi followed in the footsteps of his father and by his prowess in battle was quickly promoted several times, becoming one of the leading generals of Oda clan.

During the "Incident Honna-ji", Hideyoshi was besieging the castle Takamatsu and quickly received the news of the death of his master, so they immediately made a truce with the Mori clan and returned to Kyoto at a rapid pace. The armies of the newly self-appointed shogun Akechi Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi were found on the banks of the Yodo River, near the small town of Yamazaki, a confrontation which takes its name. Mitsuhide Hideyoshi emerged victorious and was forced to flee. During his escape a group of peasants killed him, ending his government of only 13 days.

The fact of having avenged the death of his former master gave him the opportunity expected to become the country's top military authority and for the next two years fought and defeated the rival who opposed him. In 1585, after having secured the control of central Mexico, began moving towards the west, beyond the scope that had been Nobunaga. 1591 Hideyoshi had managed to unify the country, so he decided to conquer China. Hideyoshi sought assistance from the Joseon Dynasty of Korea to attack the Ming Dynasty and that will guarantee safe passage, to which the Korean government refused. Korea was then the scene of a massive two invasions by Japanese troops between 1592 and 1598, which ended with the death of Hideyoshi, who during all that time in Japan.

Because Hideyoshi had no real descent or came from any of the historical Japanese clans, never was given the title of shogun. In return, received a minor title: the Kampaku (关白, 'Kampaku'? Regent) in 1595, the Daijō Daijin (太政大臣 'Daijō Daijin'?) In 1586 and finally decided to use the title of Taiko (太合'Taiko'? "Kampaku retired").

Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) spent most of his childhood as a hostag

e of Imagawa Yoshimoto's court, since his clan was a vassal of the Imagawa. After the victory of Oda Nobunaga on Yoshimoto, many of the daimyo defected, either to secede or declare themselves allies of Oda clan, the most notable recent case of Ieyasu himself.

Under orders from Nobunaga, Ieyasu fought in 1564 against the Ikko-ikki of Mikawa Province and in 1570 fought at the Battle of Anegawa alongside Nobunaga forces. In 1572, he faced one of its greatest military challenges of his life: the Battle of Mikatagahara, where his army was defeated by the cavalry of Takeda Shingen, who died the year after a musket shot. In 1575 he was present at the Battle of Nagashino where the Takeda clan was defeated and since then concentrated on consolidating its military position, even after Toyotomi Hideyoshi took control of the country.

Because Ieyasu feud was in the center of the country, avoid attending peace campaigns in Shikoku and Kyushu, but had to face the late Hojo clan in 1590, during the siege of Odawara. With the victory against the Hojo, Hideyoshi gave the confiscated land, so he moved his capital to Edo (now Tokyo). Its new location in Kyushu also allowed to evade responsibility for fighting during the Japanese invasions of Korea, a war that significantly weakened the armies of their main rivals.

Battle of Sekigahara

After the death of Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu began establishing a series of alliances with powerful figures in the country through arranged marriages, so Ishida Mitsunari, one of five bugyō (奉行, 'bugyō'? Judge), began to unify all those against the figure of Ieyasu.

On August 22, 1599, while Ieyasu organized his army with the intention of confronting a rebel named Uesugi daimyo Kagekatsu, Mitsunari decided to act bugyō backed by the other three of the four Taira (大老, 'Voltaire'? Lit . 'Grand old man'), which sent a formal complaint against Ieyasu charged with 13 separate charges. The charges have been highlighted daughters and sons in marriage for political purposes and have taken possession of Osaka Castle, Hideyoshi's former residence, as his own. Ieyasu interpreted the letter as a clear declaration of war, so that virtually all the daimyo of the country were enrolled either in the "Army of the West" of Mitsunari or "Army of the East" of Ieyasu.

Both armies met in what is known as the Battle of Sekigahara (関ヶ原の戦い, Sekigahara tatakai not?), Which took place on 21 October (September 15 in the ancient Chinese calendar) year 1600 in Sekigahara (now Gifu Prefecture). In this battle, Ieyasu was victorious after several generals of the "Army of the East" decided to change sides during the conflict. Mitsunari Ishida was forced to flee, but later was captured and beheaded in Kyoto. With this victory, Ieyasu became the highest political and military figure of the country.

Edo Period

The Edo period (江戸时代, Edo jidai?), Also known as

the Tokugawa period (徳川时代 Tokugawa jidai?), A division of Japanese history, stretching from 1603 to 1868. The period defines the Tokugawa shogunate, or by his original name in Japanese, Edo bakufu (江戸幕府, Edo bakufu?), Which was the third and last shogun who held power in Japan.

In 1603, Ieyasu was officially appointed by the Emperor Go-Yōzei as shogun, since that would take only two years, then in 1605 decided to abdicate in favor of his son Hidetada, taking for himself the title of Ōgosho (大御所 'Ōgosho'? "Shogun enclosed). As ōgosho kept control of the government. He also had to face the threat of Hideyori Toyotomi, Hideyoshi's son, as some supporters claimed it was the legitimate successor to the government and many samurai and ronin joined forces with him in order to fight the shogunate, which led summarized in two battles with the name of "Siege of Osaka." In 1614, the Tokugawa, under the leadership of Ōgosho shogun Ieyasu and Hidetada, led a large army at Osaka Castle in what is known as "The Winter Siege of Osaka." Eventually, Ieyasu made a deal with the mother of Hideyori, Yodogimi, and Tokugawa troops began to fill the trench with sand, so he returned to Sunpu Ieyasu. After Hideyori again refused to leave the castle, the latter was besieged, in what is known as "Summer Siege of Osaka." Finally, in late 1615, the castle fell during the Battle of Tennōji, where defenders were killed, including Hideyori, who decided to commit seppuku. With Toyotomi exterminated, and there were no serious threats to the rule of the Tokugawa Japan.

With the unification occurred in the Azuchi-Momoyama period, Japan had become a more peaceful country and in the Edo period consolidated the social structure that was established after the unification of Hideyoshi, with three ranges: the ruling class samurai agricultural and public (artisans, merchants and traders). Peacemaking and the increased production of gold and silver from the Azuchi-Momoyama period, living conditions were more stable in classes for over two centuries and a half, unlike previous periods, and this resulted in the people develop their vocational skills. The samurai class was organized and developed an efficient administrative system and legal as well as advances in various fields of scholarship, while farmers and citizens in the area improved material. In the seventeenth century, rice production had doubled, and the cultivation of valuable crops in the market is spread among all peoples. With industrial development reached a level of prosperity in many cities and the economic power of merchants surpassed that of the samurai.

Sakoku

When Ieyasu took power, Japan was still at the peak trading period Nanban, and although the market was allowed to Europeans as with Hid

eyoshi, is warily watching their actions. In 1614 he became the first ocean crossing to the West by the galleon San Juan Bautista, a Japanese embassy headed by Hasekura Tsunenaga. Also, the shogunate had led between 1604 and 1636 the use of 350 shuinsen, merchant ships were trading in several regions of Asia.

However, the continued expansion of Christianity was considered by the shogunate as a 'problem', especially with the advantages that had the Christian daimyo of Kyushu and its relationship with European traders, and the perception that the presence of Spanish and Portuguese Japan unleash a process of conquest similar to what happened in the New World, especially the conquest of the Philippines by the Spanish. The shogunate thought the European missionary activity was a facade that hid the intent of a political conquest. In 1612 it forced the subjects and residents of the properties of the Tokugawa clan to leave Christianity, in 1616 foreign trade was restricted to the cities of Hirado and Nagasaki in 1622 were run to 120 missionaries and converts were expelled in 1624 the Spanish in Japan and in 1629 was executed thousands of other converts.

During the administration of the third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu, saw the first great famine of the Tokugawa shogunate, which lasted from 1630 to 1640-1641, which caused protests by farmers in 1632, 1633 and 1635. The Shimabara Rebellion of 1637-1638 was the most dramatic consequence of the deteriorating relationship with the government because of this crisis, in which Catholic peasants pitted against the vast army of government. Although the protest was not political or religious purposes, this event apparently persuaded to restrict Iemitsu Christianity in Japan permanently, so in 1639 issued an order banning the religion that also would be prevented from entering the country Portuguese priests and Japanese output under pain of death, and the exclusion of Japan to the world. During this isolation period, known as sakoku (锁国, 'sakoku'?), Trade relations with all European nations stopped, with the exception of the Netherlands, with whom he remained active trade but it was allowed only on Dejima. Japan continued to maintain trade relations with China and Korea, though limited.

Society and politics

With the Tokugawa shogunate established a balanced power structure, known as bakuhan (the shogunate and the feudal), in which the shogunate directly ruled the city of Edo, seat of the military government, while they ruled their fiefdoms daimyo . After the peace, many samurai lost their possessions and land, and there were only a few daimyo (about 260 by the eighteenth century), so they had little choice: leave their swords and become farmers, become vassals of the daimyo or become vassals the Shogun (re hatamoto). The daimyo were also strictly controlled, as the shogunate imposed Kotai sankin policy from 1635 until 1862, when the daimyo's family was forced to live so in the city of Edo, while the daimyo residence should alternate annually between Edo and his feud, causing additional expenses to maintain two residences and large processions, limiting its economic and military power, thus avoiding any attempt of rebellion against the Shogunate.

Apart from the members of bakuhan, the emperor and courtiers (kuge) also had a privileged position. Below them were the "four classes" (身分制, mibunsei?) Which divided the population: the samurai at the top (about 5% of the population), then the farmers (about 80%), followed by artisans and traders last. The farmers were forced to live so in the fields, while the samurai, artisans and merchants lived in cities that were formed around the castle of the daimyo and were subordinate to his fief. Apart from this system were the eta and hinin, who were considered from pariah to "nonhuman."

Culture

Japan received a timid techniques and Western scie

nce rangaku (兰学, 'rangaku'? "Dutch Learning") through books and supplies carried by Dutch traders in Dejima. Fields ranging from medicine study, geography, astronomy, art, science, languages, physics and mechanics. During the Tokugawa Shogun government was relaxed Yoshimune the introduction of foreign books in 1720 and allowed their translation into Japanese, which caused a further rise of this study. In the early nineteenth century had a clear cultural exchange between Japanese and Dutch. For example, Dr. Philipp Franz von Siebold taught western medicine for the first time in 1824 to Japanese students, with the permission of the shogunate. However, the shogunate decided to reverse its support in 1839 rangaku the edict Banshees goku, which resulted in the repression of several scholars who questioned the effects of the edict sakoku and repulsion of foreign vessels in 1825. However, these edicts lapsed in 1842 and again rangaku be taught, until it became obsolete with the abolition of sakoku a decade later.

Locally, the Neo-Confucianism became the major intellectual movement and permeated the shogunate, calling for greater attention to the sec

ular life of man and society, have resulted in a rationalist and humanist. By the mid-seventeenth century had become the main philosophical and laid the foundation of the school kokugaku (国学, 'kokugaku'? "National learning") that rejected the Chinese Confucianism and Japanese culture valued prior to Chinese influence.

With the expansion of Neo-Confucianism, the samurai class was more interested in Japanese history and culture of the arts, resulting in the bushido (way of the warrior). There was also a cultural flowering in the working class, through chōnindō, and education, literacy and numeracy generally extended to the population.

One consequence of this lifestyle cult was the rise of ukiyo (浮世, 'ukiyo'? "Floating world"), which was the style of life was fun and entertaining than the middle class and that was a cultural flowering Genroku era (1688 - 1704, also called culture Genroku) bunraku, kabuki, geisha, tea ceremony, music, poetry and literature became part of that world and was exposed as ukiyo art through -e. The ukiyo-e began in the late seventeenth century by Harunobu, and had the greatest exponents of Kiyonaga and Utamaro in the eighteenth century as Hiroshige and Hokusai in the first half of the nineteenth century.

Among the leading exponents of the literature of this period are the playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon and poet Matsuo Basho, who wrote haiku poems during his tour of several sites in Japan in the late seventeenth century.

Start of decline

By the eighteenth century, freight traffic experienced significant growth in both urban and rural areas. This resulted in both the shogunate and the daimyo were found at the point where income taxes were based on rice production, were becoming insufficient to cover the increased costs each year. It was decided to increase taxes, but this caused revolts by the peasantry, together with the appearance of numerous famines and natural disasters that ravaged the country, as Meireki the great fire of 1657, the earthquake of 1703 Genroku and the eruption of Mount Fuji in 1707, which caused thousands of deaths. That is why the shogunate made several reforms to contain a decline in the country's governance: reforms Kyōhō (1717 - 1744) were aimed at the government's financial solvency, Kansei reforms (1787 - 1793) resolved several problems Social caused by the great famine of Tenmei, body occurred 1782 and 1788, and reverse some government decisions Tenpo reforms (1830 - 1842) were aimed at controlling the social chaos caused by the great famine of Tenpas, immigration was banned Edo, the rangaku and training company, although the scope of these reforms were extended to the military level, religious, financial and agricultural and finally Keio reforms (1866 - 1867), which were designed to contain the growing rebellion that existed in the domains of Satsuma and Choshu, without success.

Although the government tried to contain the problem, it became more noticeable and appeared in the popular sector's desire for greater changes to the inaction

of the shogunate. One such case was that of the samurai Oshio Heihachiro, a lower-ranking official of the shogunate in Osaka and that during the great famine of Tenpo begged his superiors to feed the hungry. Given the refusal of these, Heihachiro sold his books to help people, and then following the Neo-Confucian precepts, the Shogunate accused of corruption. Created an army of peasants, students and other Neo-Confucian commoners and raised a rebellion in 1837 that destroyed part of the city before the government troops fail to stifle. Heihachiro commit seppuku when he was captured.
Japanese rendering of HMS Phaeton in Nagasaki Bay in 1808. This incident was one of the few western attempts to break without success sakoku policy.

In parallel with what was happening inside the country, some foreign countries began to pressure the shogunate to abandon the sakoku. In the late eighteenth century several Russian explorers arrived in the Kuril Islands and Hokkaido (Pavel Lebedev-Lastochkino in 1778 and Adam Laxman in 1792) with the goal of eventually opening up trade with Japan, a task that was assigned without success in 1804 by Nikolai Rezanov , so the Russian Empire was faced with the shogunate in the dispute over the islands of Sakhalin and the Kuriles in the first half of the nineteenth century.

In 1808, the British frigate HMS Phaeton arrived at the port of Nagasaki, putting at risk the authorities of the shogunate Dejima and the demand for power supplies under threat of firing a cannon fire on the Japanese and Chinese ships in port. The Nagasaki bugyō (shogunate official of the city), Matsudaira Yashuide, initially called for reinforcements but the delay of these, finally agreed to demands from the British. After the incident Yasuhide committed seppuku and alerted the authorities of the shogunate to the presence of foreign vessels, stimulating the "edict of repulsion of foreign vessels" created in 1825.

The Morrison, 1837 incident, where a U.S. merchant ship that was to return Japanese castaways was shelled, with the defeat of the Chinese Empire in the Opium War in 1842, which signaled a shift in the international situation in the Far East, led to criticism of the shogunate for its privacy policy, resulting in the abolition in 1842 of the Edict of repulsion of foreign vessels, the suspension of executions of foreigners entering the country and providing supplies to their ships. Thus, the whalers of England, the United States and other countries came to the shores of Japan to seek food and water. Although this abolition was not for commercial purposes, some countries insisted on opening the country: in 1846 the U.S. commander James Biddle, who signed the first treaty between the U.S. and China, tried unsuccessfully to open trade with Japan, but Captain James Glynn 1848 achieved the first successful negotiation with the shogunate and was the person who recommended the U.S. Congress to negotiate with Japan, if possible, by force, one of the causes of the expedition of Commodore Perry in 1853 .

Bakumatsu Meiji Restoration

Although the political system established by Ieyasu, and refined by his t

wo successors Hidetada and Iemitsu Tokugawa, remained largely intact until the mid-nineteenth century, various political, social and economic Tokugawa government became inefficient and subsequently led to its collapse. From the mid eighteenth century the shogunate and the daimyo suffered serious economic difficulties due to the wealth went to the urban trading society. Growing discontent among farmers and samurai led the government to try to counter the situation through various measures, none of which took effect. In addition to internal problems, the country's situation worsened due to various pressures of foreign powers who pressed the government for the country opened to trade. This period between 1853 and 1867 known as the Bakumatsu (幕末, 'Bakumatsu'?).

Opening the Western powers

In July 1853 the American Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Tokyo Bay with a fleet of ships called by the Japanese as the "Black Ships" (黒船, kurofune?) And gave time for Japan to break the isolation in a year with the threat that if they denied his request Edo would be besieged by cannon Paixhans sophisticated craft. Although the Japanese began to fortify themselves against the return of Americans (were created Odaiba island-fortresses, was built Shohei Maru ship from rangaku texts and built a hearth to make cannons) when Perry's fleet returned in 1854, were received without any resistance by the shogunate official, Masahiro Abe, who had no national security experience and unable to achieve consensus among the various factions (Imperial Court, shogunate and daimyo) decided unilaterally Perry accepted the demands and allow the opening of several ports and entry of a U.S. ambassador to Japan, with the signing of the Convention of Kanagawa in March 1854, ending a formal policy sakoku that ruled Japan for more two centuries. While at first the shogun was undecided on how to deal with foreign powers, finally allowed trade and signed a series of treaties, known as "unequal treaties" (Treaty Anglo-Japanese friendship, Harris Treaty, Treaty of Friendship and Anglo-Japanese Trade), during the Convention of Kanagawa, without the consent of the imperial house, causing a strong anti Tokugawa.

Abe's decision to significantly hurt the stability of the shogunate, although they tried to seek military assistance from the Netherlands and sought advice before tozama shinpan and daimyo, a fact that annoyed the fudai daimyo who had the highest offices. Therefore it was replaced by Masayoshi Hotta. However, some officers as Tokugawa Nariaki Myth follower of the school, created the Neo-Confucianism and kokugaku expressed feelings against a foreign presence and called for reverence to the emperor, as they felt that the Tokugawa shogunate was no longer trusted institution. This nationalist thought was known by the slogan sonnō jōi (尊王攘夷, 'sonnō jōi'? "Revere the emperor, expel the barbarians"), proposed by the Mito school thinker Aizawa Seishisai in a book published in 1825.

Hotta sought the support of the Imperial Cour

t to ratify the new treaty, but failed to convince them, sparking a political crisis between the shogunate and the Court. In 1858 the situation worsened with the death of Shogun Tokugawa Iesada, leaving no heir. Nariaki, along with tozama shinpan and daimyo, Tokugawa Yoshinobu supported, while supported Tokugawa daimyo fudai Iemochi, finally getting it approved by the Court. The faction leader Ii Naosuke became Taira, and was the architect of a purge of prominent members opposed to the signing of treaties. This event, known as the purge Ansei, put under house arrest and Yoshinobu Nariaki, as several members of the Shogunate, several have and even the Imperial Court, and executed eight people, including Yoshida Shoin, a jōi sonnō intellectual. In 1858 he signed five trade agreements, Treaties Ansei called to allow the opening of the ports of Nagasaki, Hakodate and Yokohama in 1859, but that caused increasing friction between foreigners and the samurai, which worsened to the point that they were regularly killed both foreign and Japanese collaborators. Naosuke Li was murdered in March 1860 during the incident Sakuradamon and caused the end of the purge. Joined the attack on the British legation in Edo in 1861 and Nanamugi incident in 1862, the Western powers justify military intervention against the samurai. In March 1863, the Emperor Kōmei broke the ceremonial role that had the emperors for centuries and entered the political arena by issuing the order to expel the barbarians (攘夷実行の勅命, Jikken jōi chokumei not?). The Choshu domain obeyed the order and decided to attack foreign ships in the Strait of Shimonoseki. Other domains such as Satsuma and Tosa, which were against the Shogunate, decided to ally and follow the edict.

As the shogunate was unable to control these incidents, foreign countries (USA, UK, France and the Netherlands) took the initiative to retaliate against the nationalist movement. On July 16, 1863 was staged the battle of Shimonoseki between the U.S. and the Choshu domain, four days after France and was then bombarded Shimonoseki bombardment by a coalition ally 5 and 6 September 1864, causing the imminent defeat of Chōshū. In August 1863 the UK bombarded Kagoshima and caused the defeat of the Satsuma domain. Between May 1864 and January 1865 the shogunate samurai and ronin fought against supporters of the rebellion jōi sonnō Mito, winning the shogunate. Jōi sonnō other fans and members of the Choshu domain unsuccessfully attempted to seize the Imperial Palace in Kyoto during the rebellion of Hamaguri, 20 August 1864. Towards the end of 1864 the shogunate had been through these battles neutralize the movement as xenophobic and nationalist movements the Ishin Shishi were brutally repressed. Kōmei Emperor decided to change its position not to make treaties with foreign powers, then in November 1865, several Allied warships were stationed at ports of Hyogo and Osaka, in exchange for the emperor to ratify trade agreements with States together. Since that time, the philosophy of "expel the barbarians" lost its momentum since it was an unattainable object, especially when Western powers were able to severely punish those who defied. However, the economic burden that was imposed on Japan to be defeated in these battles (compensation, new treaties, opening more ports and more privileges to the Powers) showed that the structure of the shogunate was obsolete and needed a new kind of leadership, with the greatest figure of the emperor.

Decline of the shogunate

Chōshū maintained a belligerent position against the Shogunate, so in June 1866 the government sent a punitive expedition which ended in failure because the domain of Choshu had modernized its military. This defeat forced the shogunate to modernize, sending some students abroad and sent a military mission from France in 1867. After the untimely death of Shogun Iemochi late 1866, it finally happened Tokugawa Yoshinobu, who had aspired to the position years ago. In January 1867, died the Emperor Komei, was succeeded by Prince Mutsuhito, the Emperor Meiji.

Yoshinobu apparently tried to maintain cordial relations with the new emperor, but in reality there was tension between the two rulers, however, dislike of the daimyo was overwhelming opposed to the shogunate, and finally on 9 November 1867, he ordered secretly leaders Choshu and Satsuma eliminate the shogun. However, at the request of the daimyo of Tosa, Yoshinobu decided to voluntarily surrender his authority and power to the emperor, and agreed to convene a general meeting of daimyo to create a new government.

While Yoshinobu's resignation had created a vacuum in government, the shogunate continued to exist. In addition, the government of the Tokugawa shogunate in particular will remain a major force in the new order and retain considerable political power, a prospect that the most intransigent of Satsuma and Choshu considered unacceptable. The facts were precipitated when the January 3, 1868, the latter took control of the Kyoto Imperial Palace and the next day, made the Emperor Meiji, who was only 15 years, declared the restoration of his absolute power, ending Tokugawa regime and the government of the Shogun in the country, which lasted more than seven centuries.

Meiji Period

With the fall of the Shogunate Emperor was erected as a symbol of national unity and began with a series of very radical reforms, the first of the enactment of the Charter Oath (五箇条の御誓文, Gokajō Goseimon not?), 1868, which was intended to boost morale and get financial aid for the new government.

Boshin War

Yoshinobu Although initially accepted the claims of the followers of the emperor, January 18, 1868 said it would not accept the terms of the imperial restoration. January 24 decided to launch an attack on Kyoto, where were the armies of Satsuma and Choshu, and in Edo was under pressure and attacks by the rebels the shogunate. The samurai who remained loyal to the shogunate took up arms, so that a civil war known as the War Boshin (戊辰戦争, Boshin Sense?).

January 27 saw the battle of Toba-Fushimi, where the forces of Satsuma and Choshu, together with a force of Imperial Court, led by Komatsu Akihito, succeeded in defeating the armies of the shogunate. The main reason for the defeat was that the various factions that initially supported the Shogunate, switched sides because of the emperor's official support Satsuma and Choshu, and sophisticated artillery guns had with Armstrong, Minie rifles and some machine guns Gatling while on the side of the shogunate most troops were samurai swords.

Yoshinobu was forced to retire to Edo, while slowly the imperial forces led by Saigo Takamori was approaching the city and managed to siege in May. The strength of the shogunate in Edo relented after the Battle of Ueno on July 4, and Imperial forces took the city for that month, Yoshinobu putting under house arrest in Kan'ei-ji temple. A Yoshinobu was stripped of its lands, but was released several years later. On September 3 it was decided to rename the city of Edo to Tokyo, and the Emperor Meiji was the relocation of the capital from Kyoto to Tokyo, taking the Edo Castle as the new imperial palace.

However, some factions were reluctant to capitulate, as Reppan Ōuetsu Domei, an alliance of northern domains (including mastering Aizu stands) which merged with Enomoto Takeaki, head of the navy of the shogunate and Edo who had escaped with eight ships of war before the surrender at Edo. However, the alliance troops were unsophisticated

and were slowly bowed to the imperial army's advance, and in October 1868 was the Battle of Aizu, causing part of the shogunate army leave by sea to Hokkaido. After a month of siege, Aizu surrendered on 6 November.

Upon reaching the island of Hokkaido, Enomoto reorganized the army and established an independent government, proclaiming the Republic of Ezo December 25, and was elected president. He tried unsuccessfully to obtain international recognition and could not get the approval of new Japanese imperial government to give in Hokkaido the Tokugawa shogunate, but under imperial rule. Japanese naval forces arrived in Hokkaido in March 1869, sparking the Naval Battle of Miyako Bay, while about 7,000 men of the imperial troops arrived on the island and slowly took several strategic positions and succeeded in destroying the defenses of the Republic of Ezo during the Battle of Hakodate. After losing half of men and almost all boats, Ezo accepted the surrender on May 17, 1869.

With the completion of Boshin war, the imperial government gained control of all Japan and rival forces were not inside. With the war won, abolishing the privileges of the samurai class, so the nationalists, who had initially supported the emperor and the philosophy of sonnō jōi, felt betrayed.

Meiji government

The new government assured the foreign powers that the treaties signed during the Tokugawa shogunate would be complied with in accordance with international law, the capital was moved from Kyoto to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo, and the feudal system was abolished in 1871 giving birth to the system of prefectures, in addition to being legalized land ownership. The new government also stressed the practice of the Shinto religion that enjoyed the patronage of the state.

Despite several protests, government leaders with a strong continued modernization of the country: telegraph cables were laid in the main cities, and were built railroads, shipyards, munitions factories and textile plants. All these measures would lead ultimately modernizing the country to become the first industrialized Asian country.

Worried about national security, major efforts were made to modernize the army, foreign weapons systems were studied, were hired advisers from other countries, cadets were sent to European countries and the United States, established a standing army with a large amount of reserves and military service became mandatory.

Satsuma Rebellion

Saigo Takamori, one of the older leaders in the Meiji government was particularly concerned about the growing political corruption. After a series of disputes with the government, resigned and retired to the Satsuma domain. There he establish

ed schools where all students taking a training and instruction in tactics of war. News about Saigō academies were received with great concern in Tokyo.

On February 12, 1877, Saigo met with their landlords and Kirino Toshiaki Shinohara Kunimoto and announced his intention to go to Tokyo for talks with the government. His troops began to advance, and the February 14 advanced arrived in Kumamoto Prefecture, where they attacked the Kumamoto Castle. February 19 became the first fire from the defenders, at the time Satsuma units attempted to force entry to it. On 22 February, the main armed Satsuma arrived and attacked the castle, so the battle continued until evening and Imperial forces who had come to meet him were dropped. Satsuma's army could not take the castle and after two days of fruitless attack, Satsuma forces dug around the castle and tried to besiege. During the siege, many of the ex-samurai Kumamoto defected to the side of Saigo. Meanwhile, on March 9, Saigo, Kirino and Shinohara were stripped of their offices and official titles from Tokyo.
Statue of Saigo Takamori in Ueno Park, Tokyo.

The main contingent of the Imperial Navy under the comm

and of General Kuroda Kiyotaka and with the assistance of General Hiroshi Yamakawa, arrived in Kumamoto in support of the occupants of the Castle on 12 April. This made the Satsuma troops, who were now in complete disadvantage, fled. After a constant chase, samurai Saigo and others were pushed back to Kagoshima, where he would conduct the final battle, the Battle of Shiroyama. Imperial Army troops commanded by General Yamagata Aritomo and marines commanded by Admiral Kawamura Sumiyoshi forces Saigō exceeded sixty to one. The imperial troops spent seven days to build and develop systems of dams, walls and obstacles to prevent them escaping. Five warships joined the power of artillery and reduced Yamagata rebel positions. After Saigō rejected a letter requesting their surrender, Yamagata ordered a frontal attack on September 24, 1877. By 6 am, only 40 rebels were still alive and Saigo was mortally wounded. His supporters argue that one of them, Beppu Shinsuke acted as Saigō Kaishakunin and helped to commit seppuku before he could be captured. After the death of Saigo, Beppu and the last samurai standing raised their swords and went downhill to the imperial position, until the last of them fell by the Gatling machine gun fire. With these deaths, the Satsuma rebellion came to an end.

Creation of representative government

The major institutional accomplishment after the Satsuma Rebellion marked the beginning of the trend to create a representative government by citizens who were relegated from the government.

One of the prominent figures of this movement was Itagaki Taisuke, one of the main leaders of the Province of Tosa. Aikokusha formed in 1875 in order to pressure the government in 1878. In 1881 he formed the Jiyūtō (自由党, Liberal Party?), Who had tendencies toward French politics. The following year Okuma Shigenobu established the Rikken Kaishinto (立宪改进党, Progressive Constitutional Party?), Which abrogated by the establishment of a constitutional democratic system like the English system. In response, members of the government formed the Rikken Teiseitō (立宪帝政党, Imperial Regime Constitutional Party?) Or Imperial Regime Constitutional Party that same year, 1882. After these games, many other movements surfaced, some violently. Finally in 1889 the Constitution of the Empire of Japan (also known as the Meiji Constitution) provides for Imperial Diet consists of a popularly elected House of Representatives, accompanied by a House of Peers with an extremely low representation made by the nobility in a system called kazoku .

The first elections were held in 1890 by selecting the 300 members of the House of Representatives.

Expansionism

Sino-Japanese War

During the nineteenth century the peninsula of Korea strongly attracted attention in Japan due to its geographical position, which could result in a strategic point for the defense of the archipelago. An early conflict with Korea had been settled temporarily through the Treaty of Kanghwa in 1876, with which the Japanese had gained access to the ports of that nation. In 1894 he precipitated a political crisis when a pro-Japanese Korean leader was assassinated in Shanghai. The situation worsened when the Chinese army crushed the rebellion on its own soil Tonghak Korean, although the Convention of Tianjin in both China and Japan had agreed to withdraw their armies from the Korean Peninsula, by withdrawing support to the country's warring factions . Japan responded quickly to the Chinese incursion and won what is now known as Sino-Japanese War, which ended in 1895 and nine months after the hostilities began, when he called the cease-fire.

The conflict ended with the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, by which recognized the independence of Korea and therefore it ceased to be regarded as a tributary state, 200 million taels of compensation from China to Korea, the opening of the Yangtze River the Japanese to trade the right to Japanese investors could bring business to China and the cession of Taiwan, the Pescadores and the Liaodong Peninsula to Japan, although in the objections of Russia, Germany and France, was Liaodong returned.

Russo-Japanese War

Imperialist ambitions of both Russia, which was interested in maintaining control over China, and Japan, who wanted control of Korea led both countries to meet in 1904.

In 1902 the UK signed with Japan the Anglo-Japanes

e Alliance, by which the British recognized the Nipponese interests in Korea and pledged to remain neutral in case of a possible war with Russia "unless other powers are allied with them , in which case it would take a more active role. " This alliance was a threat to the Russians, who sought a more conciliatory tone than had been used before, even promising a troop withdrawal by 1903.

After Japan filed a complaint due to failure of timely withdrawal of Russian troops, Russia offered to divide Korea along the parallel 39, with control of southern part of Japan and a neutral zone to the north, but ensuring that Manchuria would remain outside Japanese sphere of influence.

The war erupted in February 1904, and after a series of Japanese victories on land and the naval victory of Tsushima in May 1905, held a peace conference with the United States as a mediator, where Russia recognized the primacy of the interests of Japan in Korea, said it would avoid military action in Korea and Manchuria, ceded to Japan the lease of Dalian, adjacent territories and the railway and the southern part of Sakhalin Island and gave him the right to fish in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea, after both sides finally agreed to evacuate Manchuria.

With the victory, the Japanese Empire increased its nationalist stance and began a new phase of continental expansion. In 1910 Korea was annexed to the Empire of Japan.

Taisho period

The Meiji period ended with the death of the emperor in 1912 and the subsequent ascension to the throne of Emperor Taisho. The new emperor was a man very ill and weak, both physically and mentally, for what its mandate would be kept away from political issues and government decision fell on the Diet and Cabinet. Because of his disability, his son Hirohito was named "Prince Regent" in 1921.

World War

Looking to consolidate its sphere of influence in China and building was occupied by Germany in the European theater, Japan declared war in August 1914 and quickly occupied the territory leased by the country in the Shandong province in China and the Marianas Islands , the Carolines and the Marshall Islands in the Pacific. Japan also tried to consolidate its position in China, taking advantage of its allies were engaged in war, so that this country tried to sign the "Twenty-one demands" (対華二十一ヵ条要求, Taika Nijyūichikkajō Yōkyū?), Which become almost China a Japanese protectorate. Faced with international condemnation, a growing anti-Japanese sentiment in China and the Chinese government's delay, finally in May 1915 signed a treaty of thirteen demands, among which was envisaged that China would not islands or coastal concession to third parties .

In 1917 the United States entered the war and found themselves as allies of the Japanese despite the frictions caused by the situation in China and competition for influence in the Pacific. In an effort to avoid tension, was signed Lansing-Ishii Agreement (石井ランシング協定, Ishii Ranshingu Kyōtei?) In November of that year.

In 1919 Japan was found on the side of the "big five" powers during the Versailles Peace Conference. Japan was granted a permanent seat on the League of Nations and also transferred the rights you had Germany on Shandong. Finally, the Pacific islands had Germany were placed under Japanese mandate, called the South Pacific Mandate.

Taisho democracy

Since the establishment of a new political system with the Meiji Constitution, only members of the aristocratic elite had access to high positions in political parties, think tanks, the House of Peers or advisers of the emperor, but between 1918 and 1932 the situation changed the country's political, but political parties were still led by the elite, politicians were forced to work in coordination with the court, bureaucracy and the military due to a more democratic consciousness of the masses, who also began to cluster and students became politically active. Consequently, the parties played a leading role in national politics.

Another important change took place in 1925, when universal suffrage was established for men, which increased the electoral base to more than twelve million.

Great Kanto Earthquake

On September 1, 1923, shortly before noon occurred one of the strongest earthquakes in history in the Kanto region, with a magnitude estimated at 8.3 degrees on the Richter scale. The movement of tectonic plates caused also a strong tsunami waves arrived in Kamakura to reach 5 meters high, while in Atami reached 13 meters.

An estimated 110,000 people were killed, either by the effects of the earthquake, the subsequent tsunami and a large number of fires that raged for several days.

A human losses for the reasons above you must also add the result of several waves of violence against political activists, Korean and Chinese by civilians, police and military that took place some time after the tragedy.

Showa Period

The Emperor Taisho died on December 25, 1926 after a brief reign and thereafter the Prince Regent Hirohito was inaugurated as the new emperor of Japan,

starting the Showa era.

In 1922, the Washington Naval Treaty, the number of ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy was limited under American and British fleets, adding to the trouble existing in Japan for having to leave the regions obtained in China during the Russo-Japanese war. Japan also took umbrage primarily by the fact that foreign powers occupying what they considered their sphere of influence. The one big area where they could obtain the necessary raw materials for the development of its economy was dependent on imports and in 1931 China decided to invade and occupy Manchuria, and then invading China in 1937.

The invasion of China unleashed what is known as Sino-Japanese War, a conflict of eight years.

Sino-Japanese War II

Japanese troops guarding the railway in Manchuria, because through these various resources were transported to ports in Korea, from where they eventually were sent to Japan. In September of 1931 broke out explosives in such waterways in what is known as the "Mukden Incident." The Japanese government decided to send troops to occupy all of Manchuria, also formed a puppet government called Manchukuo under the nominal command of Emperor Pu-Yi.

In the years following minor clashes occurred, but in 1937, after the "Incident Marco Polo Bridge" where Japanese troops were attacked on the outskirts of Beijing, began open war with China. Japan quickly attacked the main coastal cities, and by December of that year were already outside the national capital, Nanjing. When the city surrendered against the invaders, the Imperial Army carried out acts of extreme cruelty against the civilian population, events known as the "slaughter of Nanking" where over 300,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed.

Japan's initial victories were followed by a period of stagnation and by 1938 the war was at an impasse, a situation that continued until 1941 when the Japanese entered the stage of the Second World War. This war ended in 1945, when Japan announced its unconditional surrender to the Allied front.

World War II

Relations with the West deteriorated during late 1930 an

d by 1940 he was appointed Prime Minister Prince Konoye, who formed a cabinet nationalist and supporter of the expansion in the area by force. That same year, on 27 September, Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka, signed the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy, which ranked Japan with the Axis powers.

In order to form the so-called Co-Prosperity Sphere Greater East Asia ", Japan invaded the northern French Indochina, and introduced in July 1941 troops in southern Indochina, leading countries like USA, UK and the Netherlands to retaliate. United States imposed a trade embargo with Japan was deprived of 90% of its oil supplies, and Japan's total foreign trade was reduced by 75%.

The Japanese cabinet discussed the actions to follow, appearing mainly Hideki Tojo, the minister of defense, who was a strong supporter of the war. By then Japan had the largest force in the Pacific, was about twice the U.S. ships in the Pacific, the Army had 1,800,000 soldiers and their strength was one of the most professional in the world. Its air force consisted of 2,000 planes.

On November 5 the Emperor Showa and his cabinet decided to go to war if the end of that month the United States did not lift the economic embargo, but the U.S. government's response came on November 26 when, through his Secretary of State has confirmed the U.S. demand that the Nipponese troops withdraw from Manchuria, China and Indochina, as well as the resignation of Japan to the Tripartite Pact.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Also on 26 November the Japanese Combined Fleet departed from the Kuril Islands bound for Pearl Harbor, in order to destroy the U.S. Pacific fleet. The first attack was carried out over 180 aircraft on December 7 at 7:55 pm, getting sunk six battleships, three cruisers and four other ships, apart from destroying 188 aircraft on the ground. The attack also left a toll of 2,403 dead.

At 8:45 am there was a last attack ended at 10:00, but for this assault on the defenses and were better prepared, so Nagumo canceled a third strike that was scheduled. The next day, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed Congress asking that he declare war on Japan, one of the most famous speeches in history.

Pacific front to the end of 1941

The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor Japanese forces began a blitzkrieg type campaign in the Pacific: Malaysia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Wake Island, Burma and Thailand were attacked almost simultaneously in order to take strategic sites allies. On December 16, also managed to take the Dutch East Indies, which gave Japan an important source of resources.

Facing the Pacific in 1942

During the first half of the year of the Japanese forces were victorious in almost all fronts: February 7 fleet was victorious against the Allies in the Battle of Java Sea, and by day 15 of the same month, allied forces surrendered Singapore. Moreover, the Philippines, Malaysia and most of New Guinea were defeated. The second half of the year represented a turning point in the war: U.S. forces ousted the Japanese from Guadalcanal, in addition to the win in the important Battle of Midway where the Japanese lost half its fleet of aircraft carriers and about 150 aircraft.

Attempt to defend the defensive ring

During 1944 the Japanese efforts were limited to trying to keep the defense line, but were driven back in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, in addition to suffering major defeats in the Gilbert Islands, while retaining its progress in Burma and the Indian border. This year also suffered major naval defeats, as the Battle of the Bismarck Sea from 2 to 5 March, and the Battle of the Bering Sea, 26 March.

By 1944 the situation became untenable for Japan, as its fleet was virtually destroyed during the Battle of the Philippine Sea and U.S. troops landed in the Marshall Islands, Gilbert Islands and the Philippines. From airfields in the Philippines began the bombing of Japan. On July 18 General Tojo resigned with his cabinet. By the end of October this year the Japanese lost another major sea battle, the Battle of Leyte Gulf, scene during which first appeared suicidal groups generally known by the name of kamikazes.

Kamikazes

Since 1942, several voices were raised within the Japanese army in an effort to implement suicide tactics in the war and again try to reverse the sign of war. Special units suicide finally implemented on the ground (as in the case of "Banzai charge), and at sea (as the boats Shin'ya). Finally, in mid-1944, Prime Minister Hideki Tojo instructed that the Corps of Air Raid organize a special unit, which gave birth to Shinpu tokubetsu kōgeki tai (神风特别攻撃队, "Special Unit Attack Shinpu"? ) or its abbreviation tokkōtai (特攻队, 'tokkōtai'?), better known in the West as kamikazes.

The first official mission of the special unit successfully took place on October 25 and the attacks of this type continued until the end of World War II.

1945

By February 1945, Germany and was facing certain defeat, and during the Yalta conference Stalin also promised to declare war on Japan in the two months following the final defeat of the Germanic forces.

After 72 days of intense bombardment of the island, on February 19 began the invasion of Iwo Jima by U.S. forces. After four days fell on Mount Suribachi, a moment that was captured in the famous photograph by Joe Rosenthal. During this battle the U.S. lost 6,821 troops, while the Japanese side is estimated that about 22,000 soldiers were

killed.
Group photo after the Potsdam Conference. From left to right and from top to bottom: Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Vyacheslav Molotov, Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union, Harry Truman, President of the United States of America, James Byrnes, Minister of Foreign Affairs United States, Ernest Bevin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom, William Leahy, U.S. Ambassador in France, and Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union.

Another bloody battle front was held in Okinawa, the invasion began on April 1 with the "Operation Iceberg." Meanwhile, April 5 Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso resigned as the war approached the Japanese mainland. During the invasion more than 12,000 Americans died, while the Japanese side are estimated 110,000 casualties. United States also lost 36 ships, and 368 were damaged, mostly from kamikaze attacks. Okinawa finally fell on June 21, giving the Allies a major base of operations.

During the Potsdam Conference, Winston Churchill and Roosevelt agreed to the use of the atomic bomb, and issued a statement calling for the unconditional surrender of Japan, which was rejected two days later by the Japanese government.

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

After approval of Harry Truman, the atomic bombings were carried out 6 and August 9, 1945, after six months of intense bombardment of othe

r 67 cities. The nuclear weapon Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima on Monday, August 6, 1945, followed by the detonation of the bomb Fat Man on August 9 on Nagasaki. To date, these bombings are the only nuclear attacks in history.

It is estimated that by the end of 1945, the bombs had killed 140,000 people in Hiroshima and 80,000 in Nagasaki, although only half had died the day of the bombing. In both cities, the vast majority of deaths were of civilians.

Surrender

On August 8 the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and began a swift campaign in Manchuria, where about 80,000 Japanese soldiers lost their lives.

On August 15 the Emperor Showa imperial broke

silence and gave radio Japan's unconditional surrender to the Allies (be the first time that the vast majority of Japanese could hear the voice of the emperor), and asked his people not offer resistance and his troops to surrender their weapons. Two days later, on 17, Prince Higashikuni was appointed Prime Minister with the aim of supervising the surrender of the country, which became official on September 2 aboard the USS Missouri, bringing to an end the Pacific War and World War II .

It is estimated that total lost nearly 1,506,000 Japanese soldiers and about 900,000 civilians, mainly in the last year, because of the incendiary and atomic bombings.

Occupation of Japan

During the first two years was carried out a process of democratization and demilitarization, abolished the army and navy, ammunition and weapons were destroyed, and arms factories were converted for civilian use. State Shinto was eliminated and sought political, economic and social.

War crimes trials

During this period more than 5,000 Japanese soldiers and officers were tried for war crimes, of which 900 were executed. Of these defendants, twenty-eight were detained in the Sugamo prison, and later were called to appear before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East based in Tokyo, composed of judges from the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France , Netherlands, China, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India and the Philippines. These trials lasted two years, from May 1946 to November 1948.

Of the 28 defendants were charged only 25, due to the natural death of two of them (Yosuke Matsuoka and Osami Nagano Admiral) as Shumei Okawa suffered a nervous collapse and was not prosecuted. Seven were sentenced to death (including Hideki Tojo) and 16 to life imprisonment. Shigenori Togo was sentenced to twenty years and seven Mamoru Shigemitsu.

Japanese Constitution

MacArthur pushed the government to amend the old Meiji Constitution of 1889, and that neither the Prime Minister and his cabinet Kijuro Shidehara wanted to be the ones who gave the first step in replacing the old constitution by a more liberal document. Although MacArthur's initial recommendation was a single-chamber parliament, at the insistence of the Japanese political document drafted to watch a two-chamber system, both democratically elected. The new constitution, which was technically an amendment to the old rather than an abrogation, was promulgated on November 3, 1946, and entered into force on May 3, 1947.

Among its features include three items: the emperor's symbolic role, the salience of civil rights and human rights, and the renunciation of war.

End the Occupation

The rapid stabilization of Japan led to a relaxation by the occupation forces in terms of censorship in the media and on the measures taken. Foreign trade was allowed, and led to a rapid recovery in the economy. Finally, in September 1951, 51 nations met in San Francisco (California) in order to achieve a peaceful settlement. At that meeting Japan announced his resignation from Korea, Taiwan, the Pescadores, the Kuriles Islands, Karafuto, islands obtained by mandate from the League of Nations, islands in the South China Sea and Antarctic territory. Japan also pledged to resolve any dispute peacefully and in accordance with the statutes of the United Nations Charter. You made known to the present the resignation of the country to war.

Representatives from China, India and the Soviet Union were present, but did not sign the document, which is known as the Treaty of San Francisco Peace Treaty. It entered into force the following year, 1952, and with it ended the occupation. Japan once again became an independent nation, although that same year signed a security pact with the United States, which established U.S. bases in Okinawa (under U.S. control until 1972) and Iwo Jima (under U.S. control until 1968 .) The same treaty was renegotiated in 1960 and still valid today.

Occupation of Japan Post

Policy

Began almost as soon as the occupation of Japan began to resurface various political parties. The old and the Rikken Seiyokai Minseitō resurfaced as the Nihon Nihon Jiyūtō and Shimpoto respectively. The first postwar elections were held in 1946 and were characterized as the first time that women were granted the right to vote, in addition to Yoshida Shigeru was elected prime minister. For next year's elections, opponents of the Jiyūtō Yoshida left and joined forces with the Shimpoto, giving birth to Minshuto, which gave him strength to Nihon Shakai-tō or Socialist Party, which formed a short-lived cabinet until his power declined again.

Yoshida returned as prime minister in 1948, a position he held until 1954.

Continuing divisions in political parties and the succession of minority governments by policies led to conservative members to form the Jiyu Minshuto or Liberal Democratic Party in November 1955, which held power continuously from 1955 to 1993.

After several reorganizations in the armed forces, in the year 1954 formed the Self Defense Forces under civilian leadership.

The global situation of the Cold War and the nearby war in Korea promoted economic development and removal of socialism under U.S. influence.

Economic Development

Throughout the entire postwar Japanese economy started growing beyond all expectations. The country soon became on par with the West both in foreign trade, gross national product, and quality of life, achievements that were marked up by the Tokyo Olympics of 1964 (the first Olympics in Asia and which was inaugurated the first line of Shinkansen bullet train) and the Osaka International Exposition of 1970.

From the second half of the twentieth century, Japan would be recognized by its high technology. As the economy became the world's largest power level of exports, with prevalence in the fields of electronics, computing, robotics, automotive and banking, which had great economic benefits.

Economic growth and political tranquility in the mid 1960's was interrupted by the sudden rise in oil prices decreed by OPEC in 1973, prompting the first recession in Japan since the Second World War.

The year 1987 was also an important one in Japan: the real estate prices had been steadily growing, inflation reached its highest point since 1975, unemployment reached the landmark figure of 3.2 percent, and there was great discontent towards the government of Yasuhiro Nakasone. Finally, for some months but the economy seemed to pick up, on 20 October of that year the Tokyo Stock Exchange suffered a stock market crash.

International Relations

The biggest postwar political crisis took place in 1960, when reviewing the Mutual Assistance Pact of Security, ratified by the name of "Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security" and caused massive street demonstrations as a symbol of rejection, and the resignation of the cabinet a month after the Diet passed the new treaty. After several years of demonstrations, the general view of Japanese citizens over the United States improved in 1972 when Okinawa was placed under Japanese sovereignty again.

Japan also restored relations with the Republic of China at the end of World War II, but due to the support given to the exiled Nationalist government in Taiwan, were generated friction with the government of the People's Republic of China. The relationship with China was restored again in 1972.

The relationship with the Soviet Union has been problematic because Japan claims as its own various islands occupied by that country during the last days of the war: the disputed islands are Etorofu and Kunashiri, Shikotan and Habomai islands.

Heisei Period

Heisei Era began on 8 January 1989, a day after the death of Emperor Showa and the consequent rise to the throne Prince Akihito.

During this era began the outbreak of the financial and real estate bubble in Japan since late 1987, stock prices and inflated land continuously and rapidly, and coupled with low interest rates created a speculative bubble. After the fall of the dollar during the "black Monday", Japanese investors began to buy property and businesses, prompting the Fed to take various measures to counter the Japanese economic policy. During the month of May 1989, the Bank of Japan raised interest rates last up to four times, so that from early next year the bubble economy began to collapse.

In 1993 and amid allegations of corruption within the Liberal Democratic Party, a coalition led by Morihiro Hosokawa temporarily took power, though its lack of unity, the disasters of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake that destroyed Kobe, killed more than 6 000 people and caused losses of 10 billion yen in 1995, then joine

d a sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway by an apocalyptic cult that year led to the defeat of the coalition government in 1996 against the Party Liberal Democrats, who elected as Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. However, economic instability, was replaced by Keizo Obuchi in 1998, which led to the stabilization of the economy, but died in 2000 as a result of a stroke. Obuchi succeeded Yoshiro Mori and was considered widely unpopular for his mistakes in the government and was replaced by Junichiro Koizumi in 2001.

Koizumi implemented a series of economic reforms focused on government debt, which managed to halt the economic crisis and led to an increase in the government's popularity. Koizumi remained in office until his resignation in 2006, even though in 2005 the Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide victory in legislative elections. Also during the Koizumi government was approved in 2004 by sending a large contingent of 600 soldiers of the Japan Self-Defense Forces to Iraq without the backing of the United Nations to support the reconstruction of Iraq, which meant the first performance of a large military contingent out of the country since the end of World War II, and led to a controversy over the interpretation of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which prohibits acts of war by the state .

The year 2004 was marked by a series of natural disasters: a record high year ten typhoons hit Japan, and particularly in October left 94 persons dead or missing. Heavy rains and floods, which affected the prefectures of Niigata, Fukushima and Fukui took the lives of twenty people. In the same month of October, an earthquake struck the central part of Niigata prefecture, killing 64 people, over 4,800 injured and 100,000 were evacuated. This earthquake also caused the derailment of Shinkansen, the first time it happened in forty years.

After Koizumi's resignation came a series of weak governments and ephemeral: Shinzo Abe, Koizumi's successor, resigned in September 2007 by a series of corruption scandals and his weak leadership. He was succeeded by Yasuo Fukuda, who was also unable to govern effectively and resigned in September 2008. He was succeeded by Taro Aso, who was considered one of the most charismatic members within the Liberal Democratic Party, but was unable to concentrate the various factions when he assumed leadership of the government, and their eagerness to advance the legislative elections before resolving the economic crisis caused the U.S. financial turmoil, caused a drastic drop in popularity.

In the 2009 elections, the coalition of the Democratic Party of Japan, the Social Democratic Party of Japan and the New People's Party won the elections, so Yukio Hatoyama was elected Prime Minister Taro Aso and successor, which ended more than fifty years of rule by the Liberal Democratic Party hegemony. However, Hatoyama's government was short-lived, lasting eight months after he reconfirmed the U.S. military presence in Okinawa, despite the refusal of the Japanese population, causing a split in the alliance of government and Hatoyama's resignation after the June 2, 2010. He was replaced by Naoto Kan, also of the Democratic Party, taking over as prime minister on June 8.
Currently Japan is the world's second largest economy, although its unemployment rate is 5.7%, the highest since World War II.

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Government in the history of Japan

Emperors

From the standpoint of Shinto mythology, reflected in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, Japan has a divine origin, having been founded by Emperor Jinmu, direct influence of the sun goddess Amaterasu, in the seventh century C.. Jinmu is also traditionally considered the first emperor of the story.

While these myths are generally regarded as historical sources, it is generally accepted that the emperors or tennō (天皇, 'tennō'? Lit. "Heavenly sovereign") have reigned for more than 1,500 years, all of them descendants of the same family Imperial.

Despite the long tradition, the real power exercised by the emperors have been symbolic or limited throughout most of history, but the real rulers (like the Fujiwara and Hojo regents or the various Shoguns) respected and sought his inauguration to legitimize his government.

The current emperor is Akihito, who will be called "Heisei" at the time of his death, and is 125 º from the traditional list.

Shoguns

During the twelfth century and until 1868 the shogun was established as the de facto ruler of the country, although theoretically the Emperor was the legitimate ruler and deposited it in the shogun's authority to rule in his name. During this time, the Emperor was forced to delegate any power or authority completely civil, military, diplomatic and judiciary who have that title, devoted exclusively to spiritual tasks as serving as "chief priest" of the country's official religion, Shinto.

During the decades of 1850 and 1860, the shogunate was severely depressed both outside by foreign powers, and the interior. It was then that various groups angry with the shogunate by the concessions made to various European countries found in the figure of Emperor ally through which they could oust the Tokugawa shogunate's power. The motto of this movement was sonnō jōi (尊王攘夷, 'sonnō jōi'? "Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians") and finally succeeded in 1868, when imperial power was restored after centuries of being in the shadow of country's political life. With this, the shogunate was abolished.

Prime Ministers

In the Japanese political system, executive power is vested in the Cabinet, whose head is the Prime Minister, responsible for the appointment and removal of cabinet members.

The Prime Minister in this country is elected by the political party that wins a majority of seats in the Diet (the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors) and generally the party president.

Since its formation in 1955, the Liberal Democratic Party a conservative, held power almost continuously except for short periods. In June 2010, the Prime Minister Naoto Kan, the Progressive Democratic Party of Japan, and is the 94th prime minister in Japan's history.
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jueves, 30 de septiembre de 2010

History of Japan