This overview is designed to be easily digestible, like spoon-fed baby food. It is broken up into manageable periods, and dates and figures are approximate. Keep in mind that one period flows into the next, so the changes that occur do so over a continuum, not as clear-cut divisions.
As a cursory view of Japanese history, this is by no means complete. However, some common misconceptions are worth pointing out:
There are many Japanese history books available, just go to any local library or bookstore and see for yourself. Below are some recommendations:
America and the Four Japans by Frederik L. Schodt (Stone Bridge Press, Berkeley, 1994.) Not so much a history as an analysis of the US-Japan relationship. This book is a quick, fun read, but very solid. Eye opening.
Japan: The Intellectual Foundations of Modern Japanese Politics by Tetsuo Najita (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1974.) As the title might suggest, a little more heady than your average Newsweek article, but still a highly readable account of the frenzied political activity of the Edo (Tokugawa) and Meiji eras.
Japanese History Primer
People have inhabited the Japanese islands for thousands of years, and by 500 AD there was already a well established Imperial Court, modeled after the Chinese system of administration. Lasting about 400 years, this early period saw the spread of Chinese culture and the development of an elegant Japanese court culture. A Japanese writing system was created and a native literary tradition born. The first capital at Nara established around 700 AD. Later, longer-lasting capital at Kyoto established, around 800 AD.
This early court eventually lost stability and the warrior rule of the Shogun established, which would last for another 400 years (from about 1200 - 1600). This period was culturally productive but socially unstable. In the late 1200s were a series of unsuccessful Mongol invasions of Japan. The 1300s saw conflict between rival Northern and Southern courts, which self-destructed after years of fighting. From the mid 1400s to the mid- 1500s was a century of non-stop fighting between local warlords (daimyo ), known as the Period of Warring States (Sengoku.) James Clavel's book Shogun takes place at the end of this era.
The end of the 1500s was very dynamic, marked by a drive towards national unity. In succession, Oda Nobunga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, all men of common stock, fought for this goal. Nobunga is remembered for winning a major battle by being the first to use musketeers. Later, Hideyoshi expelled all Christian missionaries and prohibited peasants from owning weapons.
Around 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu established hegemony over all of Japan and set up court in Edo (Tokyo.) This is the period of national seclusion that lasted for about 200 years, and internally was relatively peaceful and prosperous, with a growing affluent merchant class. This period that ushered many of the things we think of as "typical feudal Japan", such as the class distinctions between samurai, merchants, artisans and peasants, limited contact with other countries and so on.
Such a system could not last forever, however, and its end was hastened by the sudden appearance of Commodore Perry's Black Ships from the US in 1853. During the years of Japanese seclusion, western powers had made great advances in technology, overtaking Japan, and their demands for Japan to open its markets could not be denied.
Young samurai, angry at the Shogunate for its impotence against the west, overthrew it and established the Meiji Restoration in 1868 with Tokyo as the new capital. Seeing how China was being carved up by the colonial powers, the new intellectuals and leaders were determined to avoid the same fate. They reestablished the emperor as the head of state, if only as a figurehead, and played a frantic game of catch-up with the west. There were massive institutional reforms along western lines, a constitution as early as 1889, and rapid industrialization. The population doubled in fifty years. This was a time a great strains on the Japanese social fabric, but as far as the goal of establishing equal footing with the west, was successful. Evidence of renewed military vigor were Japan's defeat of China in a war in 1895, and the first ever defeat of a colonial power by a non-caucasian nation with Russia's defeat in 1905. In 1910 Japan went on to annex Korea.
From about 1912 to the begining of the Depression, the short-lived Taisho Period saw advances in democratization, a flourishing free press, organized labor and an economic boom. Japan entered WWI on the side of Britain and benefited as a materiČl supplier. After several failed coup attempts, this promising time ended when right-wing politicians and military officers seized control of the govenment and initiated a repressive regime. Japan entered into military expansion in Asia, started the Sino-Japanese war of 1937-1945, and later entered into WWII, taking the US along with it.
We all know how the war turned out, so let's look at the postwar period instead. Immediately after the war, Japan was defeated, demiltarized, and in ruins. Occupation forces stayed for seven years and wrote a new constitution. Japan benefited economically as a base for forces operating in the Korean War, and soon, ironically, was encouraged to rearm itself as a buttress against communist expansion. The 60's brought rapid economic growth as "made in Japan" became a common sight in American and European households. The 1964 Summer Olympics were held in Tokyo, casting the world's attention upon the country, and service of the famed Shinkansen (Bullet Train) began. The 70's saw yet more economic growth and renewed confidence, but set back by the oil shocks. The 80's ushered in what was later termed "The Bubble" or "Bubble Economy" when it seemed that anyone could make money from stocks and real estate, and that Japanese multinationals would take over the world. The bubble burst and the 90's has been marked by sluggish economic activity and self-doubt about Japanese business practices. 90s politics too has been marked by relative stagnation, despite the end of one-party rule by the LDP, as short-lived coalition governments are unable to wield any power.
As the 90's draw to a close, Japanese concerns are: whether it can ever regain the status it held during the 80's as a premier economic powerhouse, what its role in Asia will be with the emergence of China as a world power again, what will happen to its banks with the recent (Nov '97) worldwide stock market crash,what its role should be in international affairs such as UN peacekeeping misions, and how to care for its aging society.
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