For four centuries, every Japanese person has known this battle, having learned about it from childhood. The Battle of Sekigahara was the largest gathering of samurai in history. On those October days in 1600, this mountainous pass in central Japan, located between Kansai (Western Japan) and Kanto (Eastern Japan) at the intersection of major routes, became the stage for a massive confrontation.
The outcome of this battle marked Japan’s transition from the chaotic Sengoku period (“Warring States period”) to a long era of peace—one that brought stability and centralization but also isolated the country from the outside world. This event was so pivotal that the Japanese call it tenka wakeme no kassen, meaning “the battle that decided the fate of the nation.”
The seven Warring States of Yan, Zhao, Han, Wei, Qi, Chu, Qin c. 260 BC.
At the time, this bloody conflict concluded nearly 150 years of relentless warfare. In the 16th century, the rise of a new merchant and bourgeois class, combined with the weakening of the shogunate, had reshuffled the balance of power. The economy was in shambles: poverty in the countryside forced peasants—who made up half the population—to serve as soldiers for local warlords (daimyos) who fiercely competed for control of their territories. Japan’s insular nature, coupled with this internal turmoil, provided opportunities for ambitious new leaders. The introduction of firearms in the mid-16th century, brought by Western traders, further accelerated the rise of skilled and ruthless warriors who rapidly climbed the ranks.
Who were the key leaders in the battle?
Tokugawa Ieyasu: Leader of the Eastern Army, who emerged victorious.
Ishida Mitsunari: Leader of the Western Army, representing the Toyotomi loyalists.
The Fall of the Muromachi Shogunate
In 1573, one such warlord, Oda Nobunaga, ousted the reigning shogun, bringing an end to the Muromachi period (named after the Kyoto district where the shoguns had ruled for 250 years). The empire was now tenka fubu—”under the rule of the sword”—a phrase that proved all too true. However, in 1582, betrayed by his own men, Nobunaga took his own life. His rule was succeeded by one of his most capable generals, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a man from a humble background who continued Nobunaga’s campaign of conquest and unification with great success.
Between 1592 and 1597, however, Hideyoshi made a grave mistake. Seeking to channel the military energy he had harnessed, he launched an invasion of Korea—intended as the first step toward conquering China.
But the Koreans resisted with unexpected ferocity. The Japanese forces were ultimately driven back into the sea. The failure devastated Hideyoshi, and he died in 1598. His death left a massive power vacuum. His seven-year-old son was too young to rule, and although a council of five regents attempted to hold the fragile state together, it soon crumbled.
Mitsunari and Tokugawa: Two Contenders for the Throne
The collapse of power sparks the ambitions of two rivals. The first is Ishida Mitsunari, the leader of the “bureaucrats” who had administered the regime. A former representative of Toyotomi in occupied Korea and one of his most brilliant vassals, he presents himself as Toyotomi’s most loyal disciple. The second is Tokugawa Ieyasu, who holds the title of “first regent.” Twenty years older than Mitsunari, this formidable warrior and cunning politician, now 57, had long represented Toyotomi in the Kanto plains to the east, where he had carved out vast domains with Edo (modern-day Tokyo) as his base of operations. In a Japan searching for a sovereign, there is no room for two, and as the 17th century dawns, both warlords begin mustering their forces.
Ishida is the one to launch hostilities. Convinced that the balance of power is in his favor, he calls upon the daimyos to rise up, gathers his supporters in Sawayama, and allies with Mori Terumoto, the commander-in-chief who controls Osaka. In response, Tokugawa Ieyasu mobilizes an army, splitting it in two and sending his forces west along separate routes. But Ieyasu knows that war is not just about battlefield strategy—it is also about intrigue and betrayal. Distrusting both his allies and his enemies, he remains in Edo, letting his troops know that he will only join them once he is sure of their loyalty in battle.
His caution proves justified: he soon learns that his forces have crushed a daimyo from the Toyotomi clan allied with Ishida. Reassured, Tokugawa sets out from Edo toward Osaka Castle in the west, where the bulk of the enemy troops are stationed. Faced with the growing threat, Ishida has no choice but to march out to confront him and block his advance. Tokugawa has won his first strategic victory—he has drawn his enemy’s forces into open terrain, avoiding a long and grueling siege. On October 20, 1600, after a long day of marching through torrential rain that has exhausted his men and rendered firearms useless, Ishida orders a halt and rest in the mountainous pass of Sekigahara.
The topography of the area—a valley bathed by the small Fuji River—offers Ishida’s army, positioned on the heights, a strategic advantage. Upon hearing of this movement, Tokugawa advances his troops into battle. For months, aided by a network of spies, he has been negotiating with some of Ishida’s allies, persuading them to defect—most notably with one of the most powerful among them, the young Kobayakawa Hideaki.
A former commander in Korea and the nephew of the late Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Kobayakawa had once fallen out of favor due to command errors, but Tokugawa had helped reinstate him. Now, the young warlord is torn between loyalty to the Toyotomi clan, which supports Ishida, and his gratitude toward Tokugawa. Eventually, he sends a secret message to Tokugawa, assuring him that he will switch sides during the battle. Tokugawa, taking his first major gamble, chooses to trust him.
Edo period screen depicting the Battle of Sekigahara.
The rain and fog are so thick that the two armies collide before even seeing each other. Panic. Gunfire. On the evening of October 20, both sides withdraw without engaging in full combat. Ishida rejects the idea of exploiting the situation as dishonorable, ignoring the advice of one of his generals, Shimazu Yoshihiro, who feels humiliated and will remember this slight the following day—leading him to betray Ishida.
At dawn on October 21, as the fog begins to lift, both armies take stock of their positions.
Perched on the heights, Ishida’s so-called “Western Army,” 80,000 strong, looks down upon Tokugawa’s 75,000 men, seemingly trapped in the valley below.
In Japan, the first samurai to charge into battle earns great respect. This honor falls to Tokugawa’s fourth son, a 21-year-old warrior.
At precisely 8 a.m., 30 cavalrymen ride behind him through the left flank of their “Eastern Army,” followed by 800 arquebusiers who open fire on the center-right of Ishida’s forces. The ascent is steep, the ground waterlogged, and the advance too slow. The assault is repelled with heavy casualties. Yet, despite Tokugawa’s weaker position and numerical disadvantage, his superior firepower tips the balance: his muskets have fared better in the damp conditions, and before the battle, he had seized 18 cannons from a Dutch ship, Liefde. These cannons now rain destruction upon the battlefield, their shots exploding amid forests of spears, cavalry charges, and deadly sword fights.
The Fatal Betrayal
By midday, the battle reaches a standstill. Confusion reigns, and the outcome remains uncertain. All eyes turn southward to Mount Matsuo, where 15,000 warriors under Kobayakawa Hideaki stand motionless above the chaos, awaiting their leader’s decision. The young commander hesitates, ignoring Ishida’s repeated orders to attack as well as Tokugawa’s messages reminding him of his promised defection.
Then, in a fateful move, Ieyasu makes a decision that will become legendary—he orders his cannons to fire upon Mount Matsuo. The thunderous blasts jolt Kobayakawa into action. At last, he commits. With a sweeping motion, he commands his entire force to descend in support of Tokugawa, siding with the old warlord to whom, in the end, he feels indebted.
Ishida’s troops, stunned by this betrayal, turn their arquebuses against the defectors, limiting the effectiveness of their charge and even driving them back up the hill. But Tokugawa’s other regiments seize the moment, capitalizing on the disorder to break through the right flank of the Western Army.
Witnessing this dramatic shift, four of Ishida’s generals also turn against him, including Shimazu, still nursing his grudge from the previous day. When Ishida orders him to attack, he coldly refuses, declaring that he does not take commands from a leader he does not respect.
The verdict is clear. The Western Alliance is revealed to be nothing more than a fragile coalition. The bold gamble of the seasoned warrior has outmatched the refined administrator. Ishida’s army collapses—both in spirit and on the battlefield. In the aftermath, 40,000 of his men are executed.
A Dictatorship of Peace
From this moment on, Japan turns inward. Abandoned by his allies and handed over to Tokugawa Ieyasu, Ishida Mitsunari is paraded through the streets of Osaka before being taken to Kyoto, where he is beheaded on November 1, 1600, along with three other “troublemakers.” As per custom, their severed heads are displayed on Sanjo Bridge. Kobayakawa Hideaki, whose betrayal altered the course of history, is rewarded by Tokugawa with a vast domain. Yet, he enjoys it little—he dies just two years later, having succumbed to madness.
In 1603, Tokugawa is granted the coveted title of shogun by the emperor, an honor denied to his two predecessors due to their humble origins. This official recognition cements his success, allowing him to complete Japan’s unification. He confiscates and redistributes the lands of his former enemies to loyal men. More importantly, to prevent the regional fragmentation that had long plagued Japan, he reduces the number of feudal domains. Each han (fief) now becomes an administrative unit overseen by a representative of the central government, to whom he must answer.
Thus a nation was born that isolated itself from the outside world like a patient in convalescence. In Kyoto, the emperor remained the symbolic heart of the nation, while his enforcer, the shogun, ruled from Edo. The Tokugawa shogunate would last until 1868, and the Battle of Sekigahara would be seen as a defining moment in the birth of modern Japan.
Q/A on the Battle of Sekigahara
What caused the Battle of Sekigahara?
The battle was the culmination of a power struggle following the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1598. Tokugawa Ieyasu sought to consolidate power, while Ishida Mitsunari rallied loyalists to protect Hideyoshi’s heir, Toyotomi Hideyori.
What were the Eastern and Western Armies?
Eastern Army: Led by Tokugawa Ieyasu, it included daimyo (feudal lords) from eastern Japan. Western Army: Led by Ishida Mitsunari, it consisted of daimyo loyal to the Toyotomi clan, primarily from western Japan.
What was the significance of Sekigahara’s location?
Sekigahara, located in modern-day Gifu Prefecture, was a strategic crossroads. Its narrow valley forced the Western Army into a confined space, limiting their mobility.
What were the key mistakes of the Western Army?
Poor coordination: Lack of unity among the daimyo. Betrayals: Key commanders defected to the Eastern Army. Ineffective leadership: Ishida Mitsunari’s inability to inspire loyalty.
Since the mid-14th century, the Ming dynasty (14th-17th centuries) had enjoyed favorable climatic conditions. Abundant rains ensured generous harvests. Grain prices remained low. The population increased, reaching 170 million inhabitants.
These natural blessings allowed Ming emperors to invest in costly infrastructure projects, building the Forbidden City and extending the Great Wall. They knew their time was counted, as tradition granted them a “Mandate of Heaven” that would not last forever.
Thus, when in 1644 the Ming dynasty collapsed after three centuries of supremacy, it was believed that Heaven had taken offense: the natural disasters that precipitated the regime change were an unmistakable sign… It began with sustained frosts and droughts, shortening harvest periods when they didn’t ruin them completely. The year 1640 is considered one of the driest in dynastic history, plagued by locust invasions and sandstorms.
People thought they saw dragons tearing open the Sky, a sign that the Ming’s Mandate of Heaven was ending! Famine set in: “Drought everywhere. Voracious locusts. Millet prices have exploded. Streets are strewn with the bodies of thousands of starving people,” reported a Shanghai newspaper in 1641. In Shaanxi province, people boiled tree bark for food. Cases of cannibalism were also reported. With rice prices having tripled, a Zhejiang gazette writer noted that one risked assassination if buying rice.
These plagues were compounded by several epidemic episodes: the Chinese population fell by 40% between 1585 and 1645. Faced with the regime’s inability, riddled with debt, to help the population, it descended into anarchy.
Emperor Chongzhen (1611-1644), sovereign of the “dragon throne,” faced two threats: one external, consisting of Manchu invaders pressing against his northern borders, and the other internal, represented by Li Zicheng, a farmer who had led a peasant rebellion. Leading 30,000 men, the latter entered Beijing in April 1644 and overthrew the regime; dishonored, the last Ming emperor hanged himself on April 25.
The Japanese samurai suicide by disembowelment is a well-known ritual. In the past, samurai could open their stomachs to end their lives for various reasons: following their master to the grave, restoring their honor, atoning for a crime, etc.
In 1962, the Japanese film Hara-kiri depicted a fallen samurai visiting a feudal palace to request permission to end his life. However, the film’s original Japanese title was Seppuku, named after the ritual. So, which expression is more appropriate?
How does Japanese ritual suicide differ from Western customs?
In modern European culture, taking one’s own life is considered a sin, an act condemned by God. However, in feudal Japan, things were different.
Samurai lived by bushido, a code of conduct based on courage, honor, morality, and dignity. A samurai who strayed too far from the right path and committed too many wrongdoings could choose to take his own life. Through this courageous act, he saved face for himself, his family, and his lord. To “self-execute” (seppuku or harakiri), tradition dictated that the samurai would cut open his belly, as it was believed in Zen Buddhist philosophy that the soul resided there.
Why does “committing harakiri” have a different meaning from “committing seppuku”?
In Japanese, harakiri and seppuku both mean “belly cutting,” though they are written differently. In Europe, harakiri is more commonly used, while in Japan, seppuku is preferred—a word that actually originates from China! This makes sense, as the tradition itself has roots in China. Originally, Chinese women would cut open their bellies to prove they were not pregnant and thus still virtuous.
For the Japanese, harakiri has a vulgar connotation, referring directly to the physical act of cutting the stomach. Seppuku, on the other hand, refers to the formal and structured ceremony, which became a true spectacle for nobles in the 1600s. The term was even used in legal texts and official declarations.
Pain and procedure: How was samurai suicide carried out, and when was the last historical seppuku?
To summarize, commoners and criminals committed harakiri, but true samurai and nobles performed seppuku in front of important witnesses. There were many variations, but generally, the person committing suicide would disembowel themselves using a blade—typically their secondary sword, the wakizashi. They could either complete the act themselves or have an assistant behead them at a predetermined moment.
The earliest known harakiri or seppuku dates back to the 12th century. The practice was officially banned in 1873. However, this did not prevent Japanese soldiers from committing harakiri or seppuku at the end of World War II, nor did it stop the famous Japanese writer Yukio Mishima from taking his own life in this manner on November 25, 1970.
The recent Disney Shogun series reminded us of the West’s fascination with the major myth from Japan: the samurai. A proud knight, entirely devoted to his daimyo (lord). This myth was revealed to the West in the last third of the 19th century, with the country’s opening to foreigners, the wave of Japonisme, and the spread of works by Hokusai, the master of prints, the first to use the term “manga” in the sense of “derisory image” or “quick sketch”, where he would sometimes depict these warriors walking alone in magnificent landscapes.
It is no coincidence that George Lucas came to Akira Kurosawa’s aid, abandoned in Japan, to produce Kagemusha in 1979. His dark and stellar Darth Vader, who had conquered the world two years earlier, owed much to the samurai of the Japanese master and the warrior code – bushido – illustrated in Kurosawa’s films that young Lucas had admired during his studies.
This masterpiece, Kagemusha, opened with the famous Battle of Nagashino in 1575, which marked the twilight of an era lasting two and a half centuries, the same one traced by the Disney series. The wild time of civil wars, of clans sharing a fragmented medieval Japan.
Wild? Not quite. In a paradox typical of Japan’s complex history, it was marked by the simultaneous emergence of what, to Western eyes, embodies Japanese culture. First, ikebana, or the art of making flowers live, a composition invented before Buddhist altars as an offering.
It spread among these warlords to highlight their ceramics imported from China and their interiors already equipped with tatami mats and shojis, sliding paper-covered partitions. Then nô, also originating from religion, evolved into a theater of warrior gestures, while kabuki would become an urban and bourgeois theater in the 17th century, with civil peace restored. Finally, chanoyu, the tea ceremony, imported from China, was also a scene of political negotiations, one of whose masters was none other than Oda Nobunaga, the victor of the Battle of Nagashino.
When the Jesuits, following the Portuguese and the future Saint Francis Xavier, landed after 1550 on the island of Kyushu in the south of the Archipelago, they tried to decipher the rather obscure political system of this country: “The emperor, who has his own court, installed since the 5th century, son of the Sun goddess and the Moon lord, is a kind of pope who embodies spiritual power,” summarizes Julien Peltier. “In parallel, the shogun, established in the 12th century, is a weak king who establishes a military regime over a central third of the country. He is sometimes a great patron. Like little kings at the head of a fief or clan, the daimyo, the sword nobility, who share a community of values, often richer than the lords of the shogun’s court, divide the territory, feigning to recognize his sovereignty.”
Hierarchical Carnival
It is these daimyo and their clans who will battle each other, even threatening the shogun if one of them gains a lasting advantage. But in this incessant instability, which lasts until Nagashino and the end of the 16th century, the sacred existence of the emperor was never questioned by these warlords, suzerains with power over vassals, controlling territories sometimes as large as two or three French departments, who had often gotten rid of the shugo, the shogun’s local representative.
And the samurai? Their emergence, around the 9th-10th centuries, on the margins of the empire, especially in the east of the main island, results from the emperor’s failure to form a peasant infantry in the Chinese style, analyzes Julien Peltier. Employed by the shoguns, who imposed a military regime in the 12th century, and then by the daimyo, they would long embody the barbarian, the brute, in a still Sinocentric country with Confucian values.
It is very gradually that they would become civilized until, after 1603 and the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, which remains peaceful until 1868, they became a kind of armed civil servants.
To this time of civil wars, marked by the construction of spectacular fortresses, sometimes magnificently decorated, also accompanied by an increase in production and international exchanges, historians have given the name “world upside down”.
For these upper warrior layers, the daimyo, “are incapable of maintaining themselves as a cohesive social group. Phenomena of social ascension or collapse are rapid and frequent. This hierarchical carnival also leads to the birth of autonomous villages, independent, free cities, grouped into leagues, compared to Italian cities of the Middle Ages.
Mastery of Firearms
Oda Nobunaga, the first to be able to reestablish a central state, was himself a small warlord, son of a daimyo, leader of the Oda clan, in the east of the country, near Nagoya. He burst onto the Japanese scene dramatically in 1560: with 3,000 men, he surprisingly defeated the powerful Imagawa house, which had assembled ten times more troops. It took him ten years to gain control of the central province of the country, Mino.
Called to help by the Ashikaga shogun, who had just been overthrown, he reinstated him in Kyoto, then deposed him, before fighting the famous Battle of Nagashino in 1575 against the last resisting clan, the Takeda clan: “A despised character, eccentric, almost mad, iconoclastic, Nobunaga is the first of the three unifiers, with Hideyoshi and Ieyasu, who would need three decades, until 1603, to reestablish a central authority,” summarizes Julien Peltier.
He relied on the mastery of firearms, arquebuses, which his infantrymen used in rolling fire, with several aligned ranks, devastating the samurai, equipped only with their swords. Imported by the Portuguese in 1543, but already smuggled in by Chinese pirates, the arquebuses were improved and manufactured by the Japanese, which deterred Europeans from invading their archipelago. Nobunaga also symbolizes openness to the outside world.
Moreover, with the Jesuits and their missions, a nanban culture emerged, influenced by Europe: Japan discovered bread, wine, geography, clocks, the organ and the viola, offered to Nobunaga, who positioned himself as a protector of craftsmen and merchants. He did not hesitate to burn down the country’s main temple, Enryakuji, to weaken religious forces.
His objective was to end the traditional shogunate, but he would not have time. Betrayed in 1582 by one of his treacherous generals, who surrounded him in a temple, he committed suicide there. Even during his lifetime, writes Souyri, he was already being worshipped. Even today, this extravagant lord, first founder of modern Japan, remains the source of inspiration for many novels and mangas.
Sakoku “Chained Country”
In 1635, thirty years after establishing civil peace, the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty ended the country’s open-door policy. As early as 1613, Christianity was banned in the archipelago. In 1635, Japanese people were no longer allowed to travel abroad, and those residing overseas, where they had founded colonies, were not permitted to return. After suppressing the Christian revolt in Shimabara in 1637, the Portuguese were expelled from Japan. The Dutch were tolerated. This policy, which would last until the end of the shogunate in 1868, was named sakoku, the “chained country”. Only a few windows remained open: Nagasaki (Deshima in 1804) for Holland and China; Tsushima Island for Korea; Satsuma on the Ryukyu Islands.
A view of Dejima in Nagasaki Bay. Credit: Public Domain
The Origin of Ninjas
Japan, always skilled at fabricating myths, transmitted this one to the world without documenting its reality. Who were these ninjas – “stealthy individuals” – in the brutal 16th century? Men of shadow and skill, sometimes former bandits, sometimes venerated notables, they were enlisted in lords’ wars to conduct infiltration and espionage operations.
Initially despised by samurai, scholars, and historians, they would gradually – as peace returned and they blended into the population – take on another, less dark and more entertaining figure, with a unique fighting technique bordering on magic.
This date—1902—does not prominently feature in the history of Japan. Typically, the focus is on 1905, because it was then that the Japanese Empire inflicted its first military defeat on a white power, specifically Tsarist Russia, thereby becoming a rallying point for anti-colonial and independence movements from India to Egypt and the Middle East.
In his latest work, Le labyrinthe des égarés: L’Occident et ses adversaires (2023), Amin Maalouf noted that Japan was the first center of anti-Western sentiment in the 20th century. Indeed, 1905 marked a thunderclap in the global balance of power, foreshadowing a century in which the cards of hegemony would be reshuffled.
However, three years earlier, in 1902, Tokyo had already signed an equal treaty with London—the first of its kind between an Asian power and a Western nation, and moreover, with the leading power of the time. This was also a revolution, albeit one that went unnoticed, signaling the rise of Japan as it gradually took its place among the imperial powers.
In 1890, Prime Minister Aritomo requested a significant increase in military funding from the Lower House. At the time, Russia, the only Western nation bordering Japan, was completing the Trans-Siberian Railway in the Far East. Meanwhile, China, though weakened by unequal treaties, was persistently eyeing Korea.
Aritomo spoke of the “first lines of defense” for the empire—a siege-like vocabulary that barely concealed a desire to partake in the division of the Asian “cake.” “Devour to avoid being devoured” became the motto of this early imperialist Japan.
By the end of the 19th century, nearly all of Southeast Asia had fallen under colonial rule: Burma to Great Britain, Indochina to France, and the Philippines to the United States.
After the consolidation phase of the Meiji era, the power in Tokyo gave way to expansionist ambitions in 1894 by advancing into Korea, where it had placed its pawns for nearly twenty years. The Chinese, called upon for help by the Koreans, could only react to their detriment, as they were defeated by the Japanese, who had mobilized 250,000 men.
This success was seen as the victory of one civilization over another, specifically the “chanchan” (which can be translated as “Chinamen”) from Beijing. At the last moment, the Western powers dissuaded the Japanese from marching on Beijing.
The signed treaty, which granted them Taiwan and control over Korea, transformed them into a colonial power. In turn, they extracted a most-favored-nation clause from China. It took the triple intervention of France, Russia, and Germany for them to relinquish the Liaodong Peninsula, which is now part of China. This opposition was perceived in Japan as a humiliation.
Impressed Westerners
Nevertheless, their victory over China impressed the Westerners, particularly the British, who were betting on Japan to curb the ambitions of their rival in Asia, Russia. The Chinese had shown too much weakness to fulfill this role. Geopolitically, Japan was already serving as a shield for the West against Russia and China.
In 1899, when the Boxers rebelled in Beijing, it was the Japanese army that the British called upon to suppress them.
The Japanese army proved to be remarkably effective, so much so that the Japanese were invited to their first negotiation table concerning China in 1900. Faced with the Boer War in South Africa and preoccupied with its naval rivalry with Germany, England offloaded East Asia onto Japan, which was then in a position to sign the Anglo-Japanese Treaty in 1902. Its clauses ensured Japan the possibility of attacking in Asia without London hindering it and guaranteed it against a triple intervention.
Tokyo now had free rein, which allowed it to strike Russia when the latter halted the withdrawal of its troops from Manchuria.
Although Japan emerged militarily victorious from the conflict with St. Petersburg, it was economically weakened and sought the mediation of Washington, with whom relations had been excellent since the first exchanges in the 1860s. But the 1902 treaty paved the way for other agreements signed after this war with France, Russia, and the United States. Japan believed it could be considered a full-fledged member of the concert of great nations. On this point, it made a grave mistake.
The Mythical First Emperor Ascended to the Throne – February 11, 660 BC
Emperor Jimmu, ukiyo-e by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1880)
Information found in ancient Japanese mythological and historical chronicles has allowed for the establishment of the date of the ascension to the throne of the mythical first emperor Jimmu, from whom the imperial family of Japan is said to originate. On this day, Jimmu, a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu, went through an enthronement ceremony in the capital he founded, in a place called Kashihara.
Naturally, there was no question of statehood in Japan at that time, nor of the existence of Jimmu or the Japanese people themselves. The myth was integrated into everyday life and became a part of history. In the first half of the 20th century, the day of Jimmu’s enthronement was a national holiday, during which the reigning emperor participated in prayers for the well-being of the country. In 1940, Japan celebrated 2,600 years since the founding of the empire.
Due to a complex foreign political situation, it was necessary to abandon plans for hosting the Olympic Games and the World Expo. The symbol of the latter was to be Jimmu’s bow and a golden kite that appeared in the myth:
“The army of Jimmu fought the enemy but could not defeat them. Suddenly, the sky was covered with clouds, and hail began to fall. Then, a miraculous golden kite appeared and perched on the upper edge of the imperial bow. The kite glowed and sparkled like lightning. The enemies saw this, were thrown into complete confusion, and lost all will to fight.”
Nihongi : Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 – Link
After Japan’s defeat in World War II in 1945, references to Jimmu became rare and cautious due to his strong association with militarism.
The First Legal Code – 701
In the early 8th century, Japan continued its active efforts to form institutions of power and establish norms governing relations between the state and its subjects. The Japanese state model was based on the Chinese one. Japan’s first legal code, compiled in 701 and enacted in 702, was called “Taihō Code.”
Its structure and specific provisions were based on Chinese legal thought, although there were significant differences. For example, criminal law norms in Japanese legislation were developed with much less precision, reflecting the cultural peculiarities of the Japanese state, which preferred to delegate the responsibility of punishing offenders and replace physical punishment with exile, to avoid ritual impurity (kegare) caused by death. Thanks to the Taihō Code, historians refer to 8th-9th century Japan as a “state founded on laws.” Despite some provisions of the code becoming obsolete even at the time of its creation, it formally remained in force until the adoption of Japan’s first constitution in 1889.
The Founding of Japan’s First Permanent Capital – 710
The development of statehood required the concentration of the court elite and the establishment of a permanent capital. Until that time, each new ruler built a new residence, as staying in a palace defiled by the death of a previous ruler was considered dangerous. However, by the 8th century, the model of a nomadic capital no longer matched the scale of the state. Nara became Japan’s first permanent capital.
The site for its construction was chosen based on geomantic principles of spatial protection: a river to the east, a pond and plains to the south, roads to the west, and mountains to the north. These principles would later be used for selecting sites for the construction of cities and aristocratic estates.
Nara was laid out as a rectangle covering 25 square kilometers, copying the structure of the Chinese capital, Chang’an. Nine vertical and ten horizontal streets divided the area into equal blocks. The central Suzaku Avenue stretched from south to north, ending at the gates of the imperial residence. The title of the Japanese emperor, Tennō, also referred to the Pole Star, positioned immovably in the northern sky. Like the star, the emperor surveyed his domains from the north of the capital. The districts adjacent to the palace complex were the most prestigious; exile from the capital to the provinces could be a severe punishment for an official.
Attempted Soft Coup – 769
Political struggle in Japan took various forms during different historical periods, but a common feature was the absence of attempts to seize the throne by those outside the imperial family. The sole exception was the monk Dōkyō. Coming from the impoverished provincial Yuge family, he rose from being an ordinary monk to a powerful ruler of the country. Dōkyō’s rise was particularly surprising, given that the social structure of Japanese society strictly determined a person’s fate. Ancestry played a decisive role in the assignment of court ranks and government positions. Dōkyō joined the court monk staff in the early 50s.
Monks of that time were not only trained in Chinese literacy, which was necessary for reading Buddhist texts translated from Sanskrit in China, but also possessed other useful skills, particularly in medicine. Dōkyō earned a reputation as a skilled healer, which likely led to his being sent to the ailing former Empress Kōken in 761. Not only did he manage to cure the former empress, but he also became her closest advisor.
According to the collection of Buddhist legends “Nihon Ryōiki,” Dōkyō shared a pillow with the empress and ruled the empire. Kōken ascended the throne again under the name Shōtoku and introduced new positions specifically for Dōkyō, which were not provided for by law and granted him extensive powers.
The empress’s trust in Dōkyō was boundless until 769 when he, using faith in prophecies, declared that the god Hachiman from the Usa shrine wished for Dōkyō to become the new emperor. The empress demanded confirmation from the oracle, and this time Hachiman declared: “From the beginning of our state to this day, it has been determined who should be the ruler and who should be the subject. Never has a subject become the ruler. The throne of the sun in the heavens must be inherited by the imperial house.
The unrighteous should be exiled.” After the empress’s death in 770, Dōkyō was stripped of all ranks and positions and expelled from the capital. The cautious attitude toward the Buddhist church persisted for several decades. It is believed that the transfer of the capital from Nara to Heian, completed in 794, was partly motivated by the state’s desire to free itself from the influence of Buddhist schools, as none of the Buddhist temples were moved from Nara to the new capital.
Establishing Control Over the Imperial Family – 866
The most effective tool for political struggle in traditional Japan was establishing kinship ties with the imperial family and holding positions that allowed one to dictate their will to the ruler. The Fujiwara family excelled in this more than others, supplying brides to emperors for a long time and, from 866, securing a monopoly on appointments to the positions of regents (Sesshō) and, slightly later (from 887), chancellors (Kampaku). In 866, Fujiwara no Yoshifusa became the first regent in Japanese history not of imperial descent.
Regents acted on behalf of underage emperors, who lacked their own political will, while chancellors represented adult rulers. They not only controlled current affairs but also determined the order of succession to the throne, forcing the most active rulers to abdicate in favor of minor heirs, who typically had kinship ties to the Fujiwara.
The regents and chancellors reached the height of their power by 967. The period from 967 to 1068 is known in historiography as the “Sekkan Period”—the “Era of Regents and Chancellors.” Over time, they lost influence, but their positions were not abolished. Japanese political culture is characterized by the nominal preservation of old institutions of power while creating new ones that duplicate their functions.
Cessation of Official Relations Between Japan and China – 894
Foreign contacts of ancient and early medieval Japan with continental powers were limited. They mainly consisted of exchanges of embassies with the states of the Korean Peninsula, the Bohai state, and China. In 894, Emperor Uda summoned officials to discuss the details of the next embassy to the Middle Kingdom. However, the officials advised against sending an embassy at all.
Influential politician and renowned poet Sugawara no Michizane particularly insisted on this. The main argument was the unstable political situation in China. From this time, official relations between Japan and China ceased for a long period. In the historical perspective, this decision had many consequences. The absence of direct cultural influence from abroad led to a need to rethink the borrowings made earlier and to develop uniquely Japanese cultural forms.
This process was reflected in almost all aspects of life, from architecture to fine literature. China ceased to be considered a model state, and later Japanese thinkers would often point to the political instability on the continent and the frequent change of ruling dynasties to justify Japan’s uniqueness and superiority over the Middle Kingdom.
Introduction of the Mechanism of Abdication – 1087
A system of direct imperial governance is not typical for Japan. Real politics are conducted by the emperor’s advisors, regents, chancellors, and ministers. This, on the one hand, strips the reigning emperor of many powers, but on the other hand, makes it impossible to criticize him personally. The emperor usually engages in the sacred governance of the state. There were exceptions, however.
One of the ways emperors regained political authority was through the mechanism of abdication, which allowed a ruler to govern without being bound by ritual obligations when transferring power to a loyal heir. In 1087, Emperor Shirakawa abdicated in favor of his eight-year-old son Horikawa, then took monastic vows, but continued to manage court affairs as an ex-emperor. Until his death in 1129, Shirakawa dictated his will to both the reigning emperors and the regents and chancellors from the Fujiwara clan.
This form of governance by abdicated emperors became known as insei — “rule from the cloister.” Despite the reigning emperor holding sacred status, the ex-emperor was considered the head of the family, and according to Confucian teachings, his will had to be obeyed by all junior family members. The Confucian type of hierarchical relations was also prevalent among the descendants of Shinto deities.
Establishment of Dual Governance in Japan – 1192
In traditional Japan, military professions and forceful methods of conflict resolution were not particularly prestigious. Civil officials, who were literate and able to compose poetry, were preferred. However, in the 12th century, the situation changed. Representatives of provincial military houses, particularly the Taira and Minamoto, emerged on the political scene with significant influence. The Taira achieved what was previously impossible — Taira no Kiyomori occupied the position of chief minister and managed to place his grandson on the imperial throne.
By 1180, dissatisfaction with the Taira from other military houses and members of the imperial family reached its peak, leading to a protracted military conflict known as the “Genpei War.” In 1185, the Minamoto, under the leadership of the talented administrator and ruthless politician Minamoto no Yoritomo, achieved victory.
However, instead of restoring power to the court aristocrats and members of the imperial family, Minamoto no Yoritomo systematically eliminated his competitors, established himself as the sole leader of the military houses, and in 1192 received the title of Seii Taishogun — “Great General who Subdues the Barbarians” — from the emperor.
From this time until the Meiji Restoration in 1867–1868, a system of dual governance was established in Japan. Emperors continued to perform rituals, while the shoguns, as military rulers, conducted actual political governance, managed foreign relations, and often interfered in the internal affairs of the imperial family.
Attempted Mongol Invasion of Japan – 1281
The defeat of the Mongols in 1281.
In 1266, Kublai Khan, who had conquered China and founded the Yuan Dynasty, sent a message to Japan demanding recognition of Japan’s vassal status. He received no response. Later, several similar messages were sent without success. Kublai Khan began preparing a military expedition to the shores of Japan, and in the fall of 1274, the Yuan fleet, which included Korean units and totaled 30,000 men, pillaged the islands of Tsushima and Iki and reached Hakata Bay.
The Japanese forces were inferior in both numbers and weaponry, but direct military confrontation was largely avoided. A storm scattered the Mongol ships, forcing them to retreat. Kublai Khan made a second attempt to conquer Japan in 1281. The military campaign lasted just over a week before events repeated: a typhoon destroyed much of the massive Mongol fleet and thwarted plans to subjugate Japan.
These campaigns are linked to the emergence of the concept of kamikaze, which literally means “divine wind.” To the modern person, kamikaze is primarily associated with suicide pilots, but the term is much older. According to medieval beliefs, Japan was the “land of the gods.” Shinto deities, who inhabited the archipelago, protected it from external harmful influences. This was confirmed by the “divine wind” that twice prevented Kublai Khan from conquering Japan.
Schism within the Imperial House – 1336
Traditionally, it is believed that the Japanese imperial line has never been interrupted, which allows us to speak of the Japanese monarchy as the oldest in the world. However, there were periods in history when the ruling dynasty experienced schisms. The most serious and prolonged crisis, during which two sovereigns ruled Japan simultaneously, was triggered by Emperor Go-Daigo. In 1333, the position of the Ashikaga military house, led by Ashikaga Takauji, strengthened. The emperor sought their assistance in his struggle against the shogunate.
In return, Takauji desired the position of shogun and aimed to control Go-Daigo’s actions. The political struggle turned into open military conflict, and in 1336, Ashikaga’s forces defeated the imperial army. Go-Daigo was forced to abdicate in favor of a new emperor favored by Ashikaga. Unwilling to accept these circumstances, Go-Daigo fled to Yoshino in the Yamato Province, where he founded the so-called Southern Court. Until 1392, two centers of power existed in Japan — the Northern Court in Kyoto and the Southern Court in Yoshino.
Both courts had their own emperors and appointed their own shoguns, making it virtually impossible to determine the legitimate ruler. In 1391, Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu proposed a truce to the Southern Court, promising that henceforth, the throne would alternate between representatives of the two lines of the imperial family. The proposal was accepted, ending the schism, but the shogunate did not keep its promise: the throne was occupied by representatives of the Northern Court. Historically, these events were perceived very negatively.
For example, in history textbooks written during the Meiji period, the Northern Court was often ignored, and the period from 1336 to 1392 was referred to as the Yoshino Period. Ashikaga Takauji was portrayed as a usurper and an enemy of the emperor, while Go-Daigo was described as an ideal ruler. The schism within the ruling house was seen as an unacceptable event, one that should not be remembered unnecessarily.
Beginning of the Period of Feudal Fragmentation – 1467
Neither the shoguns from the Minamoto dynasty nor those from the Ashikaga family were sole rulers who commanded all the military houses of Japan. Often, the shogun acted as an arbitrator in disputes arising between provincial warriors. Another prerogative of the shogun was the appointment of military governors in the provinces. These positions became hereditary, which contributed to the enrichment of certain clans. The rivalry between military houses for positions, as well as the struggle for the right to be called the head of a clan, did not bypass the Ashikaga family.
The shogunate’s inability to resolve accumulated contradictions led to major military clashes that lasted 10 years. The events of 1467–1477 are known as the “Ōnin-Bunmei War.” Kyoto, then the capital of Japan, was almost completely destroyed, the Ashikaga shogunate lost its authority, and the country was left without a central government. The period from 1467 to 1573 is called the “Era of Warring Provinces.” The absence of a real political center and the strengthening of provincial military houses, which began issuing their own laws and introducing new systems of ranks and positions within their domains, led to a period of feudal fragmentation in Japan.
Arrival of the First Europeans – 1543
Maps of Japan (Teixeira Iaponia nova discriptio, 1636). Image: Luis Teixeira
The first Europeans to set foot on Japanese soil were two Portuguese traders. On the 25th day of the 8th month in the 12th year of Tenbun (1543), a Chinese junk with two Portuguese on board was driven to the southern tip of the island of Tanegashima. The negotiations between the newcomers and the Japanese were conducted in writing. Japanese officials could write in Chinese, but they did not understand the spoken language.
The characters were drawn directly in the sand. It was established that the junk had been accidentally driven ashore by a storm, and these strange people were traders. Soon they were received at the residence of Tokitaka, the ruler of the island. Among the various exotic items they brought were muskets. The Portuguese demonstrated the capabilities of firearms. The Japanese were struck by the noise, smoke, and firepower: the target was hit from a distance of 100 paces. Two muskets were immediately purchased, and Japanese blacksmiths were tasked with setting up their own firearm production.
By 1544, several gunsmith workshops were operating in Japan. Contacts with Europeans soon intensified. Besides weapons, they spread Christian teachings throughout the archipelago. In 1549, Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier arrived in Japan. He and his followers engaged in active proselytizing, converting many Japanese lords — daimyo — to Christianity. The nature of Japanese religious consciousness suggested a calm attitude toward faith. Adopting Christianity did not necessarily mean renouncing Buddhism or the belief in Shinto deities. Later, Christianity was banned in Japan under the threat of the death penalty, as it undermined state authority and led to unrest and uprisings against the shogunate.
The Beginning of the Unification of Japan – 1573
Among the historical figures of Japan, perhaps the most recognizable are the military leaders known as the Three Great Unifiers: Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Their actions are believed to have overcome feudal fragmentation and unified the country under a new shogunate, founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu. The unification began with Oda Nobunaga, an outstanding military commander who managed to subdue many provinces thanks to the talents of his generals and the skilled use of European weapons in battle.
In 1573, he expelled Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the last shogun of the Ashikaga dynasty, from Kyoto, making it possible to establish a new military government. According to a proverb from the 17th century: “Nobunaga kneaded the dough, Hideyoshi baked the cake, and Ieyasu ate it.” Neither Nobunaga nor his successor, Hideyoshi, were shoguns. It was only Tokugawa Ieyasu who obtained the title and secured its hereditary transfer, but this would have been impossible without the actions of his predecessors.
Attempts at Military Expansion on the Mainland – 1592
Kiyomasa hunting a tiger in Korea. Tiger hunting was a common pastime for the samurai during the war. Image: Public Domain
Toyotomi Hideyoshi was not of noble birth, but his military achievements and political intrigue allowed him to become the most influential person in Japan. After Oda Nobunaga’s death in 1582, Hideyoshi dealt with General Akechi Mitsuhide, who betrayed Oda. Revenge for his lord greatly increased Toyotomi’s authority among his allies, who rallied under his command. He managed to subdue the remaining provinces and strengthen his ties not only with the military houses but also with the imperial family.
In 1585, he was appointed as Kampaku (Chancellor), a position traditionally held only by aristocrats from the Fujiwara clan. His legitimacy was now based not only on arms but also on the Emperor’s will. After unifying Japan, Hideyoshi attempted external expansion on the mainland. The last time Japanese troops participated in mainland military campaigns was in 663. Hideyoshi planned to conquer China, Korea, and India. However, these plans were not realized.
The events from 1592 to 1598 are known as the Imjin War, during which Toyotomi’s forces fought unsuccessful battles in Korea. After Hideyoshi’s death in 1598, the expeditionary corps was urgently recalled to Japan. Japan would not attempt any further military expansion on the mainland until the end of the 19th century.
Completion of Japan’s Unification – October 21, 1600
The founder of the third and final shogunate dynasty in Japanese history was the military leader Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was granted the title of Seii Taishogun by the Emperor in 1603. Tokugawa secured his position as the head of the military houses through his victory at the Battle of Sekigahara on October 21, 1600. All military houses that fought on Tokugawa’s side were called fudai daimyo, while his opponents were called tozama daimyo.
The former received fertile lands and the opportunity to hold government positions in the new shogunate. The lands of the latter were confiscated and redistributed. The tozama daimyo were also excluded from participating in government, leading to dissatisfaction with Tokugawa’s policies. Members of the tozama daimyo would later become the main force of the anti-shogunate coalition that brought about the Meiji Restoration in 1867-1868. The Battle of Sekigahara marked the end of Japan’s unification and paved the way for the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate.
The Edict on National Isolation – 1639
The period of Tokugawa shoguns’ rule, also known as the Edo period (1603-1867) after the name of the city (Edo, now Tokyo) where the shogunate’s residence was located, was characterized by relative stability and the absence of serious military conflicts. This stability was partly achieved through the rejection of foreign contacts. Beginning with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japanese military rulers implemented a consistent policy to limit European activities on the archipelago: Christianity was banned, and the number of ships allowed to enter Japan was restricted.
Under the Tokugawa shoguns, the process of national isolation was completed.
In 1639, an edict was issued prohibiting any Europeans, except for a limited number of Dutch traders, from entering Japan. The year before, the shogunate had faced difficulties in suppressing a peasant uprising in Shimabara, which was led under Christian slogans. From then on, Japanese were also forbidden from leaving the archipelago. The seriousness of the shogunate’s intentions was confirmed in 1640 when the crew of a ship from Macau, which had arrived in Nagasaki to renew relations, was arrested. Sixty-one people were executed, and the remaining 13 were sent back. The policy of self-isolation would last until the mid-19th century.
The Beginning of Japan’s Cultural Flourishing – 1688
Japan in Provinces in the time of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Image: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
During the Tokugawa shogunate’s rule, urban culture and entertainment flourished. The peak of creative activity occurred during the Genroku era (1688-1704). It was during this time that the playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon, later called the “Japanese Shakespeare,” the poet Matsuo Basho, a reformer of the haiku genre, and the writer Ihara Saikaku, known to Europeans as the “Japanese Boccaccio,” created their works. Saikaku’s works were secular in nature and often humorously depicted the everyday life of townspeople. The Genroku years are considered the golden age of Kabuki theater and the Bunraku puppet theater. This period also saw the active development of crafts as well as literature.
Meiji Restoration and Modernization of Japan – 1868
The end of the military houses’ rule, which lasted over six centuries, came during the events known as the “Meiji Restoration.” A coalition of warriors from the Satsuma, Choshu, and Tosa domains forced Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last shogun in Japanese history, to return supreme power to the Emperor. This marked the beginning of Japan’s active modernization, accompanied by reforms in all areas of life. Western ideas and technologies were quickly adopted. Japan embarked on a path of Westernization and industrialization.
The reforms during Emperor Meiji’s reign were carried out under the slogan “Japanese spirit, Western technology,” reflecting the specifics of how the Japanese incorporated Western ideas. Universities were opened, compulsory elementary education was introduced, the army was modernized, and a Constitution was adopted. During Emperor Meiji’s reign, Japan became an active political player: it annexed the Ryukyu Archipelago, colonized Hokkaido, won the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars, and annexed Korea. After the restoration of imperial power, Japan participated in more military conflicts than during the entire period of the military houses’ rule.
Surrender in World War II and the Beginning of American Occupation – September 2, 1945
World War II ended on September 2, 1945, after the act of full and unconditional surrender of Japan was signed aboard the American battleship “Missouri.” The American military occupation of Japan continued until 1951.
During this time, there was a complete reassessment of the values that had taken hold in the Japanese consciousness since the beginning of the century. Even such a once unshakable truth as the divine origin of the imperial lineage was subject to reconsideration.
On January 1, 1946, a decree was issued on behalf of Emperor Showa about the construction of a new Japan, containing a provision that became known as the “Hirohito and the Declaration of Humanity” This decree also formulated the concept of democratic transformation of Japan and the renunciation of the idea that “the Japanese people are superior to other peoples and destined to rule the world.” On November 3, 1946, a new Constitution of Japan was adopted, which came into force on May 3, 1947. According to Article 9, Japan henceforth renounced “war as the sovereign right of the nation” for all eternity and declared the rejection of maintaining armed forces.
The Beginning of Post-War Reconstruction of Japan – 1964
Post-war Japanese identity was built not on the idea of superiority, but on the idea of the uniqueness of the Japanese people. In the 1960s, a phenomenon known as nihonjinron — “discussions about the Japanese” — began to develop. Numerous articles written within this framework demonstrated the uniqueness of Japanese culture, the peculiarities of Japanese thinking, and admired the beauty of Japanese art.
The rise of national consciousness and reassessment of values were accompanied by world-scale events held in Japan.
In 1964, Japan hosted the Summer Olympics, the first to be held in Asia. The preparations for the games included the construction of urban infrastructure projects that became a source of pride for Japan.
High-speed “Shinkansen” trains were launched between Tokyo and Osaka, which are now famous worldwide. The Olympics became a symbol of the return of a changed Japan to the global community.
The mission was by no means perfect; after all, the Japanese lunar lander SLIM was off-balance from the start. But at least the probe from the Japanese space agency JAXA accomplished something that only four other nations had achieved before: a (somewhat) gentle landing on the Moon.
Although the lander did not stand upright on the Earth’s satellite as planned and suffered from energy shortages, it survived several lunar nights and was later able to re-establish contact with the ground station on Earth. However, the project has now definitively ended: JAXA has declared the SLIM mission over after nearly eight months.
No More Communication
Communication with the probe has not been possible since last week, the agency announced on Monday on the online service X. “We have concluded that there is no prospect of successfully restoring communication with SLIM.
SLIM stands for “Smart Lander for Investigating Moon.” With the landing of the 2.40-meter by 1.70-meter probe on the Earth’s satellite, Japan became the fifth nation to land on the Moon, following the USA, the Soviet Union, China, and India, in early January. Two earlier Japanese lunar missions in 2022 and April 2023 had failed.
[Press Release] Conclusion of Lunar Activities of the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM)#JAXAhttps://t.co/eO9xtP1zis
— JAXA(Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) (@JAXA_en) August 26, 2024
Longer Than Expected
“SLIM continued to transmit information on its status and the surrounding environment for a much longer period than expected,” explained the space agency JAXA. The probe had landed on its side during its Moon landing, causing its solar panels to face west instead of upwards as planned. As a result, the device initially received only a little sunlight and consequently little power. Nevertheless, SLIM managed to transmit images of the lunar surface back to Earth.
The mission’s goal was to reach rock at the lander’s site in the Shioli crater that is usually buried deep beneath the lunar surface. This rock could provide clues about potential water occurrences on the Moon.
Autumn Scenery at Takao Takao Shukei. Artist: Nomura Yoshimitsu (1870-1958)
Depending on whether you consider Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan, to be a form of paganism, the issue of religion often baffles even the Japanese. A 2018 NHK survey found that 62% of Japanese people call themselves atheists. The other 31% are Buddhist, 3% are Shintoist, and 1% are Christian. Nonetheless, the majority of respondents (74%) believe that the Japanese islands are inhabited by “myriad gods” and make pilgrimages to Shinto shrines.
The “myriads of gods” include both local deities and national icons whose shrines may be found all across the country. The sculptures of foxes that serve as messengers for the deity Inari, who is in charge of success and wealth, make his temple most easy to locate. The most well-known Inari shrine is Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Taisha. The scene in Rob Marshall’s Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), in which the film’s young heroine sprints through a tunnel of brilliant orange torii gates, contributed to Fushimi’s increased visibility. As the gateway to a holy site, they an act of worship to the gods.
Japanese people rush to Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples on the first few days of the new year to buy an amulet and get their yearly o-mikuji prediction. The ministers of shrines and temples put religious goshuin seals in special pilgrimage notebooks for a modest price, and collecting them has become trendy in recent years. Shinto shrines and Buddhist shrines (butsudan) are common fixtures in Japanese households (kamidan). Shinto and Buddhism cohabit peacefully, a phenomenon known as syncretism. Even though the majority of Japanese people are not Christians, a sizable number of them choose to celebrate Christmas and be married in Catholic churches. In a nutshell, Shinto deities Kami and Buddha, along with other religions, cohabit in Japan.
In the 6th century, the ruler of the ancient Korean kingdom of Baekje presented the Japanese king with Buddhist sutras and a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, marking the beginning of the official history of Buddhism in Japan. For fear of angering the local kami, the old priesthood clans opposed Buddha worship. And when smallpox broke out, the statue of the “foreign deity” was dumped in the Naniwa Canal as a preventative measure. However, Buddhist doctrine quickly established itself in Japan, spawning several new schools of thought and becoming inextricably linked to Shinto.
If the new faith was so superior, then why didn’t it replace the old one? Because it was thought that gods, like people, were subject to the law of karma and suffered in an endless cycle of rebirths, Buddhist teaching was crucial in helping the kami deities achieve enlightenment. So, Buddhist sutras were recited to the Shinto deities in Shinto shrines. As a result, the deities gained status as the Buddhist guardians, and shrines to them were built on the premises of Buddhist places of worship.
Second, the rudimentary beliefs in the kami deities were developed into a sophisticated theory of the “way of the gods” under the influence of Buddhism and its intricate system of dogmas and rituals. Most notably, it detailed how the Buddha and bodhisattvas It detailed how the Buddha and Bodhisattvas, who were too lofty for commoners, took human form as Japanese deities to spread Buddhist law. There developed competing interpretations of Japanese mythology in the 15th and 16th centuries, suggesting that the Buddha and bodhisattvas were actually reincarnations of Japanese deities.
Finally, Buddhists handled funerals, protecting the kami deities from the grim reality of life’s final chapter. Ultimately, blood and death are the primary sources of kegare (Japanese for “bodily pollution”), and the Japanese gods will not accept it. This is why people are asked to wash their hands and spit in special stone bowls before entering a Shinto shrine.
The government chose to divide Shinto from Buddhism during the start of the Meiji period (1868–1922), when the cult of the emperor, a descendent of the sun goddess Amaterasu, who heads the Shinto pantheon, became the state doctrine. Shinto shrines that had acquired Buddhist temples, sculptures, and sutra scrolls were destroyed as part of an effort to “expel Buddha” from the domain of Shintoism.
Following the Japanese surrender in World War II, the Emperor renounced his position as “revealed deity” (arahitogami), Shinto was no longer recognized as the official religion of the country, and Buddhist preachers were called back into service. Currently, Shinto and Buddhism may live side by side without any problems.
Do they commit hara-kiri today?
Seppuku with ritual attire and second. This is from a play in the Meiji Era. Source: Gutenberg
Suicide through harakiri (or seppuku in Japan) is a demanding ceremony that takes a lot of physical strength and energy. It is not done nowadays. The samurai have always been the only ones allowed to cut open their abdomens to prove their mental and spiritual purity. For example, a samurai would carefully tuck the sleeves of his waist-length garments behind his knees so that his body wouldn’t slide backwards during the ceremony, which was frowned upon during the Edo era. Death through seppuku is not instantaneous but rather a drawn-out ordeal. In order to complete what he began, namely, to cut off the head, a kaishiku assistant is required.
Author and samurai values advocate Yukio Mishima (1925–1970) was one of the last people to take his own life by cutting into his stomach (seppuku). On November 25, 1970, he and his fellow Shield Society members attempted to overthrow the government. When things didn’t work out, Mishima took his own life. But not very successfully; a helper botched the initial attempt to sever his skull.
Is it true that Japanese women are not free and are submissive to their husbands?
According to Olympic Games organizing committee director Yoshiro Mori in early February 2021, women take too much time thinking and are late to meetings. Even though Mori lost his job because of what he said, the comments were a stark reminder of the difference between men and women in Japanese culture.
In the World Economic Forum’s Gender Equality Index for 2021, Japan placed 120 out of 156 countries. For a country with a mature economy and a lot of women in school, the gap between men and women is shockingly big.
It was found in August 2018 that Tokyo Medical University has been intentionally underrating female applicants’ admission exam results for several years. That’s because, according to their explanation, many women choose to put their medical careers on hold while raising families. The result might be a scarcity of doctors, nurses, and other hospital workers. Women not only have fewer employment and career options but also typically receive a lower income than males in the same position, and this is not exclusive to the medical industry.
Do Japanese women who are married always stay away from work after giving birth? 82% of Japanese young women continue to work after marriage, and 57% of those women want to resume their careers after delivering a child, according to a 2020 Social Survey conducted by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. A separate study indicated that even though many women would want to stop working if their partners made more money, over half of those women still intended to do so. Women often hope that their spouses will pitch in with childcare duties. However, in practice, it is the woman who bears the brunt of responsibility for childcare and housework. As a result, this becomes the leading cause of women leaving the workforce.
Confucianism had a significant impact on how gender roles were divided in Japanese society. Although the Meiji reforms adopted Western liberal concepts and provided women with some rights, the ideal of the “Good Wife and Wise Mother” (ryosai kembo) remained the most important female virtue. One of the primary guides to the education of ladies up to World War II was The Great Learning for Women (“Onna Daigaku,” first published in 1716). It is commonly believed that the great Confucian scholar Kaibara Ekken (1630–1714) wrote this book. In this work, the Confucian scholar states that “a woman’s purpose is to serve people.” When she is living at home with her parents, she serves them; when she is married, she serves her husband and his parents. To be submissive and humble is the path of a lady. Additionally, the supreme deity of the Japanese pantheon, the “gracious sun goddess Amaterasu,” “woven her celestial robes.”
Patriarchal behaviors have not entirely vanished; women are still routinely discriminated against in the workplace and at home, even though Japanese women have the same rights as men and are not required to follow their husbands in everything.
Who is Geisha?
Kotoba no hana [Flower of Words]. Yanagawa Shigenobu II (active circa 1830–60). Image: Christie’s
A geisha, as opposed to a courtesan (yujo), is a “man of art.” The first geisha were mostly male actors who performed sexually explicit skits for the brothel patrons. By the middle of the 18th century, geisha had relocated from the pleasure districts to the flower districts (hanamati), and the geisha profession had emerged as a distinct occupation. Geishas were primarily responsible for entertaining visitors through the tea ceremony, chatting, singing, dancing, and playing the three-stringed samisen. Also, they were not allowed to profit from their bodies in any way.
Most people outside of Tokyo (formerly Edo) and the surrounding Kanto area don’t know what a “geisha” is. Their trainees are known as oshaku, or “pouring sake,” or as hanyoku, or “half-precious” (since their services cost half as much as a geisha’s). Geisha are known as geiko in the Kyoto-centric Kansai area, while their trainees are known as maiko (“dancers”).
Historically, girls from low-income backgrounds were offered employment in geisha houses (okiya); today, however, girls as young as 15 or 16 choose geisha work as a career path after graduating from high school. In the Hanamati, geisha and their trainees have their designated areas. Apprentices often train for two years before becoming maiko by giving their first public performance as dancers. She also gets a fancy new kimono and a custom-made tortoise comb from the geisha who trained her. Her new name is based in part on the name of her teacher (Kanzashi). The girl spends the last month leading up to her debut (misedashi) attending tea house banquets and learning from the other maiko and geiko there. Maiko gets compensated for signing up at a specific geisha office. Learning to be a geisha often takes between five and six years.
Maiko is easily distinguished from a geisha by her brighter ensembles and hairdos. The getta (platform sandals) are taller, the sleeve length of the kimono is longer, and the belt reaches nearly to the floor. In contrast to geishas, whose hair is usually a wig, students usually get their real hair done.
Geishas are becoming a dying breed as fewer and fewer young women choose to pursue the profession. In Kyoto, there are only 169 geiko and 68 maiko who are officially recognized.
Do modern Japanese people wear kimonos?
Beauty in the Snow. Artist: Kikugawa Eizan
Geishas, noh performers, and kabuki actors all wear kimonos to work. The kimono is also traditionally worn at formal events like weddings, funerals, college commencements, and other such ceremonies. Kimonos are also commonly worn at formal events, including weddings, funerals, college commencements, and other ceremonies. Girls should wear the furisode, a colorful long-sleeved kimono, at their coming-of-age ceremony since it is customary to do so before marriage.
About 80% of Japanese women and 40% of men have tried on a kimono at some point in their lives. However, this traditional attire is costly, so most people only wear it on rare occasions or opt to rent it. Putting on a kimono correctly may be challenging, so much so that classes are offered to teach the proper way to do it. The yukata is yet another example. During summer festivals, women wear this style of kimono because of its lighter fabric. Yukatas are traditional bathrobes used by guests at hot springs and hotels.
Taking a stroll around Kyoto’s historic alleyways while dressed in a kimono or yukata has grown increasingly popular among both sexes in recent years.
Why do the Japanese always bow down?
Illustrations of Japanese Life, 1896, 1st Edition, K. Ogawa.
The act of bowing is not only essential to social interaction in Japan and East Asia but also serves as a valuable social marker that helps us gauge a person’s status and select an acceptable behavioral template. One common example is that the younger or lower-status person will bow first in a social situation. His bow will always be slightly lower.
In daily life, a bow can stand in for a variety of spoken expressions, including a request, a thank you, or an apology. A short, high nod means you’re glad to see someone, while a long, low nod means you’re sorry.
In the 12th century, the military elite refined the bowing ceremony into its present form. There were specialized academies for teaching this skill, as well as archery and horseback riding. One of the most well-known is the Ogasawara family’s etiquette academy. Business etiquette is still taught by the modern-day offspring of that ancient samurai family.
Since the bow always indicates social hierarchy, the handshake’s lack of popularity in Japan can be attributed to the fact that it represents equality. As long as traditional forms of power and government control are kept in place in Japan, the bow will continue to be used.
Don’t the Japanese use chairs and beds?
Traditional Japanese Edo Period house.
In Japan, chairs and beds are more like accessories than necessities. European-style furniture, including chairs and beds, began appearing in many aristocratic homes in the early Meiji era. Even though most modern Japanese homes are furnished in the European style, some still maintain rooms decorated in the traditional Japanese manner, complete with tatami mats and a tokonoma alcove adorned with ikebana and a scroll of paintings or calligraphy.
In contrast to detached homes, studio apartments have such little square footage that a standard bed won’t fit. A futon may be used as a mattress at night and folded up and stored during the day. The poll found that just 40% of Japanese respondents were interested in sleeping on a futon, while 60% preferred a bed or standard mattress. It is common to use a low table and zabuton cushions instead of a high table and chairs (sometimes with a wooden back). The kotatsu is a low table used in the wintertime that has a blanket draped over an electric (or less commonly, a charcoal) heating source and a tabletop put on top of it.
The traditional Japanese concept of space does not imply cumbersome and bulky objects. Wabi-sabi emphasizes refined minimalism and a sense of wholeness in a home, so extraneous pieces of furniture are out of place. To quote the great Tanizaki Junichiro, “When Europeans view a Japanese home space, they are stunned by its artless simplicity,” from his classic “Praise of the Shadow.” They find it peculiar because all they can see inside are blank gray walls.
Do the Japanese drink only sake or do they also drink other alcohols?
There is no alcoholic beverage more well-known in Japan than sake. Among Japanese people, it is known as nihonshu or washiu, while “isake” is a generic term for alcohol. Since sake is manufactured by pasteurization rather than distillation, the common translation of “rice vodka” is inaccurate. Sake, like wine, is produced by fermentation, specifically mold fermentation; however, in this case, the mold is naturally occurring. Originally made as an offering to the gods at Shinto temples, at the Tokyo shrine gate of Meiji Jingu, you may view rice wine gifts in the form of barrels braided with straw rope.
In addition to sake, the Japanese also consume shoyu, a stronger liquor distilled from rice, rye, and sweet potatoes (with an alcohol content of 20–25 degrees). Most of it comes from Kyushu, Japan. Awamori, distilled from raw rice, has an alcohol content of 30 to 60 degrees and is produced on Okinawa, a southern Japanese island.
In contrast, beer is a popular drink among Japanese people. It’s far superior to wine and umeshu plum liqueur. Whiskey is the drink of choice for those who appreciate superior beverages. It is estimated that Japan produces 5% of the world’s total supply of this beverage. As an illustration, Suntory’s 17-year-old whiskey, promoted by Bill Murray’s character in “Lost in Translation,” became so famous that the business ceased making it due to overwhelming demand.
Do the Japanese eat sushi and rolls?
Two Young Men and Several Women Dining at a Tea-house on the Bank of the Sumida River, Kubo Shunman. Image: ukiyo-e.org
Nigiri-zushi is the most common sushi style in Japan, while the Japanese more commonly refer to sushi as sashimi (a piece of fresh fish on a ball of cooked rice). Until the 19th century, sushi fish was fermented rather than uncooked.
Both high-end sushi restaurants, where the customer often leaves the decision up to the chef (with phrases like “At your discretion” or “Omakase”), and low-end sushi kaiten-zushi restaurants, where customers select their sushi from plates on a moving conveyor belt, serve the Japanese delicacy. The supermarket sells sushi kits, and customers eagerly await the nightly price decrease and the arrival of the desired sticker proclaiming the discount. Even though sushi might be pricey, it’s still more like quick food than fine dining.
Why do the Japanese go to see trees in bloom?
Cherry-blossom Time at Naka-no-chô in the New Yoshiwara, Utagawa Hiroshige. Image: ukiyo-e.org
This custom goes back centuries. During the Heian period (794–1185), the plum gave way to the decorative cherry, the sakura, a habit that had been imported from China in the 8th century. While there are 110 poems about plum trees in the 8th century’s “A Collection of Myriads of Leaves” (“Manyoshu”) but only 43 about cherries, there are 70 songs about cherries but only 18 about plums in the early 10th century’s “Collection of Old and New Songs of Japan” (“Kokinwakashu”). The simultaneous blooming of cherry trees inspired the term “hanami” (meaning “flower appreciation”).
According to legend, King Saga ordered the first hanami celebration to be staged in 812 at the Shinsen-en garden of the Kyoto Imperial Palace to celebrate the blossoming of a cherry tree. The aristocracy’s appreciation for the sakura’s ephemeral beauty stems from the Buddhist concept of the impermanence of all things and the aesthetic category of mono no aware, “the melancholy attraction of things” in a constantly shifting world.
As early as the 8th century, the Japanese noticed that epidemics often broke out in the spring when the cherry blossoms were ending. Because of this, a myth developed suggesting that the waning flowers’ disembodied spirits were to blame for the epidemic. Due to this, ceremonies called “flower soothing” (tinkasai) were performed by the Imperial Court’s Office of Temples and Sanctuaries (Jinggikan). A visit to Imamiya Shrine in northern Kyoto on the second Sunday of April will allow you to witness this rite as it is practiced now.
For the affluent, the transient beauty and ephemeral nature of life reflected in the cherry blossoms were a sobering reminder, while for the common folk, the flowering trees had a more celebratory significance. They thought that the gods of plenty would come down from the hills to the rice paddies in the spring. They made their temporary home in the sakura (from the words sa, meaning “deity of fertility,” and kura, meaning “dwelling place”). The gods were welcomed with offerings of food and music left at the base of flowering trees. As long as the sakura were in bloom, the god would stay, which would lead to a good harvest.
During the Edo era, cherry picking was practiced by people from all walks of life (1603–1867). To share his enthusiasm for cherry blossoms with the people of Edo, the monk Tenkai (1536–1643) transplanted trees from Mount Yoshino (Nara Prefecture) to the grounds of Kan’eiji Temple in Ueno Park. During cherry blossom season, the shrine quickly became a popular gathering spot for locals. The monks at the monastery where raucous cherry blossom walks were held complained to Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune in 1720, prompting the Shogun to order cherry trees to be planted across Edo to inspire widespread celebration. Ueno Park in Tokyo is one of the most popular urban parks in Japan and was recommended as one of a hundred great places to see cherry blossoms in 1990 by the Japanese Cherry Blossom Association.
Until 2011, the world’s oldest hotel (and the oldest company overall) was considered to be the Japanese traditional inn, Ryokan Hoshi. It was opened in the city of Komatsu in 717 AD and for 13 centuries offered visitors accommodation near hot springs. The Guinness World Records awarded it the title of the oldest hotel in 1994. Following this, Hoshi joined the so-called “Enoch” club, which unites companies that are over 200 years old.
However, in 2011, the Guinness World Records reconsidered their decision and gave the title of the oldest hotel to the Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan ryokan in the village of Hayakawa in central Japan. This hotel, established in 705 AD, has been owned by the same family for 53 generations and remains a classic ryokan, offering traditional services, furnishings, and hot spring baths.
The world’s oldest bank: Monte dei Paschi di Siena , Italy, 1477
Monte dei Paschi di Siena Headquarter’s Main Entrance, Palazzo Salimbeni, Siena. Source: Herbert Frank
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena was founded in 1477, nearly 120 years earlier than its closest competitor on the list of the world’s oldest banks, the German Berenberg Bank. The bank was established in the Republic of Siena—an Italian city-state that existed from the 12th to the 16th century and was considered one of the largest financial centers in the Italian territories. Banking had been flourishing there since the 12th century, with the city’s banking houses operating throughout Western Europe, providing loans to the Vatican, emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, and the French royal court.
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena was created in the twilight years of the Republic of Siena and initially functioned as a monte di pietà—a type of charitable pawnshop where a person could borrow money by leaving property as collateral worth one-third of the loan. If the borrower failed to repay, only that portion of the property was sold at auction, and no further measures were taken. For a long time, the church supported such monte di pietà, as it disapproved of usury and encouraged financial assistance to the needy. However, by the 17th century, Monte dei Paschi di Siena had transformed into a full-fledged bank and underwent multiple reorganizations. Today, it has branches in 20 cities across Italy and is known for its extensive collection of Italian paintings amassed over the bank’s history.
The world’s oldest pharmacy: Town Hall Pharmacy, Estonia, c. 1420
Town Hall Pharmacy. Source: Visittallinn.ee
The Town Hall Pharmacy (Estonian: Raeapteek) has been located on the Town Hall Square in Tallinn since at least 1422. Over six centuries of its existence, it has changed ownership dozens of times. The most notable owner was Johann Burchart Belavary de Sykava, originally from Hungarian lands. A chemist and doctor, he moved to Tallinn in the 1580s, and in 1583, the city council appointed Burchart as the chief pharmacist of Tallinn, leasing him the Town Hall Pharmacy.
For over a century, his descendants leased the pharmacy from the city until 1688, when Johann Burchart IV managed to buy it. The enterprise was passed down through the family until the mid-19th century. However, in the 1890s, Johann Burchart X passed away without a male heir, and his sisters were forced to sell the business in 1911. After changing hands several times and being state-owned at one point, the pharmacy reopened at its original location in 2003 following a long renovation.
The world’s oldest watchmakers: Gallet & Company, Switzerland, 1466
Final assembly of watches in the La Chaux-de-Fonds workshop (c. late 19th century).
Little is known about Humbertus Gallet, considered the founder of Gallet & Co. In 1466, he was granted the right to live in Geneva, where he began practicing watchmaking, which he later passed on to his son. Several generations of the Gallet family continued making watches, and in 1826, a direct descendant of Humbertus Gallet, Julien Gallet, officially registered the trademark and moved the company from Geneva to the Swiss city of La Chaux-de-Fonds, known today as a factory-town for watchmaking, where about a third of the working population is employed in the watch industry. This fact even led La Chaux-de-Fonds to be mentioned in Marx’s “Capital,” where he analyzed the division of labor in the city’s watch factories.
From the late 19th century, Gallet & Co. began to consider the United States as its primary market. The factory’s most famous model, the Flying Officer Chronograph, was created in 1939 at the request of Harry Truman (then a senator from Missouri) for combat pilots. One of its unique features was a rotating bezel with city names, which allowed pilots to easily calculate time zone changes. Truman himself, who became the President of the United States in 1945, also wore these watches, and they are now housed in his museum.
The world’s oldest newspaper: Post- och Inrikes Tidningar, Sweden, 1645
Post- och Inrikes Tidningar no 15, 9 April 1645.
The newspaper Ordinari Post Tijdender (“Regular Mail Times”) was founded by order of Swedish Queen Christina in 1645, nine years after the establishment of the Royal Post Office, which also still exists today. Initially, the newspaper was the main source of news in Sweden, and collecting these news items was largely assigned to local postmasters, who were instructed to gather all news that came their way and send it to the editorial office. The same post offices were responsible for distributing the newspaper; they were obliged to display fresh issues in public places.
In 1821, the newspaper merged with another Swedish newspaper, Inrikes Tidningar (“Domestic Times”), resulting in a new publication called Post- och Inrikes Tidningar (“Post and Domestic News”). Afterward, the newspaper underwent two more significant changes: in 1922, unable to compete with commercial newspapers, it began publishing only government decrees and court decisions, and since 2007, it has been available only in digital form.
The world’s oldest shipbuilders: Camuffo, Greece, 1438
View of the entrance to the Arsenal, 1732, Painting by Canaletto.
Camuffo, the oldest shipbuilding company still in operation today, was founded in 1438 on the island of Crete, which then belonged to the Republic of Venice. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the strengthening of the Ottoman Empire in the Aegean Sea, the founder’s son moved the shipbuilding operations to Chioggia, near Venice. At that time, Chioggia was the largest trading port in the Adriatic Sea, and Camuffo craftsmen ensured orders for the construction of fishing boats, barges, pleasure boats, and transport vessels in the Venetian style for several hundred years.
Today, the company, owned by 18 generations of the same family, produces only three models of motor yachts ranging from 18 to 20 meters in length. Even now, the construction of these yachts involves the use of many valuable types of wood, earning Camuffo the nickname “the Stradivarius of the Sea” from industry journals in the second half of the 20th century, a title they still use in their marketing materials.
The world’s oldest carrier: Shore Porters Society, Scotland, 1498
Shore Porters Society, Aberdeen, Scotland.
The Shore Porters Society of Aberdeen, Scotland, was founded six years after Columbus’s first voyage to America, and its name has remained unchanged since then. For a long time, the company was simply an association of Aberdeen harbor workers, but by 1666, it had grown so large that two divisions were created: a transport management division, which owned horses and carts, and a property and warehousing department.
Until the mid-19th century, the Shore Porters Society was owned by the Aberdeen city council, but then the company became a private partnership, which slightly altered its profile. Today, in addition to transportation services across the UK, porter services, and home moving services, the company also specializes in the expert transportation of antiques and artworks. Its services are used by both private buyers and auction houses.
The world’s oldest gunsmiths: Bartolomeo Beretta, Italy, 1526
At the Beretta gun factory. 1960s.
The history of Beretta began in 1526 when gunsmith Bartolomeo Beretta from Gardone, Italy, received an order from Venice for 185 barrels for arquebuses — smoothbore matchlock guns. For this, he earned 296 Venetian gold ducats, and the contract that sealed the deal is still kept in the company archives. Later, in 1571, the gunsmiths again served Venice by casting cannons for the Venetian fleet, which took part in the famous Battle of Lepanto.
The battle in the Ionian Sea between the Holy League and the Ottoman Empire ended in a crushing defeat for the Turks, with the Venetians distinguishing themselves heroically. Over the next five centuries, the company, whose owners remained members of the Beretta family, flourished. Today’s head of Beretta, Ugo Gussalli Beretta, is a direct descendant of the founder Bartolomeo Beretta, and one of his two sons is expected to inherit the management of the company in the future.
The world’s oldest publishing house: Cambridge University Press, England, 1534
Cambridge University Press.
The Cambridge University Press was founded by order of King Henry VIII in 1534, when the monarch granted the university a charter giving it the right to “print all kinds of books.” However, the first printed books appeared half a century later, after Thomas Thomas, a scholar, became the printer of Cambridge. In May 1582, he took office, and the first book — “Dialectica” by French philosopher Pierre de la Ramée — was printed by him in 1585. In 1591, Thomas’s successor, John Legate, printed the Cambridge Bible, which began the centuries-long tradition of Bible publishing by the university.
Since then, Cambridge has published dozens and hundreds of books annually, including works by John Milton and Isaac Newton, as well as scientific periodicals, monographs, reference books, and English textbooks now distributed worldwide. However, it wasn’t until 1992 that Cambridge University opened its own shop in the historic city center at 1 Trinity Street. It is known that various booksellers have traded at this same location since 1581, which leads some researchers to consider this shop the oldest bookshop in the UK.
The world’s oldest manufacturer of musical instruments: Zildjian, Turkey, 1623
Avedis Zildjian III in front of the Zildjian Quincy Factory.
Zildjian is often called one of the oldest companies in the United States, although it was established in 1623 in Constantinople. It was founded by an Armenian named Avedis living in the Ottoman Empire, who was engaged in alchemy and, according to legend, sought a way to turn base metals into gold. During one of his experiments, he discovered an alloy of copper, tin, and silver that produced a pure and beautiful sound.
Avedis began making cymbals and chimes from this alloy, which reportedly caught the attention of Sultan Osman II, who gave Avedis the surname Zildjian, derived from the root “zil” (meaning “cymbals”) and the affix “dji” (meaning “maker”), to which the sultan added the characteristic Armenian surname suffix “ian.” Soon after Avedis began making cymbals, Osman II was killed by mutinous Janissaries. For over two centuries, Zildjian’s descendants made various percussion instruments, including military cymbals used to intimidate enemies.
Only in the 19th century did the company fully switch to making musical cymbals, and in the early 20th century, Avedis’s descendants moved to the United States. There, in September 1929, the company was registered under its modern name — the Avedis Zildjian Company, or simply Zildjian. Since then, it has gained worldwide fame and has become a significant part of American musical culture. During World War II, when copper was considered an important strategic resource and its purchase was restricted for companies, the U.S. government granted Zildjian special permission to acquire raw materials.
The samurai is one of the most iconic figures associated with the history of medieval Japan. One of the most intriguing and memorable eras in the history of the Empire of the Rising Sun is the time of feudalism and civil wars. But all that preceded was plunged into the shade. As the 19th century drew to a close, the question of how Japan developed into a feudal empire sparked widespread interest. Together, let’s explore the ancient Japanese past, from prehistory to the rise of the imperial shogunate.
At the Dawn of Japanese History: The Jōmon Period (14000 BC–300 BC)
Reconstruction of a Yayoi period house in Kyushu.
The Shinto goddess Amaterasu was said to have provided the divine ancestry for the Japanese imperial family, giving them the right to rule the country. The Empire was just imperial in name at first, though.
While evidence of human habitation in Japan can be traced back to before 14,000 BC, the archipelago did not begin to take shape until around 300 BC. Peasants and fishermen made up the vast majority of Japan’s population at the time, and they lived in seasonal settlements that migrated across the country. The people who lived during the Jōmon period were known as “the market gardeners’ civilization” because they engaged in fishing, hunting, and primitive types of agriculture.
There was no such thing as money at the time, but jade daggers, ceramics, and shell-crafted things were beginning to emerge as popular handicrafts. Dogû is a kind of elaborate pottery that was discovered during the late Jōmon period, about 400 BC. There is no doubt that these works of art originated in Japan.
There was no Buddhism there at the time, just diverse shamanic rituals. It was believed that shamans could tap into the unseen realm and predict the future. They pray for prosperous harvests, appease the spirits, and protect against natural disasters and bad forces.
Japan and China: The Yayoi Period (300 BC–300 CE)
A Yayoi period dōtaku bell, 3rd century AD.
A dramatic shift in Japanese culture occurred at the start of the Yayoi period, about 300 BC. At this time, Shintoism was developing, governmental structures were being put in place, and trade with China was beginning to take place. The Yayoi, who came in from northern Kyûshu, the southernmost of the four main islands that make up the Japanese archipelago, were the ones who introduced these novelties.
Around 100 BC, Japan began producing its first metal goods, while the raw materials presumably originated in Korea. Communication with the Chinese and Koreans brought metalworking techniques, including bronze and iron, to Japan. Rapidly spreading from its origins in northern Kyushu, this groundbreaking idea has already changed the face of the whole island. Iron tools were put to use in farming, and the subsequent rise of the rice culture isolated and confined the rural population to their fields and homes made of mud and straw. Also, this system was only possible because of the rise of the settled population.
Landowners accumulated wealth, passed it down through the generations, and it increased the power of the ruling clan. Over time, they developed into something like feudal lords, complete with the power to impose taxes as well as administer justice and religious ceremonies. It was during this period that the first clans emerged. This aristocratic class’s religious function also bolstered their influence in politics. It was only they who had access to the holy items, could communicate with the other side, and understood the rituals of worship to the letter. The respect and admiration of others are a direct result of this accomplishment, further solidifying their position as leaders. Since bronze was less practical than iron for agricultural labor, it was relegated to the role of a symbol used in ceremonies, which eventually became an integral part of the governmental system.
In other words, the Yayoi era did not mark the end of the old shamanistic practices that had existed since the Jōmon period. Shinto, a religion with animist and polytheist elements, is still widely practiced in modern Japan. Shinto was founded on the idea that there were “6 million gods,” also known as kami (or spirits), who resided inside of everything and stood for each natural element. For instance, the fox deity Inari Ōkami, who was revered for his role in the harvest, was one of the most important kami.
In order to ensure a bountiful crop, they prayed to him. Shinto’s emphasis on cleanliness was similar to that of other religions. A person must periodically pray and do particular rites to rid themselves of their impurities (kegara), or else they will bring unhappiness and disaster upon themselves and everyone around them. The foundational myths of Japan, such as that the goddess Izanami and the god Izanagi created the country, have their origins in the Shinto faith.
The Japanese, who were known as the Wa at the time, first appeared in written Chinese. The fabled empress Himiko of Yamataitoku, who served as temporal ruler and high priestess, is said to have founded the empire around the third century (yet another fusion of spiritual and temporal powers). This empress may have existed, and she may have had some bearing on the later Yamato rule (from which the renowned battleship Yamato takes its name), although none of these claims have been verified.
The Emerging Empire: The Kofun Period (300 AD–538 AD)
The Nintoku mausoleum in Sakai, Osaka prefecture, Japan, part of the Mozu-Furuichi group of ancient burial sites known as kofun (Source: KYODO, Japan Times).
Towards the end of the 3rd century, gradually emerges what would later become the imperial house: the Yamato court. The clans in the Bizen region, along the shores of the Inland Sea, gain power to the extent of establishing their dominance over the southern part of Honshu and a portion of northern Kyushu. The dominant clans include Soga, Katsuraki, Heguri, and Koze, later joined by the Kibi clans of Izumo (further northwest), Otomo, Mononobe, Nakatomi, and Inbe.
Each of these clans retains leadership in its region (kuni) but unites with others under the direction of the Yamato court. The Soga, Mononobe, and Otomo clans are particularly influential. Each claims imperial and/or divine lineage. The Katsuraki, initially the most powerful, had to yield to the Otomo, who endorsed Emperor Keitai during a succession dispute at the end of the 5th century.
The Yamato court developed its own administration, introducing positions such as the Minister of the Treasury. While the Emperor allowed clans relative autonomy on their lands, his authority was absolute, with even clan leaders submitting to his will. In practice, certain clans held more influence, often due to marital alliances with the Emperor’s family.
The aristocracy, comprising clan members under the leadership of their patriarch, was granted the first hereditary noble titles. Advanced military techniques, including cavalry, emerged, and sword usage also originated during this period.
The Yamato court became a key interlocutor with Korean kingdoms and the Middle Kingdom. By the late 5th century, the Emperor of Wa (Japan) began paying tribute to the Chinese Emperor, who, in return, recognized him as sovereign.
Chinese and Koreans migrated to the archipelago, forming entire clans like the Hata clan, consisting of Chinese descendants of the Qin dynasty, or the Takamuko clan. Korean princes were sent as hostages to the Japanese court in exchange for military support against the Manchu tribes.
This influx of population had unforeseen consequences, notably introducing Buddhism to the archipelago and disrupting Japanese traditions.
As the Yamato era concluded, Japan stood as a well-established empire, recognized by neighbors despite its distinct Shinto-based culture and political system. However, with the arrival of Buddhism and ensuing reforms, Japan entered its imperial period, commencing with the Asuka era.
The Yamato court, which had its beginnings in the fifth century, grew into the imperial court of Japan during the next six centuries, becoming more dominant both domestically and internationally. It all started with a series of changes in the sixth and seventh centuries that completely altered the country’s political structure. During this period of imperial rule, the arts, cultural and spiritual traditions, and even the written language advanced, despite the fact that war was uncommon. Without a doubt, the six centuries between the beginning of the Heian period and the end of the Muromachi period were the Golden Age of the Empire of the Rising Sun, which became known as Japan during this time (Nihon). However, the shift between the Emperor’s ascension to power and his consolidation of that authority was characterized by a wave of changes that were essential to the Empire’s survival.
Shōtoku Taishi’s Reforms (587–628)
At the beginning of the 6th century, the Yamato court was the scene of intense political intrigue. Little by little, the Soga clan, thanks to its marriage to the imperial family, succeeded in establishing itself, pushing aside the Katsuraki, Heguri, and Koze clans, and above all, to the detriment of the Mononobe and Nakatomi clans, who contested the establishment of Buddhism. But we’ll come back to this later.
By 587, the Soga clan was sufficiently powerful to allow its leader, Soga no Umako, to install his nephew on the throne and rule through this straw man (or rather child), with the help of prince regent Shotoku Taishi (574-622). Later, the emperor, showing too much inclination towards independence, was assassinated and replaced by Empress Suiko (593-628). Shotoku Taishi was the first to introduce reform.
A devout Buddhist and a great connoisseur of Chinese literature, he drew inspiration from the Confucian principles governing government in the Middle Kingdom and applied them to Japanese reality. Shotoku Taishi introduced the concept of the Mandate of Heaven, according to which the Emperor holds his power by divine right and reigns according to the will of heaven. He also drew up a seventeen-article constitution, emphasizing the value of harmony and the Buddha’s teachings, the absolute priority of imperial orders over all other considerations, and praising the Confucian virtues of devotion and obedience.
This “constitution”—a debatable term, given that it does not really lay down the institutional foundations of the state but rather its guiding principles in moral and spiritual terms—is accompanied by a revolution in the system of ranks and etiquette, which, however laughable it may seem from the outside, is of major importance in a highly ritualized political system.
To complete the “Sinicization” of Japan, Buddhist temples were built, the Chinese calendar was adopted, and a new administrative unit inspired by the Chinese model came into force, the Gokishichido (5 cities, 7 roads). Students and diplomatic missions were sent to China, then under the rule of the Tang dynasty. However, although relations were more regular and intense, particularly on a cultural level, than during the Kofûn period, it was also at this time that rivalries between China and Japan developed. Indeed, messages from the Emperor of the Rising Sun to the Emperor of the Middle are now addressed as equals, as Japan no longer considers itself a vassal of its Chinese neighbor.
By the time Shotoku Taishi and Soga no Umako died, leaving the Soga clan to pull the strings of an Empire, Chinese culture had permeated Japanese customs and politics. Regarded with suspicion by the people, particularly Buddhist rites, these traditions from elsewhere were nevertheless to become an important part of the unique culture developed by Japan over the centuries that followed.
The Taika Reforms
The Soga clan, despite its period of success, did not survive long after the death of Shotoku Taishi. In the year 645, palace intrigues led to a coup d’état aimed at ending Soga’s grip on power. The Isshi Incident, also known as the Naka no Oe Uprising and Nakatomi no Kamatari (the clan that would later become the Fujiwara clan), signaled the start of the Taika Reforms, which means “Great Change.”
As control was no longer inherited, the central government initially confiscated land. Each generation, the lands were handed over to the imperial administration, responsible for their redistribution. Naturally, this meant that a family losing imperial favor could be reduced to nothing at a moment’s notice. Similarly, the hereditary titles of clan leaders were also deprived of hereditary transmission.
Subsequently, taxes on crops, silk, fabrics, and cotton were imposed to finance the expansion of the administration. A labor duty was instituted for the creation of a militia and the construction of public buildings. Finally, the division into Gokishichido was abolished, and the country was divided into provinces, led by governors accountable only to the imperial administration. Districts and townships were established to exert even more control over the country’s administration.
Additionally, the Emperor and his supporters, particularly the Kamatari, focused on establishing the ritsuryo, a set of penal and administrative rules. The ritsuryo was written in several stages: the Ômi code, the first version, was completed in 668; the Asuka Kiyomihara code in 689; and the latest version, the Taihô code, completed in 701, remained in effect with minor modifications until 1868. The penal code resembled a Confucian code, favoring lighter punishments over severe penalties.
The administrative code established the Jingi-kan, a body dedicated to court rituals and Shinto traditions, and the Daijo-kan, which created eight ministries for central administration, ceremonies, the imperial household, civil affairs, justice, the military, public affairs, and the treasury. This highly effective tool strengthened the imperial house’s ability to govern the country, contributing to the stabilization of its power.
The Introduction of Buddhism in Japan
The introduction of Buddhism to Japan likely occurred through immigration from the Korean Peninsula. In the 6th century, close relations between the Yamato court and Korean kingdoms developed, particularly after Japan’s intervention to support the Baekje kingdom against Mongol invaders. In 538, the first delegation was sent to Japan to spread the Buddhist faith. Initially embraced by the Soga clan and subsequently transmitted to the aristocracy, Buddhism faced resistance from the common people, supported by the Nakatomi and Mononobe clans.
As Buddhist traditions gained ground, Shinto traditions declined. Imperial decree forbade the burials known as “kofun,” or keyhole-shaped tumuli. The consumption of meat, including horses, birds, and dogs, was also forbidden.
Moreover, Buddhism was not the sole philosophy to make its way to the archipelago. In the mid-7th century, the first Japanese Taoist monastery was built on Mount Tonomine. Some imperial burials adopted the octagonal shape, symbolizing universal order in Taoism and indicating the strength of its influence.
As the Asuka period concluded, the empire was firmly established, with clans and the populace devoted; political stability prevailed; and the archipelago remained unscarred by conflicts. Such prosperity led the Japanese Empire to view itself as equal to the Middle Kingdom. A real cultural flowering was about to take place in what is now known as the Empire of the Rising Sun.
The Nara era commenced with the establishment, in the year 710 CE, of Japan’s first permanent capital in the city of Nara, located in the central part of the country. The Asuka era reforms gave rise to an imperial bureaucracy, which also settled in Nara. Rapidly, the city became Japan’s primary urban center, hosting a population of 200,000 people.
This urbanization, bringing together thinkers and artists from across the country, facilitated a genuine cultural explosion. During this period, imported Chinese culture associated with Buddhism waned, despite the capital being planned similarly to the Chinese Tang Dynasty capital, and was replaced by an original Japanese culture. Concurrently, the permanence of the imperial court heightened palace intrigues and power struggles. While the Nara and Heian eras are synonymous with cultural blossoming in Japan, they are also inseparable from the decline of imperial power and the onset of the first clan wars.
Development of Japanese Arts and Culture
The first sign of cultural renewal is the abandonment, starting in 710, of the titles and court attire of the Chinese tradition. Beauty standards evolve, and both aristocratic men and women powder their faces to whiten their skin and blacken their teeth. Men adopt the practice of wearing a thin mustache, while women paint their lips scarlet, all in an effort to approach the divine “perfection” described in Shinto pantheon legends. The first complex court robes also make their appearance, known as “junihitoe,” consisting of multiple layers of fabrics arranged according to a complex code based on the season and sacred festivals.
Artistically, the major development of these two eras was undoubtedly literary. Although Chinese remained the court language, the emergence of “kanas”—characters designed to express nuances, typically Japanese—led to an explosion of literature. The first major works emerged at the beginning of the Nara era, with the Kojiki (712) and the Nihon Shoki (724), the first imperial chronicles. Later, fictional works such as the famous Tale of Genji, the first Japanese novel, and The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon, one of the earliest female authors, were written. Poetry also experienced impressive growth. Japanese poems, known as waka, flourished during this time, as being a poet was a mark of an enlightened and serene spirit. Fujiwara no Teika, Murasaki Shikibu, and Saigyo are among the famous poets.
To fully grasp the significance of literary creations during this period, the current national anthem of Japan, “Kimi Ga Yo,” was written during the early Heian era, around 800.
Buddhism in the Empire of the Rising Sun
During the Nara period in Japan, as Chinese traditions fell into disuse and the Tang dynasty’s court was considered decadent, Buddhism, imported from China, did not follow the same decline. Well-established in the archipelago, the Buddhist clergy engaged in a rapid process of adaptation to Japanese reality. Despite being closely connected to the emperors and empresses of Nara, this adaptation did not occur without posing some challenges.
At the beginning of the Nara era, Buddhism gained significant prominence. A vast monastic complex, the Todaiji temple, was constructed with a colossal bronze statue of Buddha at its center, known as Daibutsu, towering over 16 meters in height. Assimilated to the representation of the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, this statue synthesized Buddhism from the continent with the older traditions of Shinto, native to Japan. Still visible in Nara, it remains a highly esteemed monument for both Japanese and foreign tourists. Provincial temples, called kokubunji, were established to extend the influence of Buddhism to rural regions where Shinto still held strong roots.
The archipelago’s oldest monasteries also date back to this period, such as the grand monastery on Mount Hiei, built by the Tendai Buddhist sect, closely associated with the emperor and basing its doctrine on the Lotus Sutra. Cultural achievements and artistic works from the Buddhist world found their way to Japan, notably the Shoso-in temple, which archived sacred texts from as far back as the early caravanserais of Central Asia on the Silk Road. The development of religious art played a crucial role in Buddhism’s influence in Japan, encompassing silk paintings, Buddhist statues, temple decorations (mandalas), sculpture, and calligraphy.
Buddhism: State Religion? No, but…
During the Heian period in Japan, Buddhism ceased to be the state religion but remained a means for the imperial family to uphold and expand its power and influence. Empress Kôken (749–758) invited a large number of Buddhist priests to the court during her reign. Even after her abdication in 758, she maintained strong ties with the clergy, particularly with a priest named Dokyô. When her cousin Nakamaro of Fujiwara rebelled against her, she successfully defeated him, subsequently dethroning the reigning emperor and ascending to the throne as Empress Shotoku (764–770). These actions shocked the court and led to the exclusion of women from the succession line. The clergy’s involvement is evident, as the empress, in gratitude for her victory, had nearly a million wooden charms manufactured.
In the later Heian era, the Tendai and Kukai Buddhist sects garnered support from numerous aristocrats, including Emperor Kammu, a staunch admirer of Tendai. Both sects aimed to connect the clergy and the state, believing that their religious conduct required influencing political decisions. During this period, the clergy’s land holdings grew in importance. Enjoying tax exemptions due to their religious status, monasteries also caused significant financial losses, threatening the imperial administration’s financial stability.
While there was a cultural explosion during the Nara period and the early Heian era, which was characterized by the development of modern Japanese writing and the influence of Buddhism, cracks started to appear during what appeared to be the heyday of imperial power. These fissures persisted throughout the Heian era, ultimately leading to the fall of the Empire and the rise of the shogunate.
The transition from the Nara era to the Heian era, though seemingly inconspicuous, carried significant implications. In 794, the capital was once again moved, this time from Nara to Kyoto (then known as Heian-kyô). Built on a larger scale but following the same plan as Nara, Kyoto stood as a monumental symbol of the imperial era’s flourishing.
Emperor Kammu chose Kyoto to strengthen the seat of imperial power, considering its better access to the sea, a river route, and, most importantly, its proximity to the eastern provinces. By establishing the government’s seat there, Kammu aimed to make it a strong power center that would extend imperial dominance across the archipelago. Military victories in the northeastern part of Honshu marked an initial step toward success, but the seeds of the decline of imperial authority were already present.
The Fujiwara Regency
Emperor Kammu, who seemed to be leading the Empire towards power, died in 806, leaving behind a powerful throne but a disputed succession. At exactly the same time, the great noble families began to regain their lost power from the reforms of the sixth century. Farmers and independent peasants who owned their own land since these reforms found it more advantageous to sell their property titles to these families. They would then work on these lands as sharecroppers in exchange for a fraction of the harvest. The result of this trend was that the extent of land controlled by the nobles was rapidly expanding. These lands formed “shōen,” large parcels, overseen by a manor or a castle.
This was somewhat reminiscent of the existing feudal system in Europe, except that the peasants were not serfs tied to their land. Furthermore, while peasants could not escape the controls on their heritage and tax collection, the great noble families were politically powerful enough to obtain substantial reductions in their taxes. A similar situation existed for monastic institutions. Monasteries also began to form shōen, becoming a significant factor in the country’s economy.
Gradually, emperors lost the absolute control they had over the administration as the Empire’s financial resources dwindled. The Fujiwara family, one of the most powerful noble families in Japan, which owned immense cultivable areas in the north of the country, gradually approached the seat of power, particularly through marriages with the imperial family. During the ninth century, the Fujiwara took the lead in the Imperial Cabinet, and several of them assumed the role of regent. The management of the Empire’s affairs gradually fell under the control of their family administration, which also managed their land holdings. The Fujiwara family surpassed imperial officials at all levels.
While other clans did not have an administrative machine as extensive as the Fujiwara, they nevertheless developed their own administration. The foundations of the feudal system were already in place.
The Rise of the Military Class
As the finances of the Empire collapsed, maintaining a substantial imperial army became increasingly problematic. Gradually, the management of military affairs became as much, if not more, the responsibility of noble families than the imperial administration. The shōen, in fact, were both the reason and the means to develop armed forces: they enabled the payment and sustenance of troops, who, among other duties, defended against raiders and the incursions of the Emishi (tribes in northern Japan). Private militias, whether under the command of noble families or religious orders, marked the emergence of a new social class—the warriors (bushi), later known as samurai (those who serve).
The larger families, controlling more extensive lands, also possessed the most numerous armies and consequently received military titles and corresponding prestige from the imperial court. Clans such as Taira, Fujiwara, and Minamoto, in particular, took center stage in the military arena. A tense situation developed, with each clan wary of the others, yet none taking the initiative for open conflict. Eventually, the balance was disrupted by Emperor Go-Sanjô (1068–1073).
Unlike several of his predecessors, Emperor Go-Sanjô managed to diminish the power of the Fujiwara. He established an official land registry, and as a significant portion of Fujiwara lands had not been properly recorded with authorities after being acquired from small landowners, the Fujiwara clan lost a substantial portion of its lands and income.
The Hôgen Rebellion (1156), supported by the Taira and Minamoto, further dispossessed the Fujiwara of their dominant position, compelling them to retreat to their northern strongholds. While they retained their official positions, the Emperor regained control of the administration, establishing an imperial council composed of abdicated emperors. Internal divisions within the clan accelerated its decline. For the first time, a war had brought an end to the power of a major clan.
The Genpei War, 1180–1185
Minamoto no Yoritomo, from an 1179 hanging scroll by Fujiwara no Takanobu.
The Gempei War was Japan’s first true civil war, and it occurred shortly after the collapse of the Fujiwara, a family that had been pushed to the political outside. From 1180 on, this one battled against the Minamoto and Taira dynasties. There were indicators of an impending big battle going back many decades. The Minamoto initially rebelled against Taira rule of the imperial court in 1160, during the Heiji rebellion, but were soon put down.
The Taira clan, led by the legendary Taira no Kiyomori, controlled imperial politics during the period. He had the nerve to become clan chief and then seize control of modern-day Kobe, the hub of the busiest commerce route between Song China and Kyoto, the imperial capital. Because of this, he was able to provide a comfortable lifestyle for his loved ones while still advancing his career and gaining influence. Kiyomori created and unmade monarchs (Nijo, Rokujo, Takaku) as he pleased in his role as Daijo Daijin (Chief Minister of the government, second in power only to the Emperor) and administrator of the Empire.
By doing so, the Taira earned the enmity of many in the court who were envious of their authority. Assisted by the Minamoto family, Prince Mochihito, brother of the deposed Emperor Gosanjo, started the war in an effort to end the Taira dynasty’s rule. When Mochihito issued a summons to arms, the latter responded by relocating the capital to Fukuhara (current-day Kobe), which was inside the center of their fief.
In the summer of 1180, troops from both families converged, and in the first fight, at Uji, the Minamoto were utterly defeated. Despite the assistance of the warrior-monks of the Mount Hiei monasteries, Prince Mochihito and the Minamoto clan chief, Minamoto no Yorimosa, were both slaughtered. The Taira forces besieged and ultimately destroyed most of these monasteries. The Minamoto were beaten for the second time on September 14, 1180, in Ishibashiyama, and so they withdrew to their seaside stronghold of Kamakura. Taira no Kiyomori passed away in February of the following year, putting his youngest son in line to become shogun. With both forces separated by hundreds of kilometers and experiencing supply issues due to weak crops, fighting froze in the spring of 1181.
After two years of doing nothing, the army resumed its advance in the spring of 1183. Although the Minamoto were unprepared and their warriors were untrained, the Taira were nonetheless totally destroyed by them at Kurikara. With time, the Taira were unable to escape Kyoto and were forced to retreat to their homelands in western Honshu and Shikoku. Infighting between Yoshinaka and Yoshitsune, two members of the Minamoto family, over who would rule the clan meant that the Taira never fully recovered from the catastrophes of 1183.
Battle of Ichi-no-Tani folding screen.
After besieging Ichi no Tani and Dan no ura, they were eventually defeated in the naval battle of Shimonoseki in the Inland Sea. After the Taira family was annihilated, the Kamakura Shogunate took power. The chief of the Minamoto clan became Japan’s military dictator, known as the Shogun. As a result of this conflict, the emperors were demoted to the role of symbolic figures, while the shogun assumed practical control for the next 500 years. The samurai emerged as Japan’s new elite class when the country entered its feudal period.
Battle of Dan-no-ura.
In 1185, the Minamoto clan triumphed over the Taira clan and became the dominant family in the Japanese archipelago. The Taira family’s former dominance and influence over the government were history. However, the war proved the superiority of military might over imperial control. For a long time, samurai were seen as little more than powerless slaves, but over time, they started to establish a warrior caste and assume more responsibilities. Shortly after the Minamoto triumph, the imperial court reinforced this status quo by bestowing upon Minamoto no Yoritomo the title of Seii Tai Shogun, therefore vesting absolute authority in him.
Emergence of the Samurai: The Kamakura Period (1185–1333)
A Japanese painting on silk in a traditional style of a Samurai warrior riding a horse. Image: Pinterest.
The Kamakura era began in 1185, when Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun in centuries, established the seat of his so-called bakufu government (tent government, in reference to the fact that military chiefs held power there) in Kamakura, some 50 kilometers from present-day Tokyo. As with any new regime, Yoritomo’s first priority was to consolidate his power. He created three ministries essential to the governance of the state. The first dealt with finance and administration. The second dispensed justice in times of peace and organized the raising of troops from the shogun’s vassals in times of war. The latter ensured that the shogun’s decisions were implemented.
The Kamakura shogunate’s other source of power came from the lands under its control. After the defeat of the Taira, much of the land in central and western Japan came under Minamoto’s control via confiscation. The Minamotos then distributed these lands among those who would become their vassals, thereby securing their loyalty. This was the birth of the feudal system and of the samurai caste, made up of landowners and their vassals who had sworn loyalty and fought for their lord.
As he established this new system, Yoritomo found himself fighting against those who resisted these changes. The Fujiwara clan, which owned most of the land in northern Japan, was deeply rooted in traditional values. They saw the Minamotos as upstarts who endangered imperial power itself. Moreover, the Fujiwara refused to be accountable to those they saw as rivals. Eventually, the situation degenerated into a new civil war, much faster than the previous one, which ended in 1189 with the defeat of Fujiwara no Yasuhira and the end of Fujiwara’s power, which never recovered.
When Yoritomo died ten years later, in 1199, Japan’s political landscape was unrecognizable. While the old imperial court remained in Kyoto, the new Minamoto vassal landowning families had regrouped at the Kamakura court. For the first time, there were two true centers of power in Japan. But, Yoritomo’s death was also the beginning of the end for the Minamotos.
The internal dissension that had already manifested itself during the war against the Taira resumed with a vengeance. His son Yoriie succeeded him as head of the clan but proved unable to maintain Minamoto’s hold on the shogunate. In the early years of the 13th century, a warrior clan, the Hôjô, seized the post of Regent (Shikken) and created the posts of Tokuso and Renshô, titles that were normally honorary but which they used to strip the Minamoto shogun of his prerogatives. The Hôjo were, de facto, the new masters of shogunal power.
Although the position of the shogun had been created in honor of those who defended imperial power, the shogun had gradually come to encroach on the emperor’s power. In 1221, Emperor Gô-Toba declared the second Hojo regent, Yoshitoki, an outlaw and went to war against the shogunate. The Hojo clan and its allies crushed the imperial forces in less than a month, exiling Gô-Toba and his sons. This revolt, known as the Jokyû Incident, marked the end of imperial power, with the emperor reduced to a symbolic role.
The Hojo kings established the Council of State in 1225, a new political structure where the other lords shared legislative and judicial authority. This sharing of power in no way diminished the importance of the shogun and regent and enabled them to give other clans the opportunity to exercise a share of power, reducing the risk of a coup d’état. In 1232, a new legal code was established. Unlike the rules in force until then, which were based entirely on the theories of Confucius, this code, the Goseibai Shikimoku, focused on the creation of laws and precise punishments according to crimes and was devoid of any philosophical scope while being much clearer and more practical to use.
The Hojo regents maintained absolute authority for around fifty years. Until the first Mongol invasion of Japan in 1274… In 1268, the Mongols, under Kublai Khan, created the Yuan dynasty and began ruling China. The latter desired to include Japan among his vassal states and hence issued an ultimatum demanding that Japan surrender and pay tribute. The Hojo regents promptly rejected the ultimatum. In 1274, about 23,000 Mongols, Chinese, and Koreans arrived on the northern part of Kyushu in a fleet of 600 ships, armed with grenades that had never been seen in Japan before.
The samurai quickly lost ground, unaccustomed to the group formations employed by the Mongol officers. However, a typhoon ravaged the Mongol fleet less than a day after landing. In 1281, Kublai Khan launched a second invasion, but the fleet was once again wiped out by a typhoon after an apparently successful landing and a few weeks of fighting in Kyushu. Japanese Shinto priests called these typhoons the kamikaze, the divine winds that come to defend Japan against foreign invaders.
However, typhoons were probably not the only cause of Kublai’s defeat. The remains of ships found at the site show many defects. It is thought that Chinese and Korean shipbuilders, hoping to shake off the Mongol yoke, built vessels adapted to river navigation, not to the high seas, let alone storms. As a result, many ships sank where ships with more suitable hulls would have resisted.
The invasions had not left the archipelago unscathed. The financial cost of raising troops and preparing for defense had led to new taxes, and the Hojo regency was becoming less and less popular. To make matters worse, bands of ronin, masterless samurai who resorted to brigandage to survive, began wreaking havoc across the country. To avoid the worst, the Hojo further weakened imperial power by creating a second court. The Northern and Southern Courts, from two different branches of the imperial family, were supposed to rule alternately, thus further reducing the emperor’s remaining influence.
While this solution worked for a few decades, in 1331, Emperor Go-Daigo of the Southern Court ascended the throne, intent on ridding himself of the Hojo regents and the shogunate. The Hojo clashed with forces loyal to the emperor but were defeated by the treachery of the Ashikaga family, led by Takauji, which led to the dispersion and subsequent rout of the shogunate forces. In 1333, Emperor Go-Daigo re-established imperial power for a brief period known as the Kemmu Restoration.
The Kenmu Restoration (1333–1336)
Go-Daigo’s main goal—to retake control from the shogunate and effectively rule Kamakura without interference from the military—is now possible thanks to the success of his uprising. However, the Kemmu Restoration was short-lived, primarily due to a strategic error on the emperor’s part. He believed he had the support of a significant portion of the samurai class and the so-called “loyalist” military clans and families. In reality, these loyalist samurai and clans had not engaged in the revolt to support the emperor but rather to end the Hojo domination. Consequently, after the emperor’s restoration as the true leader, Go-Daigo neglected to reward his allies, assuming their allegiance. By failing to compensate the samurai, he lost their support, leading to new disturbances in the country.
Simultaneously, the majority of the warrior class is discontented with what they perceive as ingratitude, and the major military families are concerned about the emperor’s initiatives to establish a civilian-dominated power. Violent political clashes ensue, particularly between Prince Morinaga, the emperor’s descendant, and Takauji, the leader of the Ashikaga clan, each vying to place their followers in strategic positions. Gradually, Takauji manages to distinguish himself as the leader and representative of the samurai. Eventually, he imprisoned Morinaga on charges of treason in Kamakura in 1335.
In that year, an unexpected event provided Takauji with the opportunity he needed. A survivor of the Hojo regency, Tokiyuki, revolted and temporarily regained control of Kamakura. Before leaving, the Ashikaga-appointed governor ordered Morinaga’s execution, shifting the blame onto the Hojo. Takauji then asked the emperor to grant him the title of shogun to quell the rebellion. Despite Go-Daigo’s disagreement, Takauji left Kyoto for Kamakura and ended the Hojo revolt. When the emperor ordered him to return, he refused, signaling that Takauji and the Ashikaga were rejecting the emperor’s authority, leading to the secession of the Kamakura region.
Swiftly, an imperial army assembled to defeat the Ashikaga, while a second army marched towards Kamakura to aid its defense. On November 17, 1335, Takauji’s brother sent messages throughout the country, calling on all samurai to defend the Ashikaga against the emperor’s tyranny. Simultaneously, the imperial court urged the samurai to help defeat the Ashikaga rebels.
When the actual war began, most samurai were convinced that Takauji Ashikaga was the leader they needed to assert their interests. With a significant numerical advantage, Ashikaga forces defeated the imperial armies, and on February 25, 1336, Takauji entered Kyoto, putting an end to the Kemmu Restoration.
The Muromachi Period (1337–1573)
After more than a year of debates and dissensions, Takauji Ashikaga was finally appointed Shogun in 1337. The Ashikaga shoguns maintained their reign for nearly 250 years, until 1573. This period was named Muromachi, after the district where the shoguns’ palace was located. It was relocated back to Kyoto in 1378 by the third Ashikaga shogun. This geographical proximity aimed to exert much tighter control over the imperial court. While the Kamakura shogunate had never truly eradicated imperial power, the Ashikaga went so far as to destroy the notion that the Emperor should reign directly, making the position of Shogun indispensable for the Empire’s proper functioning.
Under the Kamakura shoguns, the governor’s position was merely that of an agent acting on behalf of the shogun. However, at the beginning of the Muromachi era, it became synonymous with extended powers, gaining almost complete control over the lands they ruled, answering only to the shogun. These lords, called daimyos, quickly became the most powerful political figures in the Empire directly after the shogunal court.
In 1392, the Ashikaga also reunified the separated Imperial Court under the Hojo regency, another measure to control imperial power more easily. Eventually, it was the rise of the shoguns that led to the decline of the Ashikaga, to the point where the daimyos could directly support certain candidates for imperial succession, facilitating the ascent to the throne of emperors favoring their interests, generally to the detriment of the Shogun. From the fourth Ashikaga shogun onward, the influence of the shoguns slowly declined, along with their prestige.
Officially, the Ashikaga remained in power until 1573, but long before their fall, signs of their decay became increasingly visible. The Ônin War, between 1467 and 1477, triggered by a dispute over imperial succession, marked the beginning of a previously unknown period of turmoil in Japan. A period of civil war where every family and every clan defended only their own interests plunged the country into chaos.
This troubled period is known as Sengoku-jidai, the age of warring states.
1477: Japan is in complete chaos. The Ônin War has just ended, but the troubles do not subside. The Ashikaga dynasty, which has been ruling the country on behalf of the Emperor with the title of Seishi Taishogun since 1337, is losing its grip and proves incapable of ending conflicts that emerge everywhere in the country among the dozens of noble families and clans. Japan gradually lost its cohesion, sinking into one of the most turbulent periods in its history, the Sengoku-jidai (a time of unprecedented upheaval and transformations), the era of warring states.
Nanban and Gunpowder
In 1543, a typhoon off the coast of Tanegashima, in southern Japan, kidnapped a ship full of Portuguese sailors and brought them to the Japanese islands. There was a profound shock since the Japanese had never before had any meaningful interaction with European cultures. The Portuguese were referred to as “Nanban” by the Japanese. This term translates to “Southern Barbarians.”
Despite an embargo placed by the Emperor of China in retribution for Japanese piracy, the Portuguese started importing Chinese commodities, notably silk, into Japan within a few years. Eventually, business picked up speed. The port of Nagasaki opened as a commercial station in 1571, and commerce with the Portuguese increased rapidly. Shortly later, in 1578, the daimyo of the Sumitada clan requested Portuguese aid in fending off an assault on the daimyo, and in return, the port was permanently surrendered to the Jesuits.
To Japan next came the Dutch in the year 1600. The competition with the Portuguese for control of commerce with the Land of the Rising Sun was severe.
There were two key shifts that the introduction of Westerners to Japan brought about. One of the causes was technical. Gunpowder’s use in Japanese military operations was nascent in 1543. The intention behind this seemingly minor innovation was to dramatically shift the power dynamic. Suddenly, families armed with Portuguese arquebuses could compete with their more formidable neighbors.
The availability of such weapons also contributed to the escalation of hostilities. Fighting broke out on the southern island of Kyushu when the Portuguese arrived, and it wasn’t until later that harquebuses became commonplace across the archipelago. They were dubbed Tanegashima after the island where the Nanban had their first encounter. By 1560, harquebuses were widely used in warfare.
The harquebuses were not the only thing the Westerners brought with them, though; the Christian faith was also a major contributor to tensions. Six years after the first meeting, Nagazaki built its first church. The founder of the Jesuits, the Catholic Church’s missionary arm, set his sights on Japan in an effort to win over the local population. In under 30 years, the majority of the daimyo in Kyushu and more than 130,000 other Japanese were converted.
Christianity flourished across Japan, from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high, despite the social boundaries that existed between the various classes. While some daimyo were willing to accept Buddhism without investigation, others were suspicious of the new faith, believing it was being utilized by the Nanban to penetrate Japan. Christian and non-Christian daimyos began fighting with one another.
Gekokujo: The Powerful Are Defeated by the Humble
The clan wars tearing apart the country witnessed unprecedented events. The ancient, powerful, and respected clans, along with their leaders, who, according to the Japanese social system, are masters of their vassals, are gradually losing ground to dynamic new clans and ambitious leaders. The established order is shattered by internal rivalries, and those who, in times of peace, would have submitted to the will of dominant families now struggle to take the lead. This phenomenon is known as Gekokujo, roughly translated as “the humble overcome the powerful.”
As a result, the war rapidly degenerates, occurring not only between clans but also within clans. Various families and branches within the clan vie for control. In the Echigo region, north of Kyoto, on the coast of the Sea of Japan, peasants and commoners rise up following the Ikko-ikki religious movement (a Buddhist school of the “Pure Land”) and assert their independence. They receive support from the minor nobility and rōnins, the samurai left masterless by the war.
In the province of Iga (Skull Valley), villagers free themselves from the grip of feudal lords, establishing a league (ikki) comprised of peasants, rōnins, and the clergy to defend against external aggressors. The region is notably renowned for its ninja clans.
In summary, this phenomenon, accelerating the decomposition of the country into rival factions, also presents a unique opportunity to end the social stagnation that led to the decline of the Ashikaga dynasty.
The Unification of Japan: Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582)
Oda Nobunaga in a 16th-century portrait by Kanō Motohide (detail).
During this turbulent period, three ambitious and skilled men emerged to reunify Japan under a single banner. The first among them took the lead of the Oda clan in 1551, a minor clan in the Owari province in central Japan. His name was Oda Nobunaga.
At that time, the Oda clan was in a precarious situation, being a vassal of Shiba Yoshimune, the governor of the province, and divided into several factions. With the support of Yoshimune and one of his younger brothers, Oda Nobumitsu, Nobunaga managed to overcome the opposition of Nobutomo, another brother who assassinated Yoshimune to deprive Nobunaga of support. Nobunaga eventually got rid of his brother and rival in Kiyosu, then used Yoshimune’s son as a puppet to form an alliance with a powerful neighboring clan, the Imagawa. After eight years of conflict and the elimination of another brother, Oda Nobunaga finally succeeded in unifying the Owari province under his leadership in 1559.
The following year, he had to defend against an incursion by the Imagawa, who marched with 25,000 men towards Kyoto, while Nobunaga could only muster 3,000. Against all expectations and the advice of his counselors, Nobunaga attacked the Imagawa forces, using straw dummies and the cover of a providential storm to sow chaos among his enemies. This was the Battle of Okehazama, during which the Imagawa general was killed. The Imagawa quickly lost their position, and Nobunaga took the opportunity to ally with one of their former vassals, the Mitsudaira, in 1561.
Between 1561 and 1567, he focused on seizing the neighboring Mino province, diverting the vassals of the Saito clan from their master before launching a lightning campaign that swept away the Saito in a few months. After this victory, he changed his personal seal to “Tenka Fubu,” meaning: Unify the nation with military might.
In 1568, at the request of a member of the Ashikaga family, Nobunaga set out to conquer Kyoto, quickly driving the Miyoshi clan out of the city and making Ashikaga Yoshiaki the 15th Ashikaga shogun. Almost immediately, Nobunaga began to restrict the shogun’s powers, thereby increasing his own power and making it clear to the daimyo that he intended to use the shogun as a puppet.
Later Hōjō era’s Odawara Castle. Image: Wikimedia.
This bold move was too much for Nobunaga’s rivals. Led by the Asakura, former masters of the Oda, the Asai, and the Ikko-ikki launched a concerted aggression against the Oda clan, inflicting heavy losses. Eventually, with the help of their allies, the Tokugawa (formerly Mitsudaira), the Oda counterattacked, breaking the Asai and Asakura armies at the Battle of Anegawa. Subsequently, Nobunaga, known at the time for his Christian sympathies, dealt with the Buddhist uprising against him. He burned the Enryaku-ji temple in 1571 and besieged the Nagashima fortress. Eventually, the struggle against the Ikkō-ikki Buddhists cost him several thousand soldiers and two brothers, and he finally set fire to the castle in 1574, ending the resistance.
Meanwhile, as Nobunaga was entangled on his western flank, the Takeda clan seized the opportunity to attack from the east, starting by invading Tokugawa lands, defeated at the Battle of Mikatagahara in 1573. The Tokugawa managed to slow down the Takeda by organizing night raids, and after the death of Takeda Shingen, the Takeda retreated. At the same time, the Oda completed the conquest of the Asai and Asakura clans.
In 1574, Nobunaga turned to the east and, with the Tokugawa, invaded the Takeda clan’s lands, reducing the entire Takeda forces to nothingness at the Battle of Nagashino, thanks in part to the innovative use of arquebusiers arranged in a triple line of fire for continuous shooting. The Takeda never recovered from this defeat.
For three years, Nobunaga consolidated his positions, but the Mori to the west broke the naval blockade of the surviving Buddhist castle at Igashiyama. In 1577, the future Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Nobunaga’s lieutenant, was sent to attack the Mori clan. The Uesugi clan, under the leadership of Uesugi Kenshin, gathered northern clans to attack the Oda that same year, resulting in a crushing defeat at Tedorigawa. Only Kenshin’s death ended the second anti-Oda coalition.
In 1582, Nobunaga controlled half of Japan, including Kyoto. The conquest of the Mori continued, and the northern clans could no longer offer credible resistance. Nobunaga fell victim to a coup that Mitsuhide, one of his lieutenants, orchestrated while he was traveling to the western front. Mitsuhide’s troops surrounded the Honno-ji temple where he was staying, killing Nobunaga and his eldest son, casting doubt on the succession.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536/37–1598)
Toyotomi Hideyoshi..
After the death of Nobunaga, the situation was chaotic. Hashiba Hideyoshi emerged to quell the rekindled chaos. This former lieutenant of Nobunaga, the son of the ashigaru (peasant class), initially served Nobunaga as a sandal-bearer, a very low-ranking servant.
At the Battle of Okehazama, Nobunaga noticed him and became interested in his sharp-witted servant. In 1564, Hideyoshi was sent to rally deserters from the Saito clan to the Oda cause. In 1567, the Battle of Inabayama was won thanks to Hideyoshi’s idea to flood the valley where the castle was built. In 1573, Nobunaga made him the daimyo of a fief in North Omi, and Hideyoshi continued to faithfully serve Nobunaga, leading a war against the Mori clan between 1577 and 1582.
Upon learning of Nobunaga’s death due to Mitsuhide’s betrayal, Hideyoshi immediately negotiated a peace treaty with the Mori and turned his forces against the traitors at the Battle of Yamazaki. After avenging his master, it was time to organize Nobunaga’s succession at the Kiyosu meeting. With his eldest son dead, several candidates vied for succession: Oda Nobutaka, Oda Nobukatsu, and Oda Hidenobu. Hideyoshi chose to support the latter, with the help of two of the three Oda clan advisors. Through two swift victories, he eliminated Shibata Katsuie, Nobutaka’s advocate, and established a status quo with the Tokugawa defending Nobukatsu.
Once his candidate was installed as the head of the Oda clan, Hideyoshi began strengthening his grip, starting the construction of his own fortress, Osaka Castle, in 1583. During this relatively calm period, he was officially adopted by the regent family of Fujiwara, receiving the title of Kampaku (“regent”) and the name Toyotomi.
Taking advantage of his dominant position, Hideyoshi launched a conquest of the South, gaining control of Southern Honshu and overthrowing the Chosokabe clan’s dominance on Shikoku. In 1587, he landed in Kyushu and, strongly opposing the spread of Christianity, banned missionaries from the island. To prevent the formation of new leagues (or ikki), he prohibited peasants and commoners from carrying weapons, initiating what was later called the sword hunt. Once his control was established in the South, Hideyoshi turned his attention to the East again, defeating the Hojo clan, the last major independent clan, at the Battle of Odawara. He then offered their Kanto lands to Tokugawa Ieyasu if the latter submitted, which he did. Hideyoshi became the master of a unified Japan.
Unfortunately, his ambitions did not stop there. Now that the country was under his control, he contemplated invading Ming China, first securing control of Korea (Joseon at the time). When the Korean governors, vassals of the Emperor of China, rejected the proposed free passage agreements, he devised invasion plans starting in August 1591.
In April 1592, Japanese troops landed on Korean soil, capturing Seoul without significant difficulty and undertaking the takeover of the country’s strategic points, dividing to achieve this goal as quickly as possible before China reacted. In four months, they had begun to force a route to Manchuria by spring 1593. However, a Chinese army counterattacked and pushed the Japanese back to Seoul, where the war bogged down.
The quagmire of the Korean expedition destabilized Hideyoshi, and the birth of his first son in the same year sparked a succession dispute with his nephew, while the fierce repression of Christianity caused further troubles. A new invasion of Korea launched in 1598 failed miserably, and a plague epidemic ravaged the country, claiming Hideyoshi’s life on September 18, 1598. Once again, Japan was deprived of a leader.
The Tokugawa Leyasu Period (1543–1616)
Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Tokugawa Ieyasu, a longstanding ally of the Oda, had taken up arms against Toyotomi Hideyoshi since the latter was not an ally but a competitor. As far back as 1584, when the Tokugawa supported Oda Nobukatsu over Hideyoshi’s candidate in the succession to Nobunaga, the Tokugawa had been at odds with Hideyoshi and his kin. Ieyasu’s son became Hideyoshi’s adopted child when the two leaders settled their differences and established a united government.
While Hideyoshi consolidated power elsewhere in Japan, he made the Hojo stronghold of Kanto available to the Tokugawa in 1588. Quickly agreeing, Ieyasu saw the chance to extend his empire (from 5 to 8 provinces), while Hideyoshi wanted to undermine his competitor by relocating him to an area he did not control. Ieyasu won over the previous Hojo clan members and started constructing a new domain in Edo while patiently waiting for his opportunity.
After Hideyoshi appointed him and four other counselors as regents for his son Hideyori, he served in this capacity until Hideyoshi’s death in 1598. After Maeda Toshiie, the most revered of the five regents, was killed, Ieyasu spent a year forging alliances with Hideyoshi’s erstwhile opponents and then marched on Osaka Castle, where Hideyori was hiding.
Ishida Mitsunari rallied the other three regents to stand against him. It didn’t take long for the western army to become a clan that supported Hideyoshi and the eastern army to establish a clan that supported the Tokugawa clan. During the greatest battle in Japanese history in June of 1600, the Tokugawa clan marched north against the Uesugi clan and then west to counter the army marching to Fushimi, dividing its forces under the command of his son Hidetada. However, this secondary force fell behind along the Tokaido route and was therefore not present.
Battle of Sekigahara.
The Battle of Sekigahara took place on the 21st of October, 1600, and included around 160,000 troops. The battle was intense, but the Tokugawa ultimately broke through the western army’s right flank, resulting in a widespread defeat that allowed them to seize control of Japan and wipe out their competitors simultaneously. On April 24, 1603, after consolidating and solidifying his power, he was made shogun, marking the commencement of the last Japanese shogunate, which would continue for almost 250 years.
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