It is important to know the history of Japan to better understand the modern Japanese people, as the majority of the ethnicity live within the country. Quite evidently, the Japanese people originated in Japan, with the first humans having arrived in 35,000 B.C. Throughout most of Japan’s history, it had been closed entirely to the outside world. Such was enacted with the sakoku policy by the Japanese military government (Tokugawa Shogunate) in 1633. Foreigners could not enter and the Japanese could not leave. The first historical documents date to around the 5th century. Japanese myths tell of the first emperor in the imperial line being Emperor Jimmu. However, archaeological evidence places the imperial rule between the third and seventh centuries A.D.

 

The Asuka regime formed a more centralized Japan where Chinese culture was an influence. The first centralized capital was Nara, also named after the last period of time in which the emperor held power. The Heian period followed, and then afterward military rule during the Kamakura period. A caste system was developed by the shogun that transformed Japan into Feudal Japan. Social mobility was not allowed and marriage outside of the same caste was prohibited. Now in the 15th century, there was near-anarchy as provinces formed by the system declared war upon one another.

 

Back to the Tokugawa Shogunate, the country was reunified and ruled from Edo (Tokyo). Although a time of stability, there was no development in comparison to other nations during the time. Due to such, the Japanese were intimidated by American Commodore Matthew Perry and his technologically advanced fleet, forcing them to negotiate a trade agreement between 1852 and 1854. Thus, the sakoku policy was broken, and the black ships of the fleet became a symbol of the threats of western technology. The Tokugawa Shogunate fell in 1867 and gave way to the Meiji Restoration. Efforts were primarily made towards industrialization and modernization.

Pre-World War I