| Period | Name | Description |
| -300 BC | Jomon | The early Japanese were gatherers, hunters and fishers. In the late Jomon era primitive agriculture begins. |
| 300BC-300 | Yayoi | The introduction of rice agriculture evokes the development of a social hierarchy and hundreds of small countries that started to unify into larger countries. |
| 300-592 | Kofun | 300 Japan is for the first time more or less united. Large tombs (kofun) were built for the deceased leaders. |
| 592-710 | Asuka | 538/552 Introduction of Buddhism. 604 Prince Shotoku’s Constitution of seventeen articles is promulgated. 645 The Taika reform is introduced. The Fujiwara era starts. 701 A legal code, Taiho Ritsuryo, is promulgated. |
| 710-784 | Nara | 710 Nara becomes the first permanent capital. 784 The capital moves to Nagaoka. |
| 794-1185 | Heian | 794 The capital moves to Kyoto. 1008 Murasaki Shikibu writes Tale of Genji. 1016 Fujiwara Michinaga becomes regent. 1159 The Taira clan under Taira Kiyomori takes over the power after the Heiji war. 1175 The Buddhist priest Honen establishes the Jodo school (Pure land). 1180-85 In the Taira-Minamoto War, the Minamoto clan puts an end to Taira supremacy. |
| 1192-1333 | Kamakura | 1191 Eisai bigins the Zen school. 1192 Minamoto Yoritomo is appointed shogun and establishes the Kamakura government. 1221 The Jokyu Disturbance ends a struggle between Kamakura(shogunate) and Kyoto(emperor) resulting in the supremacy of the Hojo regents in Kamakura. 1232 A legal code, the Joei Shikimoku, is promulgated. 1274 and 1281 The Mongols try to invade Japan twice, but fail mainly because of bad weather conditions. 1333 The Kamakura shogunate falls. |
| 1338-1573 | Muromachi | 1334 Kemmu restoration: the emperor restores power over Japan. 1336 Ashikaga Takauji captures Kyoto. 1337 The emperor flees and establishes the Southern court in Yoshino. 1338 Takauji establishes the Muromachi government and a second emperor in Kyoto (Northern court). 1392 Unification of the Southern and Northern courts. 1467-1477 Onin war. (the longest civil war in Japan) 1543 Portuguese introduce firearms. 1549 Francis Xavier introduces Christianity. 1568 Oda Nobunaga enters Kyoto. 1573 The Muromachi shogunate falls |
| 1573-1603 | Azuchi Momoyama |
1582 Nobunaga is murdered and succeeded by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. 1587 Hideyoshi banishes Christian priests. 1588 Hideyoshi confiscates the weapons of farmers in the “Sword Hunt”. 1590 Hideyoshi reunifies all of Japan. 1592-98 Unsuccessful invasion of Korea. 1598 Death of Hideyoshi. 1600 Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats his rivals in the battle of Sekigahara. |
| 1603- 1867 | Edo | 1603 Ieyasu is appointed shogun and establishes the Tokugawa government in Tokyo. 1612 Ieyasu intensifies persecution of Christianity. 1615 The Toyotomi clan is destroyed after Ieyasu captures Osaka Castle. 1641 Almost complete isolation of Japan from the rest of the world. Japan trades only with Holland, China and Korea. 1688-1703 Genroku era: popular culture flourishes. 1792 The Russians unsuccessfuly try to establish trade relations with Japan. 1854 Commodore Matthew Perry forces the Japanese government to open a limited number of ports for trade. 1867 Political authority returns to the emperor. |
| 1868-1912 | Meiji | 1868 Meiji restoration. 1869 The capital moves to Tokyo. 1872 First railway line between Tokyo and Yokohama. 1889 The Meiji Constitution is promulgated. 1894-95 Sino-Japanese War. 1902 Anglo-Japanese Alliance. 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War. 1910 Annexion of Korea. |
| 1912-1926 | Taisho | 1914-18 Japan joins allied forces in World War 1. 1923 The Great Kanto Earthquake devastates Tokyo and Yokohama. |
| 1926-1989 | Showa | 1931 Manchurian Incident. 1933 Japan withdraws from the League of Nations. 1937 Nanjing Massacre. 1940 Japan signs the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy. 1941 Pacific War starts. 1945 Two atomic bombs are dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 200,000 citizens are killed. 1945 Japan surrenders. 1946 The new constitution is promulgated. 1951 The Allied Occupation of Japan ends. 1956 Japan becomes member of the UN. 1964 Summer Olympic games in Tokyo. 1970 EXPO 70 opens in Osaka. 1972 Normalization of relations to China. 1973 Oil crisis. |
| 1989- | Heisei | 1993 The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) loses its majority in the Diet. 1995 The Great Hanshin Earthquake hits Kobe. 1997 Kyoto protocol is adopted. 2005 LDP regains the majority in the Diet. 2009 Democratic Party of Japan(DPJ) gets the majority in the Diet. 2011 The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami strike Tohoku area. 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Accident follows. 2013 LDP gains the triumph in the election. |
History
