History of japan

History of Japan

Reconstruction of a dwelling of the Yayoi period.

Byōdō-in Buddhist temple, built during the Heian period and National Treasure of Japan.

Satsuma sauris during the Boshin War.
Photograph by Felice Beato

Propaganda of the Empire of Japan during its time of militarism and expansionism.

Night view of Tokyo metropolis.

The History of Japan (日本の歴史 or 日本史 , Nihon no rekishi / Nihonshi^?) is the succession of events that occurred within the Japanese archipelago. Some of these facts appear isolated and influenced by the geographical nature of Japan as an insular nation, while another series of facts is due to foreign influences as in the case of the Chinese Empire, which defined its language, its writing and, also, its their political culture. Likewise, another of the foreign influences was that of Western origin, which turned the country into an industrial nation, thereby exercising a sphere of influence and territorial expansion over the Pacific area. However, this expansionism stopped after the Second World War and the country positioned itself as an industrial nation with ties to its cultural tradition.

The appearance of the first human inhabitants in the Japanese archipelago dates from the Paleolithic period approximately 35,000 years ago. Between 11,000 and 500 BCE. These inhabitants developed a type of pottery, called "Jōmon", considered the oldest in the world. Later, a culture known as "Yayoi" appeared, which used metal tools and grew rice. In it there were several chiefdoms, although that of Yamato would stand out. In later centuries the rulers of Yamato strengthened their position and began to expand throughout the archipelago under a centralized system, subduing the various existing tribes, claiming their divine descent. At the same time, the central government began to assimilate Korean and Chinese customs. The rapid imposition of foreign traditions produced a tension in Japanese society and in the year 794 the imperial court founded a new capital, Heian-kyō (present-day Kyoto), giving rise to a highly sophisticated culture of its own from the aristocracy. However, in the provinces the centralized system was a failure and a land privatization process began, resulting in a collapse of the public administration and the breakdown of public order. The aristocracy began to need the help of warriors to protect their properties, giving rise to the samurai class.

Minamoto no Yoritomo assumed the leadership of Japan in 1192, establishing the figure of the shogunate as a permanent military institution that would govern de facto for almost 700 years. The outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467 sparked a chain of wars that spanned Japan, a period that culminated in 1573, when Oda Nobunaga began to unify the country, but was unable to finish the task due to being betrayed by one of his chiefs. generals. Toyotomi Hideyoshi avenged his death and completed the unification in 1590. Upon his death, the country again divided into two factions, those who supported his son Hideyori and those who supported one of the daimyō Major, Tokugawa Ieyasu. Both sides clashed during the battle of Sekigahara, from which Ieyasu emerged victorious, being officially named shōgun in 1603, establishing the Tokugawa shogunate. The Edo period was characterized by being peaceful, and by the decision to close the borders to avoid contact with the outside world. Isolation ended in 1853 when Commodore Matthew Perry forced Japan to open its gates and sign a series of treaties with foreign powers (called "Unequal Treaties"), causing unrest among some samurai, who supported the emperor to retake his role in politics.

The last Tokugawa shōgun resigned in 1868, ushering in the Meiji era, named after the reigning emperor who assumed political power. The modernization of the country began, abandoning the feudal system and that of the samurai, the capital was transferred to Tokyo, a strong process of westernization began and Japan would emerge as the first industrialized Asian country. A process of territorial expansionism towards neighboring nations arose, which led them to confront the Russian Empire and the Chinese Empire militarily. At the death of Emperor Meiji, Japan had become a modern, industrialized state with a central government and as a power within Asia, rivaling the West. There was a social explosion due to economic and population growth and political extremism began to gain ground and towards the 1930s military expansion accelerated, confronting China for the second time. After the outbreak of the war in Europe, Japan took advantage of the situation to annex other parts of Asia. During the year 1941, diplomatic relations between Japan and the United States were tense, since US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had blocked oil supplies to Japan and had frozen all Japanese credits in the United States. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, bringing Japan into World War II as part of the "Axis Powers." Despite a series of initial victories, defeats to the Allies in battles such as Midway turned the tables on the Pacific scene. After the terrible atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan submitted its unconditional surrender, so it was occupied by US forces, which dismantled the army, liberated the occupied areas, the Emperor's political power was suppressed and the prime minister would be elected by the Parlament.

In 1952 Japan regained its sovereignty after the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco and grew economically with the help of the international community. Politically, the conservative Liberal Democratic Party ruled almost uninterruptedly after the war. With the onset of the Heisei era, Japan suffered an economic recession in the 1990s and socially faced declining birth rates and a rapidly aging population. In the early years of the 21st century, Japan has begun to reform post-war practices in society, government, and the economy.

Periodization

For its study, the history of Japan is divided into large periods in terms of artistic production and important political developments. The classification usually varies depending on the author's criteria, in addition to the fact that many of them can be subdivided. On the other hand, there are also divergences regarding the beginning and end of some of these periods. The classification made by archaeologist Charles T. Keally is as follows:

You were Japanese

The nengō (年号, 'nengō'^?) suppose another division of its history according to the reigning emperor. The era classification system is based on the emperor's name, followed by the year corresponding to his tenure. For example, 1948 corresponds to the year Shōwa 23. Japan currently uses both the Gregorian calendar and the nengō system, although this system is rarely used in Western literature.

History

Paleolithic Period in Japan

Japan during the last glacier (about 20 000 years ago). Orange areas are land on the sea level and white areas are areas with perpetual snow.

By definition, the Paleolithic period in Japan ended with the appearance of the first ceramic techniques, at the end of the last glacial period, 13,000-10,000 years ago. Q. The dating of the beginning of the Paleolithic is widely controversial, although it is generally accepted that this period was found between the years 50/35,000-13/9,500 BC. Q.

The Late Paleolithic, dating from the excavation of the Iwajuku site in 1949 and from which extensive information has been obtained since the 1960s, can be divided into the following traditions and phases:

There is little evidence about how the people of Japan lived during this period, other than the presence of humans before 35,000 B.C. P. is controversial. The transition between this and the following period was gradual and no evidence of a clear break or non-conformity between the two cultures has been found.

It is known that the first inhabitants were hunter-gatherers from the mainland who used stone, but did not possess pottery or sedentary agriculture.

Jomon Period

Jōmon Art

Incipient Jōmon period vase.

Medium Jōmon period vase.

Statue of the final Jōmon period.

The Jōmon period (縄文時代, Jōmon-jidai^?) differs from the previous one by dating the appearance of ceramics in the country, commonly associated with early agricultural cultures. During the first 10,000 years after its appearance, approximately from 11,000 to 500 B.C. C., the subsistence of the inhabitants depended mainly on hunting, fishing and gathering.

This period takes its name precisely from the type of pottery developed, its meaning being “rope mark”, a distinctive mark left by the ropes on wet clay, which was formed with strips of clay fired at low temperatures. According to its dating, ceramics from this period are the oldest in the world.

Archaeologically, this stage is divided into six sub-periods as follows:

Yayoi Period

The culture of the Yayoi period (弥生時代, Yayoi jidai^?) is defined in Japan as the first to implement rice cultivation methods as well as the use of metal, although archaeologically it is classified by identifying certain artifacts, especially ceramic styles. This era is generally considered to have spanned from 500 B.C. C. until 300 of our era, and is divided into three sub-periods:

The members of the Yayoi culture were extremely different physically from those of the Jōmon culture, so there are three theories about the origin of the Yayoi:

1. They were descendants of the Jōmon, although they suffered physiological changes due to the change in their diet and way of life.
2. They were immigrants from the continent (via Korea).
3. They were descendants of the mix between Jōmon and immigrants.

The use of metal diversified, including everything from bronze swords, mirrors for religious rites, and iron weapons to agricultural tools. With the division of labor a deep stratification arose in society, establishing the ruling classes and their subjects, and giving origin to territories or chiefdoms.

At the end of this period there were a large number of chiefdoms, one of the most important being Yamatai-koku, which would lay the foundations of the emerging nation during the following period, and whose existence is recorded in the Chronicles of Wei. These chronicles record the existence of a nation known in China as "Wa" under the leadership of a woman named Himiko; probably Empress Jingū.

• 

  Typical housing of the Yayoi period.

• 

  Bronze Bell (s. III).

• 

  Bronze mirror.

Kofun Period

The Daisenryō-Kofun in Osaka, it is the largest tomb of this type and its construction dates from the 5th century AD.

The Kofun period (古墳時代, Kofun jidai^?) takes its name from the kofun (古墳, 'kofun&# 39;^? lit. "old tomb" or "old burial mound"); burial mounds in which members of the aristocratic class were buried along with their bronze weapons, armor, and mirrors, and which were usually in the shape of a keyhole. The bases of these mounds varied in size, some reaching as high as be as large as those of the Egyptian pyramids, reflecting the magnitude of the rulers' power.

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

The Kofun period marks the end of prehistory, and due to the lack of Japanese records, the history of this time depends on outside sources (first Korean and later Chinese chronicles) as well as early writings. from the Nara period, around the 8th century. Although there are no writings from China mentioning Japan between the years 266 and 413, Korean records from the 4th century provide ample information on the activities of the Wa kingdom on the Korean peninsula. On the other hand, Chinese records, dated to the 5th century, show the close relationship between the emerging Yamato government (located in present-day Nara Prefecture) and China. Between the years 413 and 502, the five kings of Wa, the name by which five monarchs of Japan are mentioned, maintained a close relationship with that country, continually sending emissaries.

The Kofun period is generally dated to between the years 250/300-538/552, the beginning being marked by the construction of the first kofun and the end by the date Buddhism is considered to have was introduced to Japan. On the other hand, various historians and archaeologists, such as the case of Charles T. Keally, extend the period to the year 710, so the Asuka and Hakuhō periods would be considered sub-periods of the Kofun.

According to Keally's dating, the chronology of the period would be as follows:

The Yamato court government focused on a Kimi (君, ' Kimi'^? «king»), but at From the V century the ruler was called Ōkimi (大君, 'Ōkimi'^? "great king"). The title Tennō (天皇, 'Tennō'^? "emperor"), which is used to this day, was used from the mandate of Emperor Tenmu.

Asuka Period

Hōryū Buddhist Temple. Built in the middle of the Asuka period by orders of Prince Shotoku, it reflects the beginning of the presence of Buddhism in Japan.

The Asuka period (飛鳥時代, Asuka jidai^?) is marked by the introduction of Buddhism in Japan, generally dated to the year 552. The arrival of this religion brought with it a series of conflicts within the country, as some members of the court welcomed its spread, considering that through its implementation national unity would be more easily achieved: it was easier to establish a new religious hierarchical base under the figure of an omnipotent deity (Buddha), unlike the hundreds of kamis of the Shintō or Shinto. The conflict ended with the victory of Soga no Umako in 587, as well as the subsequent adoption of Buddhism as the official religion by Prince Shotoku and Empress Suiko in 593. Interestingly, Buddhism did not replace Shinto, but instead both religions coexisted peacefully for most of the history of this country.

Prince Shotoku established a centralized government, and the Japanese court built temples, palaces, and capitals based on Korean and later Chinese models. Shotoku was fascinated by these nations, which is why he promoted the use of Chinese characters (which would give rise to the kanjis), laid the foundations for the development of codes of conduct and government ethics based on Buddhism (Seventeen Articles Constitution, 604) and sent embassies to Sui Dynasty China (600 to 618) in order to establish equal diplomatic relations.

In 602, Prince Kume led an expedition to Korea accompanied by between 120 and 150 local chieftains, who held the title of Kuni ni Miyatsuko. Each of them was accompanied by a personal army, of variable size depending on the wealth of each fief. These troops constituted what would be the prototype of a samurai army centuries later.

Art at this time focused on fine Buddhist art, with the main work being the Buddhist temple of Hōryū or Hōryū-ji, commissioned by Prince Shotoku at the turn of the century VII and that it is the oldest wooden structure in the world.

Hakuhō Period

Nakatomi no Kamatari, a decisive character in the Hakuhō period by collaborating with the end of the Soga clan for the creation of Taika Reforms and the Åmi Code. For his work he received the name Fujiwara.

Izanagi (right) and Izanami (left) creating the earthly world. Painting of Eitaku Kobayashi.

After the death of Prince Shotoku in 621, a clan called the Soga arose within the court, slowly gaining political power and posing a threat to the imperial government. By 645 the situation was so critical that Prince Naka no Ōe, along with others, organized a plot (Isshi Incident) in which the prince assassinated the clan leader, Soga no Iruka in full audience with Empress Kōgyoku. As a consequence, the empress immediately capitulated, her younger brother, Emperor Kōtoku, ascended the throne, and the Soga clan was destroyed. The new emperor, together with Nakatomi no Kamatari and Prince Naka no Ōe, wrote a series of laws called the Taika Reforms in the year 646 in order to strengthen the central government, establish land reform, restructure the imperial court on the Chinese model of the Tang Dynasty, and even the sending of embassies and students to China was motivated in order to imitate cultural aspects of this country, radically affecting the culture and its society. This period is known as Hakuhō (白鳳文化, Hakuhō bunka^?) .

After the deaths of Emperor Kōtoku (in 654) and Empress Kōgyoku (who resumed the throne as Empress Saimei, dying in 661), Prince Naka no Ōe assumed the throne as Emperor Tenji, who formally promulgated the first ritsuryō (compilation of laws based on Confucianist philosophy and Chinese laws); the Ōmi Code (669). Nakatomi no Kamatari, who wrote the code, was rewarded by receiving the surname Fujiwara, and would become the founder of the Fujiwara clan.

After the application of the ritsuryō, the formerly powerful clans were deprived of their privileges and turned into high-ranking bureaucrats, while the lower layers of the former elite became local officials..

Wars continued to occur in China and Korea. In the year 618 the Tang dynasty seized power in China, and they joined the Korean kingdom of Silla in order to attack Paekche. The Japanese sent three expeditionary armies (in 661, 662, and 663) to help the Paekche kingdom. During these expeditions they suffered one of the worst defeats in their ancient history, losing 10,000 men and numerous ships and horses. Japan began to worry about an invasion by the new alliance between Silla and China. In 670 a census of the population was ordered to recruit elements for the army. In addition, the northern coast of Kyūshū was fortified, guards were posted, and beacons were built on the shores of Tsushima Islands and Iki Island.

The Japanese forgot about external warfare when Emperor Tenji died in 671. In 672 his two successors fought for the throne in the Jinshin War. After Emperor Tenmu's triumph in 684, he ordered all civil and military officers to master martial arts. Emperor Tenmu's successors culminated in the year 702 military reforms with the Taihō Code (大宝律令, Taihō-ritsuryō^?), through the which a large and stable army was achieved according to the Chinese system. Each heishi (soldier) was assigned to a gundan (regiment) for part of the year and the rest was devoted to agricultural tasks. Each soldier was equipped with bows, a quiver, and a pair of swords.

Establishment of the imperial system

During this time, in the 8th century, the governors of Yamato ordered that existing myths be recorded as a way of legitimizing themselves in front of the population. The most important of these legends is the one referring to the creation of Japan, attributed to the kami Izanagi and Izanami. According to legend, these two would have born the three older kami: Amaterasu —goddess of the sun and lady of the skies—, Susanoo —god of the oceans— and Tsukuyomi —god of darkness and darkness. Luna. One day Amaterasu and Susanoo argued, so Susanoo got drunk destroying everything in his path. Amaterasu was so scared that she hid in a cave refusing to come out, thus the world was deprived of light. In order to force her out, a female kami, Ame-no-Uzume, performed an obscene dance that was accompanied by laughter from the myriad gods who were assembled in assembly. When Amaterasu asked what was happening, they told her that there was a more powerful kami, so she left the cave and slowly approached a mirror that was placed in front of her. her surprise at seeing her own reflection, which was dazzled for a few moments and then they took the opportunity to capture it and the light illuminated the Earth again, so the mirror was part of the Imperial Insignia of Japan.

The second element of the three Japanese Crown Jewels is described later in the same legend. Susanoo was banished for the evils caused and while he was wandering through the lands of Izumo he heard that an eight-headed serpent, called Yamata-no-Orochi, was frightening the inhabitants. Susanoo killed the snake by making it drunk with sake and lopped off its heads. In his tail was found a sword, which he decided to give to his sister as a sign of peace. This sword represents the second icon of the imperial regalia.

The third and final insignia is a curved jewel, which Amaterasu gave to her grandson Ninigi when he was sent to the underworld to rule. The jewel passed in turn to his grandson, Emperor Jinmu, the first Japanese emperor. In this way, supported by popular beliefs, the governors of Yamato legitimized the process by which Japan would be governed by an imperial system, strongly supported by the Shintō belief.

Nara Period

Daibutsu-deninside the Tōdai-ji complex. This Buddhist temple was sponsored by the Imperial Court during the Nara period.

The Nara period (奈良時代, Nara-jidai^?) is generally dated between the years 710, when the capital was transferred to Heijō-kyō, near the city of Nara, and ends in the year 794, when the capital was transferred again to Heian-kyō, in what which is now Kyoto. In this period the Chinese bureaucratic state reached its climax: the new capital was built in the fashion of the Tang dynasty capital, Chang'an. Buddhism and Confucianism prospered, under the patronage of the government, and were used to support political power and temples were built both in the capital and in each of the provinces. Chinese cultural influence became more evident and literature appeared with the first historical records compiled by the Imperial Court: the Kojiki (712) and the Nihonshoki (720). The appearance of written language also gave rise to the first manifestation of Japanese poetry, the waka, and in 759 the first important compilation was made; the Man'yōshū.

However, the Chinese system did not fit in with Japanese society, and disputes in the Imperial Court were common between members of the imperial family, the Fujiwara clan, and Buddhist monks. Fujiwara no Fuhito, son of Kamatari and a powerful bureaucrat within the court, compiled the Yōrō Code in 720, but his death that same year led to a division of power among his sons. Prince Nagaya seized the moment, but Fuhito's sons arrested him and sentenced him to death in 729. However, a few years later Fuhito's sons died after an epidemic of smallpox, attributed to a curse the prince cast before die. This caused Emperor Shōmu to move to various cities that were briefly declared capitals between 740 and 745, before returning to Nara.

After the abdication of Emperor Shōmu in 749, the Buddhist clergy seized power with the support of Empress Kōken who, although she abdicated in 758, continued to exercise power over the court, favoring an important Buddhist monk named Dōkyō. This caused the Fujiwara clan and Emperor Junnin to attempt a coup in 764 that failed, leading to the deposition of the emperor and the execution of Fujiwara no Nakamaro, leader of the conspiracy. The empress resumed the throne as Empress Shotoku, continuing to cede power to Dōkyō, who was even named by an oracle as successor to emperor. However, the empress died of smallpox in 770, Dōkyō he was exiled and a new course in politics was initiated by expelling Buddhist monks from the government and suspending government sponsorship of the religion. The measures promoted by Emperor Kōnin (770-781) and by Emperor Kanmu (781-806) finally made the imperial court leave Nara, considering it unhealthy and with the aim of disconnecting from the Buddhist temples that existed in the city. They first moved temporarily to Nagaoka-kyō in 784 and finally to the new capital Heian-kyō ("Capital of Peace and Tranquility") in 794.

With the birth of the Unified State of Silla, the threat of a Korean invasion of Japan disappeared, so the Court of Nara focused its attention on the emishi (蝦夷, 'emishi'^? "barbarians"), inhabitants of northern Japan with whom they had had numerous altercations. In 774 a major revolt broke out, known as the Thirty-Eight Years' War, where the emishi used a system of "guerrilla warfare" and a curved-blade sword, which performed best when sharpened. he rode, unlike the straight sword of the Nara Court army. It was not until 796, through Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, that they were finally defeated. Sakanoue was given the title of Seii Taishōgun (征夷大将軍, 'Seii Taishōgun'^? "Great General Appeaser of the Barbarians"), an expression that would later be used to designate the leader of the samurai.

The peasant enlistment system ended in 792, recognizing that the main military force came from the caciques and their soldiers and not from the peasants who did not have adequate training and discipline for the battlefields.

Heian Period

Illustration of a scene Genji Monogatari. During the Heian period the aristocracy was the axis of Japanese culture, politics and society.

The Heian period (平安時代, Heian jidai^?) began with the establishment of the capital in the year 794 in what is now Kyoto, and its end is marked by the establishment of the first shogunate in the country's history: The Kamakura.

Consolidation of the aristocracy

In this period, the Chinese state framework was modified and adapted to Japanese needs, giving rise to its own sophisticated culture. With the decline of the rigid bureaucratic system of the Taika and Taihō codes, the imperial institution was strengthened in the early years from the reign of Emperor Kanmu, but after his death in 806 cultural assimilation with China was gradually abandoned and around 838 relations with the Tang dynasty were terminated. Also, with the disappearance of the old political system, the Fujiwara clan began a process of monopolizing the upper hierarchies of the government from the first half of the 9th century, establishing close matrimonial ties with the imperial family. The clan leaders positioned themselves in such a way that they became regents (sesshō and kanpaku) of the emperors, while other members of the Fujiwara clan managed to monopolize higher positions such as the of the Council of State (Daijō-kan). Middle and low-ranking officials were distributed hereditarily by other aristocratic clans. Towards the end of the 10th century and the beginning of the 11th century, the Fujiwara ruled de facto Japan and very few emperors ruled on their own, as they assumed the throne and were forced by clan chiefs to abdicate at a very young age, leaving administrative decisions to regents and Daijō-kan.

Esoteric Buddhism of the Tendai and Shingon sects became very popular in this period and aristocrats sought "salvation" through ceremonies and rites. There was a sophistication of Japanese culture, which until then was handled with Chinese ideographic writing, having the imperial court as its central axis. There was an amazing literary breakthrough with the creation of kana, a syllabic script that conformed to Japanese phonetics. New genres such as the novel (monogatari) were established, with the Murasaki Shikibu's Genji Monogatari, written around the year 1000, diaries, essays, and other personal writings by courtiers such as Sei Shōnagon's Makura no Sōshi, also written around the year 1000.

In the military field, around 860, most of the characteristics of the future samurai warriors could be appreciated: riders on horseback skilled in the use of the bow, in addition to the use of curved-blade swords. These soldiers on horseback enjoyed of the total confidence of the "Throne of the Chrysanthemum" and were in charge of the security of the cities as well as fighting against the revolts that occurred.

However, the public land system that extended over the provinces was about to collapse, so in many places private land (shōen) was created that was used in the first instance by the aristocracy and the great temples. With the suspension of family registration and the allocation of arable land around the X century, state land was integrated into private land Owners of private land appointed local clans and peasants as administrators, eventually transferring power to them. However, the existence of numerous private estates significantly reduced taxes and it got to the point that the imperial family itself was forced to obtain private land to secure such income.

Rise of the samurai class

Mon of the Minamoto clan, one of the protagonists of the Heian period.

Mon of the Taira clan, enemies of the Minamoto clan and one of the most important clans of the Heian Era.

The decentralization process that the government underwent made the execution of local administration difficult, resulting in the eventual breakdown of law and public order. During the century IX Japan suffered a severe economic decline as a result of plagues and various famines and at the turn of the century X numerous riots, riots and rebellions took place due to the current situation. The government made the decision to grant broad powers to local governors to recruit troops with sword fighters (katana), archers, and cavalry, enlisting peasants as their followers, and act against the growing rebellions as to what they saw fit, which gave these governors enormous political power. It is during this period that the word "samurai", "those who serve", in a purely military context, is first documented.

The first great test of stability of the system took place in the year 935 with a revolt led by Taira no Masakado, a descendant of Prince Takamochi who had been sent by the imperial authority to quell the disturbances in Kantō and who received the nickname « The Peacemaker". At first the Heian court considered the incident carried out by Masakado to be only a local incident, until he came to proclaim himself "new emperor". Due to the above, a provincial army was sent to quell his rebellion, and he was beheaded in 940. From this moment and due to their social origin, these warrior leaders began to define themselves as a local aristocracy.

Some aristocrats who were unable to obtain high positions in power migrated to the provinces and assumed leadership over the local samurai warriors, notably the Taira clan and the Minamoto clan; In the same way, in the capital the Fujiwara clan had warriors who guarded them and in the Buddhist temples there were armed monks (sōhei) who protected their properties. Minamoto no Yoriyoshi was involved in an important conflict of the time called the Zenkunen War or "war of the first nine years." This conflict lasted from 1051 to 1062, being the first war in the country since the clashes against the emishi. The incident originated when Abe no Yoritoki, a descendant of the emishi and a member of the Abe clan, he did not deliver the collected taxes to the Court, so Yoriyoshi was sent to deal with him. Yoriyoshi and Yoritoki had already reached a peaceful agreement but an internal conflict broke out in the Abe clan and Yoritoki was killed. With this fact, war was declared between Abe no Sadato, son of Yoritoki, and the Minamoto. It was not until 1062 that Yoriyoshi was able to defeat the Abe in the battle of Kuriyagawa, taking the rebel's head to Kyoto as a sign of triumph. Yoriyoshi's son Minamoto no Yoshiie stood by his father's side throughout the conflict, earning great prestige for his military prowess. This earned him the nickname Hachimantarō or "the first-born son of Hachiman, god of war".

While economic decline and insecurity were pitting the Fujiwara, Taira and Minamoto clans at odds both inside and outside the court in the second half of the century XI, the imperial family restored its political power with the accession to the throne of Emperor Go-Sanjō (1068-1073) who left the Fujiwara clan impeded in administrative decisions, regulated the shōen, decided to apply economic reforms to the obsolete ritsuryō and established an institution called insei (cloistered government), where the emperor at the time of abdicating would retire to a Buddhist temple but would retain a regent position over his successor, filling the power vacuum left by the Fujiwara clan due to factional and internal disputes. His successor, Emperor Shirakawa (1073-1087) applied insei to its fullest, ruling as a retired emperor for more than 40 years until 1129, ruling over three puppet emperors. Emperor Toba (1107-1123) also embraced the insei, ruling for more than three decades until his death in 1156 and maintaining his influence over three other emperors. In this period, however, there were disagreements between the reigning and retired emperor, giving way to military power the authority to govern the country over civil authority.

In the year 1083, an armed conflict broke out again in which the Minamoto would be involved, now in the Gosannen War or "war of the last three years", caused by differences between the leaders of the former allied Minamoto clans and Kiyowara. After a fierce three-year battle in which the Court refused to aid the Minamoto, the Minamoto were nevertheless eventually victorious. When Yoshiie went to Kyoto in order to seek a reward, the Court refused and even reproached him for the back taxes that he owed, thus beginning a clear distance between the two. Meanwhile, their rivals, the Taira, enjoyed an increasing relationship with the Imperial Court due to their exploits in the west of the country. The rivalry between the Minamoto and Taira clans was increasing and becoming more and more evident. In 1156, taking advantage of the death of Emperor Toba, a conflict took place between the two clans, when Minamoto no Yoshitomo joined Taira no Kiyomori against his father Minamoto no Tameyoshi and his brother Tametomo, during the Hōgen Rebellion. The battle was very brief and in the end Tameyoshi was executed and Tametomo was punished with banishment. This rebellion also called into question the power of the insei when the retired Emperor Sutoku was defeated by the ruling Emperor Go- Shirakawa, and also sentenced the final fate of the Fujiwara clan that was banished from power, being monopolized exclusively by the Taira and Minamoto clans.

In 1159 there was a new confrontation known as the Heiji Rebellion, where Yoshitomo clashed with Kiyomori. The victory of the Taira clan was so decisive that the members of the Minamoto clan fled to try to save themselves. The Taira gave chase and Yoshimoto was captured and executed. Of the members of the original branch of the Minamoto family, only a few remained, and they were almost completely annihilated. In 1167 Taira no Kiyomori received from the emperor the title of Daijō Daijin (Grand Minister), the which constituted the highest rank that the emperor could grant, so he became the de facto ruler of the country, being the first military ruler in Japanese history. on behalf of Kiyomori, he came into conflict with the retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa who was trying to exert power through the insei from 1158 and around 1177 the emperor planned a coup that failed and he was exiled, suppressing his political power, while Kiyomori named his infant grandson as heir to the throne in 1178, who in 1180 assumed the throne with the name of Emperor Antoku, causing the wrath of opponents of the Taira clan, beginning the Genpei Wars.

Genpei Wars

Scene of the Genpei Wars (panel of the seventeenth century).

The Genpei Wars (源平合戦, Genpei kassen, Genpei gassen^?) were a series of civil wars led again by the most influential clans on the country's political scene: the Taira and Minamoto. These wars took place between 1180 and 1185. In 1180, two independent rebellions broke out in the country, led by two different generations of the Minamoto clan: in Kyoto by the veteran Minamoto no Yorimasa and in Izu Province by the young Minamoto no Yoritomo. Both revolts were put down relatively easily, on the one hand forcing Yoritomo to escape to Kantō, while Yorimasa was defeated in the battle of Uji, where he committed seppuku before being captured.

After two years of minor skirmishes between the two sides, the Taira decided to confront Minamoto no Yoshinaka, Yoritomo's cousin, in 1183, to prevent Yoritomo from helping him. Yoshinaka defeated the Taira in the battle of Kurikara and directed his army towards where Yoritomo was. The armies of Yoshinaka and Yoritomo finally met at the Battle of Uji in 1184. Yoshinaka lost the battle and tried to flee, but was overtaken at Awazu, where he was beheaded. With this victory, the main branch of the Minamoto would focus its efforts on defeating its main enemies: the Taira.Yoshitsune led the clan's army on behalf of his older brother Yoritomo, who remained in Kamakura. Finally, in the battle of Dan no Ura the Minamoto were victorious. Yoritomo considered that his sister represented a threat and a rival, so his men pursued Yoshitsune until they defeated him during the Battle of Koromogawa in 1189, where the latter committed suicide.

Kamakura Period

Minamoto no Yoritomo, founder of the Kamakura shogunate in 1192. He established the first military regime in which the samurai ruled.

In 1192 Minamoto no Yoritomo proclaimed himself shōgun, a title that until then had been temporary and became a high-level military title. With this the shogunate was instituted as a permanent figure, which would last for about 700 years until the Meiji Restoration. With the new figure of the shōgun, the emperor would become a mere spectator of the political and economic situation of the country, while the samurai would become the de facto rulers..

Yoritomo established the coastal town of Kamakura in eastern Japan as the seat of the shogunate, thus this historical period of samurai rule takes its name. The Imperial Court granted Yoritomo the power to appoint his own vassals as provincial protectors (shugo ) and stewards (jitō ), who were charged with administering the private estates.. At the same time, the Imperial Court continued to appoint provincial officials and the owners of private properties appointed the administrators of said lands. Thus, the political structure during the Kamakura period was dual: a civil administration sponsored by the Imperial Court and a feudal administration sponsored by the shogunate.

After only three shoguns of the Minamoto clan and after the death of the last one, the Minamoto clan had no more heirs. Hōjō Masako, Yoritomo's widow, made the decision to raise a one-year-old boy belonging to a branch of the Fujiwara clan and named him shōgun. In this way the Hōjō clan would perpetuate itself in power for several decades, appointing a junior shōgun and dismissing him when he turned twenty, achieving puppet rulers to exercise control of the country. For this reason in 1219 the retired emperor Go-Toba, seeking to reestablish the imperial power that they enjoyed before the establishment of the shogunate, accused the Hōjō of outlaws. Imperial troops mobilized, leading to the Jōkyū War (1219-1221), which would culminate in the Third Battle of Uji. During this, the imperial troops were defeated and Emperor Go-Toba was exiled. With Go-Toba's defeat, the rule of the samurai over the country was confirmed.

After the war, various land disputes arose between vassals, aristocrats and peasants, for which reason the Hōjō clan drafted the Goseibai Shikimoku in 1232, which served as a legal code in the shogunate, and that in turn codified the military customs of the samurai, earning their trust, since it was not based on Confucianism like the codes applied in the Imperial Court and was very precise and concise in terms of penalties, which is why it was effective until the end of the Tokugawa shogunate.

On the literary side, the works reflected the nature of conflict and chaos, such as the Hōjōki, written by Kamo no Chōmei in 1212. In poetry, the poetry compilation waka Shin Kokin Wakashū, presented in 1205. In the religious aspect, there was a popularization of Buddhism, which it took advantage of to offer "salvation" in times of chaos. New forms of Buddhist beliefs were created, easy to understand and which despised the ritual aspect, spreading among the samurai and peasant class. The most important sects that arose were: Jōdo shū founded by the monk Hōnen at the end of the Heian era and which was banned between 1207 and 1211 due to differences with the Imperial Court; the Jōdo Shinshū created by Shinran, a disciple of Hōnen; the Ji shū created by Ippen; the Sōtō and Rinzai schools of Zen Buddhism, founded by Dōgen and Eisai respectively; and Nichiren Buddhism, founded by Nichiren.

Mongol invasions of Japan

A samurai is attacked by various archers and explosives launched from catapults during the Mongol invasions of Japan.

Samurais enter Mongolian ships during the invasion of 1281.

After Kublai Khan claimed the title of Emperor of China, he decided to invade Japan with the purpose of bringing it under his rule. This would be the first time that the samurai could face the forces of foreign enemies., the latter did not feel any interest in the traditional Japanese way of making war.

The first invasion took place in 1274, when Mongol troops landed at Hakata (present-day Fukuoka). The sounds of drums, bells and war cries scared the samurai's horses. During this battle the Japanese troops faced a very different technique in the use of the bow than they were used to, since the Mongols shot at long distances and at the same time generated "arrow clouds" as opposed to single shots and close range. distance made by the Japanese archers. Another big difference between the two forms of combat was the use of catapults by the Mongol army. During the night of the day of the battle, a heavy storm inflicted heavy damage on the invading fleet, so they decided to return to Korea to rearm their army. After the withdrawal of the enemy army, the Japanese took a series of preventive measures, such as the construction of walls in the vulnerable points of the coast, as well as the implementation of a guard. Part of the events related to the first invasion attempt are mentioned in the Book of Wonders (1298) by the Venetian merchant Marco Polo where he makes several other references to the island of Cipango. According to Marco Polo, Cipango was a very large island that was in the China Sea, 1,500 miles from the coast and that was inhabited by white and idolatrous indigenous people, who were not under the yoke of any foreign monarch. The incalculable wealth that this territory possessed is highlighted in the book of wonders, since the lord of the island himself had a great palace covered entirely in gold.

The second invasion attempt took place in 1281. The samurai raided the enemy ships from small rafts, which only had the capacity to transport twelve warriors, in an effort to prevent the landing of troops on the coasts. After a week of fighting, an imperial emissary was sent to ask Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun, to intercede for them. A typhoon swept through the Mongol fleet and it sank almost entirely. This fact gave rise to the myth of the Kamikaze (神風, lit. «Divine Wind»^?), considered as a sign that Japan was chosen by the gods and, therefore, they would take care of their safety and survival. Survivors decided to withdraw and in this way the country would not face a major invasion again for several centuries.

Kenmu Restoration

Kusunoki Masashige Statue in Tokyo, an extremely important samurai in the Nanbokuchō wars.

In the early 14th century the Hōjō clan, which was in decline, faced an attempt at imperial restoration, now under the figure of Emperor Go-Daigo (1318-1339). When the Hōjō learned of this, they sent an army from Kamakura, but the emperor fled before they arrived, taking the imperial regalia with him. Emperor Go-Daigo sought refuge in Kasagi among warrior monks who welcomed him and left. prepared for a possible attack.

After attempts by the Hōjō to negotiate with Emperor Go-Daigo to get him to abdicate, and given his refusal, they decided to raise another member of the imperial family to the throne. However, because the emperor had taken the royal regalia, they were unable to carry out the ceremony. Kusunoki Masashige, an important warrior who would later serve as a reference and model for future samurai, fought for Emperor Go -Daigo from a yamashiro (mountain castle). Although his army was not very numerous, the orography of the place gave it an extraordinary defense. The castle finally fell in 1332, so Masashige decided to flee to continue the fight. The emperor was captured and taken to the Hōjō headquarters located in Kyoto and would later be exiled to the island of Oki. The Hōjō tried to finish off the army headed by Masashige, who built another castle in Chihaya with even better defenses than the previous one, so the Hōjō were immobilized. Masashige's staunch defense motivated Go-Daigo to return to the scene again in 1333. Upon learning of his return, the Hōjō decided to send one of their top generals after him: Ashikaga Takauji. Ashikaga at that point decided that it would be more beneficial for him and his clan to ally with the emperor's side. For this reason, he decided to launch the attack together with his army towards the Hōjō headquarters in Rokuhara.

The blow received by Ashikaga's treachery had dire consequences for the regents and their army was severely depleted. The final blow would come that same year of 1333, when a warrior named Nitta Yoshisada joined the imperial supporters and increased his forces. Nitta and his army went to Kamakura and defeated the Hōjō.

Muromachi Period

The Kinkakuji or "Templo del Pavilion gilded" is a symbol in the city of Kyoto. It was built by the shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in 1397.

The Muromachi period (室町時代, Muromachi-jidai^?) spans the duration of the Ashikaga shogunate (足利幕府, Ashikaga bakufu^? ), second military feudal regime, in force from 1336 to 1573. The period owes its name to the Muromachi area of Kyoto, where the third shōgun Yoshimitsu established his residence.

Having helped Emperor Go-Daigo regain the throne, Ashikaga Takauji expected to receive a rich reward for his services. Because he considered that what was offered was not enough and taking advantage of the dissatisfaction of the samurai class with the new government, he decided to rebel.The Ashikaga were descendants of the Minamoto clan, so they could access the imperial throne. For this reason, the emperor decided to act quickly and sent an army against Takauji, following him to Kyūshū. But Takauji was not defeated and returned in 1336. The emperor sent Masashige to face the rebel troops in Minatogawa (now Kobe); the clash proved a decisive victory for Takauji. Faced with this situation, Masashige decided to commit seppuku. At this time the shōgun named his own son (emperor Kōmyō), while Emperor Go-Daigo fled to the town. Yoshino, so for the next fifty years there were two imperial courts: the Southern Court in Yoshino and the Northern Court in Kyoto. This conflict would become known as Nanbokuchō (南北朝, 'Nanbokuchō'^? literally “Southern and Northern Courts”). It was not until 1392 and thanks to the diplomatic skills of one of the greatest rulers in Japanese history, the shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, that both lineages were reconciled and the Southern Court capitulated.

With the division of the imperial government, all effective political power was lost, since the Northern Court received the patronage of the shogunate and the Southern Court controlled a few territories. The Ashikaga shogunate was established as the central government, but it was very weak, unlike the Kamakura shogunate. The main reason is that Japan's provincial protectors were no longer mere officers, and had already organized local samurai and formed armies based on the concept of lord and vassal, evolving into feudal lords with independent command over various locations. This new class of local warlords was called daimyō (大名, 'daimyō'^? lit. «great last names»).

Sengoku Period (1467-1568)

After a brief period of relative stability, a political vacuum was created during the shogunate of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, grandson of the celebrated Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Yoshimasa used to be totally devoted to artistic and cultural issues, so he completely disregarded the country's economic and political situation. Because of this, opportunistic landowners began an internal struggle for power and land, known as the Ōnin War (応仁の乱, Ōnin no Ran^?), and also took for themselves the title of daimyō. This period of history, between 1467 and 1568, is known as the Sengoku period (戦国時代,, Sengoku jidai^?) or “warring states period”. It is precisely under this climate of instability and armed conflicts, in which the samurai have their greatest participation.

Among the most important figures of this period are Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin, whose legendary rivalry has inspired several literary works. The armies of Shingen and Kenshin met in the well-known Battles of Kawanakajima (1553-1564). Although some of them were mere skirmishes, the Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima, in 1561, was of great importance in terms of the application of combat tactics, due to the considerable casualties on both sides, due to the hand-to-hand confrontation between the two leaders and due to the close result in which the combat ended.

The war collapsed the order of the old State and the system of private territories; instead, it demonstrated the strength of the peasant and warrior class as they instituted autonomous entities at the local level. Similarly, cities that had been built on key traffic routes in Japan came to be run by armed citizens. The daimyos who managed to incorporate these autonomous localities into their political power, therefore, obtained greater status and power. This dynamic, with the rise of new political and economic centers throughout the country, made the society of the Sengoku period very different from what had existed before, in which power was concentrated exclusively in the capital.

With this infighting raging for more power and land, it was only a matter of time before some powerful daimyō tried to reach Kyoto to seek to overthrow the shōgun, which happened in 1560. Imagawa Yoshimoto marched towards the capital accompanied by a large army for this purpose. However, he did not count on facing the troops of Oda Nobunaga, a secondary daimyō whom he outnumbered twelve to one in number of soldiers. Yoshimoto, confident of his military might, used to celebrate victory even before the battle was over. Oda Nobunaga managed to attack him off guard during one of his famous celebrations at the Battle of Okehazama. When Yoshitomo left his store due to the scandal, he was surprised and killed on the spot. Nobunaga then went from being a minor character to becoming a leading figure on the country's political and military scene.

Cultural flowering and contact with the West

Group Nanban Portuguese.
Kano Domi Biombo (end of the centuryXVI).

Despite the state of war, many characteristic elements of Japanese culture developed in this period, such as architecture, painting, singing, and poetry. The third shōgun , Yoshimitsu, was a great promoter of the arts and during his reign the Kitayama culture arose that spread during the second half of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century. In this period the drama nō and kyōgen were born and the shōgun himself ordered the construction of the Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺, Kinkaku-ji^? Temple of the Golden Pavilion). Later, in the second half of the century In the 15th century, the eighth shōgun, Yoshimasa, promoted the Higashiyama culture, in which Zen Buddhism and wabi-sabi aesthetics influenced cultural harmonization between the Imperial Court and the samurai class, and the flourishing of artistic expressions such as the Japanese tea ceremony, ikebana, kōdō, and renga >, among others.

During the final stage of the Sengoku period, the first Europeans arrived in Japan. It happened in 1543, when a ship with Portuguese on board was shipwrecked off the coast of the island of Tanegashima (south of Kyushu) and on that ship there were firearms, which would be the first to be introduced to Japan. Later in 1549 the Spanish Jesuit Francisco Javier arrived in Kyushu and began to spread Christianity in Japan. Over the next few years, Portuguese, Dutch, English, and Spanish traders arrived in Japan, as did Jesuit, Franciscan, and Dominican missionaries. The Japanese regarded European visitors as the nanban (南蛮, 'nanban&# 39;^? «barbarians from the south») due to arriving in Japan from that direction, while Europeans viewed the Japanese as a complex feudal society, with highly urbanized country and sophisticated pre-industrial technology.

Firearms brought by the Portuguese were the biggest innovation during the period, as firearms began to be produced in many areas of Japan and the use of arquebuses at the Battle of Nagashino in 1575 was a decisive factor. Christianity spread very quickly, especially in the west, and included the conversion of some daimyos. However, the Japanese authorities eventually saw Christianity as a threat that could trigger a possible European conquest of Japan, and so they outlawed it. their practice became violent and progressively severed trade links with the rest of the world (except China and the Netherlands) beginning in the Edo period.

Azuchi-Momoyama Period

In 1573 Nobunaga marched on Kyoto and deposed the shōgun Ashikaga Yoshiaki, marking the beginning of what is known as the Azuchi-Momoyama period (安土桃山時代,, Azuchi Momoyama jidai^?), which takes its name from two emblematic castles of the time: Azuchi Castle and Fushimi-Momoyama. Just a week after having achieved the retirement of shōgun Yoshiaki, Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) managed to convince the emperor to make the change of era name for "Tenshō" as a symbol of the establishment of a new political system. The emperor also granted him the title of Udaijin (太政大臣, 'Udaijin' ^? lit. "Great Minister of State") , the same one he held for four years until, claiming military duties, he delegated it to his son.

Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga depuso al shōgun Ashikaga Yoshiaki thus ending the Ashikaga shogunate.

Nobunaga was born in 1534 in the province of Owari and until 1560 had been a minor daimyō. In 1560 Nobunaga achieved fame and recognition by defeating Imagawa Yoshimoto's large army at the Battle of Okehazama. After helping Yoshiaki reach the shogunate, he launched a campaign to seize control of the central part of the country. In 1570 he defeated the Azai and Asakura clans during the battle of Anegawa and in 1575 he defeated the legendary Takeda clan cavalry during the battle of Nagashino. Other of his main enemies were the warrior monks Ikkō-Ikki , members of the Jōdo-Shinshu sect of Buddhism. With the Ikkō-Ikki Nobunaga maintained a twelve-year rivalry, ten of which he dedicated to the longest siege in Japanese history: that of the Ishiyama Hongan-ji fortress.

In 1576 he built Azuchi castle, which became his base of operations. By 1582 Nobunaga dominated almost the entire central part of Japan, as well as his two main roads: the Tōkaidō and the Nakasendō, so he decided to extend his domain to the west. Two of his top generals were entrusted with this task: Toyotomi Hideyoshi would pacify the southern part of the west coast of the Seto Inland Sea in Honshū, while Mitsuhide Akechi would march up the north coast of the Sea of Japan. During the summer of that same year, Hideyoshi was detained during the siege of Takamatsu Castle, which was controlled by the Mōri clan. Hideyoshi requested reinforcements from Nobunaga, who ordered Mitsuhide to go ahead and join them. Mitsuhide, in the middle of the march, decided to turn back towards Kyoto, where Nobunaga had decided to stay at the Honnōji temple with only his personal guard. Mitsuhide attacked the temple and burned it down in what is known as the "Honnōji Incident", in which Nobunaga died committing seppuku.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Portrait of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) came from a family of humble origins and his father had been a peasant who had fought in Nobunaga's army as an ashigaru soldier until he was shot by a gun. The arquebus forced him to retreat. Hideyoshi followed in his father's footsteps and, thanks to his prowess on the battlefield, was rapidly promoted several times, eventually becoming one of the leading generals of the Oda clan.

During the "Honnō-ji Incident", Hideyoshi was besieging Takamatsu Castle and quickly received the news of his master's death, so he immediately made a truce with the Mōri clan and returned to Kyoto by forced marches.. The army of the new shōgun Akechi Mitsuhide, who had assumed the title, and that of Hideyoshi met on the banks of the Yodo River, very close to a small town called Yamazaki, from which the confrontation receives its origin. name. Hideyoshi was victorious and Mitsuhide was forced to escape. During his flight, a group of peasants killed him, thus ending his government of only thirteen days.

Having avenged the death of his former master gave him the long-awaited opportunity to become the highest military authority in the country, and for the next two years he faced and defeated rivals who opposed him. In 1585, and after having strengthened control of the center of the country, he began his advance to the west, beyond the limits that Nobunaga had reached. By 1591 Hideyoshi had managed to unify the country, so he decided to conquer China. He requested the assistance of the Korean Joseon dynasty in attacking the Ming dynasty and to be guaranteed safe passage, which the Korean government refused. Korea was then the scene of two major invasions by Japanese troops between 1592 and 1598; the second ended with the death of Hideyoshi, who during all this time remained in Japan.

Because Hideyoshi had no royal ancestry nor did he come from any of the historic Japanese clans, he was never bestowed the title of shōgun. Instead, he received a series of lesser titles: Kanpaku (関白, 'Kanpaku'^? regent) in 1595, that of Daijō Daijin (太政大臣, 'Daijō Daijin'^?) in 1586; finally decided to use the title Taikō (太閤, 'Taikō'^? "Kanpaku retired").

Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) spent most of his childhood as a hostage to Imagawa Yoshimoto's court, his clan being vassals of the Imagawas. After Oda Nobunaga's victory over Yoshimoto, many of the daimyō defected, either becoming independent or allied with the Oda clan, the most notable of the latter being Ieyasu himself.

Under Nobunaga's command, Ieyasu fought in 1564 against the Ikkō-ikki of Mikawa Province and in 1570 fought at the Battle of Anegawa alongside Nobunaga's forces. In 1572 he had to face one of the greatest military challenges of his life: the battle of Mikatagahara, where his army was defeated by Takeda Shingen's cavalry, who would die the following year from a shot from an arquebus. In 1575 he was present at the Battle of Nagashino where the Takeda clan was defeated and from that moment he dedicated himself to consolidating his military position, even after Toyotomi Hideyoshi took control of the country.

Because Ieyasu's fiefdom was in the center of the country, he avoided attending the pacification campaigns in Shikoku and Kyūshū, although he did face the Hōjō clan in late 1590, during the siege of Odawara. Thanks to After the victory against the Hōjō, Hideyoshi gave him the confiscated lands, so he moved his capital to Edo (today Tokyo). His new location in Kyūshū also allowed him to evade the responsibility of fighting during the Japanese invasions of Korea, a war that it significantly weakened the armies of its main rivals.

Battle of Sekigahara

After Hideyoshi's death, Tokugawa Ieyasu began to establish a series of alliances with powerful figures in the country through arranged marriages, making Ishida Mitsunari, one of the five bugyō (奉行, 'bugyō'^? magistrate), began to gather all those who opposed Ieyasu.

On August 22, 1599, while Ieyasu was organizing his army with the intention of confronting a rebel daimyō named Uesugi Kagekatsu, Mitsunari decided to act with the support of the other bugyō > and three of the four tairō (大老, 'tairō' ^? lit. «Great old man»), who sent a formal complaint against Ieyasu, accusing him of thirteen different charges. The charges included having married sons and daughters for political purposes and having taken possession of Osaka Castle, Hideyoshi's former residence, as his own. Ieyasu interpreted the letter as a clear declaration of war, so that virtually all the daimyō of the country They enlisted in either Mitsunari's "Western Army" or Ieyasu's "Eastern Army".

The two armies met in what is known as the Battle of Sekigahara (関ヶ原の戦い , Sekigahara no tatakai ^?), which took place on October 21 (September 15 in the old Chinese calendar) in the year 1600 in Sekigahara (now Gifu Prefecture). battle, Ieyasu was victorious after several generals of the "Eastern Army" decided to switch sides in the course of the conflict. Ishida Mitsunari was forced to flee, although he was later captured and beheaded in Kyoto. Thanks to this victory, Ieyasu became the country's top military and political figure.

The victory of Ieyasu during the battle of Sekigahara gave way to the Tokugawa shogunate, which would last more than two hundred and fifty years in power.

Edo Period

Reception of the daimyos in Edo Castle applying the policy of sankin kōtai, which allowed the control of these by the shogunate, forcing them to have a double residence that alternated between Edo and his fiefdom, the "school" of their families in Edo and the cost of transport between both places.
Biombo by Kyosai Kiyomitsu (1847).

The Edo period (江戸時代, Edo jidai^?) , also known as the Tokugawa period (徳川時代, Tokugawa jidai^?), is a division of Japanese history, spanning from 1603 to 1868. The period delimits the Tokugawa shogunate or, by its original Japanese name, Edo bakufu (江戸幕府, Edo bakufu^?), which was the third and last shogunate to hold power in Japan.

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

With the unification that occurred in the Azuchi-Momoyama period, Japan had become a more peaceful country, and in the Edo period the social structure that had been established after Hideyoshi's unification was consolidated, with three ranks: the class samurai ruler, the agricultural and the citizen (artisans, merchants and merchants). The pacification and the increase in the production of gold and silver since the Azuchi-Momoyama period, gave more stable living conditions in the social classes for more than two and a half centuries, unlike previous periods, and this brought as a consequence that the The population developed their vocational skills. The samurai class organized itself and developed an efficient and legal administrative system, as well as advances in various fields of scholarship, while farmers and citizens improved in the material realm. By the 17th century rice production had doubled and the cultivation of valuable crops for the market spread to all villages. With industrial development, a level of prosperity was reached in many cities and the economic power of the merchants surpassed that of the samurai.

Sakoku

View of the port of Nagasaki and the island of Dejima (below the center). There are two Dutch boats (on the right) and several Chinese boobs parked in the port and one near Dejima. The Chinese Empire and the Netherlands were the only ones to market with Japan during the sakoku.
Painting of 1820.

When Ieyasu came to power, Japan was still in the heyday of the Nanban trading period, and while trading with Europeans was still allowed as with Hideyoshi, his actions were viewed with suspicion. In 1614 the first transoceanic voyage to the West was made by the galleon San Juan Bautista, with a Japanese embassy headed by Hasekura Tsunenaga. Between 1604 and 1636, the shogunate had also allowed the use of 350 shuinsen, merchant ships that traded in various regions of Asia.

Nevertheless, the constant expansion of Christianity was considered by the shogunate as a "problem", especially with the advantages that the Christian daimyos of Kyūshū had and their relationship with European traders, and the perception that the presence of Spanish and Portuguese in Japan would unleash a process of conquest similar to that which occurred in the New World, especially the conquest of the Philippines by the Spanish. The shogunate thought that the activity of European missionaries was a facade for political conquest. In 1612 vassals and residents of Tokugawa clan estates were forced to abandon Christianity, in 1616 trade was restricted Outside the cities of Hirado and Nagasaki, in 1622 120 missionaries and converts were executed, in 1624 the Spanish were expelled from Japan, and in 1629 thousands more converts were executed.

During the rule of the third Tokugawa shōgun, Iemitsu, the first great famine of the Tokugawa shogunate occurred, which lasted from 1630 to 1640-1641, leading to peasant protests in 1632, 1633 and 1635. The Shimabara Rebellion of 1637-1638 was the most dramatic consequence of the deteriorated relationship with the government due to this crisis, in which Catholic peasants faced off against the large government army. had neither religious nor political purposes, this event apparently convinced Iemitsu to definitively restrict Christianity in Japan, for which reason he issued an order in 1639 prohibiting said religion, as well as preventing Portuguese priests from entering the country and the departure of Japanese on pain of death, as well as the exclusion of Japan to the world. During this period of isolation, known as sakoku (鎖国 , 'sakoku'^?), commercial relations with all European nations ceased, except for the Netherlands, with whom trade continued but was authorized exclusively on Dejima. Japan continued to maintain trade relations with China and Korea, albeit to a limited extent.

Society and politics

With the Tokugawa shogunate, a balanced power structure was established, known as bakuhan (the shogunate and the fiefs), in which the shogunate directly governed the city of Edo, the seat of government military, while daimyos ruled in their fiefdoms. After the pacification, many samurai lost their possessions and lands, as only a few daimyos existed (about 260 c. XVIII), so they had few options: lay down their swords and become peasants, be vassals of the daimyō, or be vassals of the shōgun (become hatamoto). Daimyos were also strictly controlled, as the shogunate imposed the policy of sankin kōtai on them from 1635 to 1862, in which the daimyō's family was forced to live in the city of Edo, while the daimyō had to alternate his residence annually between Edo and his fiefdom, which caused added expenses by having to maintain two residences and pay for large processions, limited his economic and military power and thus avoiding any attempt at rebellion against the shogunate.

Apart from the members of the bakuhan, the emperor and courtiers (kuge) also enjoyed a privileged position. Below them were the "four social classes" (身分制, mibunsei^?) in which the population was divided: the samurai at the top (about 5% of the population), then the peasants (about 80%), followed by the artisans and, lastly, the merchants. Peasants had to live in the fields, while samurai, artisans, and merchants lived in the cities that formed around the daimyō's castle and were subservient to his fiefdom. Apart from this system, there were the eta and the hinin, the most disadvantaged categories, who were considered from outcasts to "non-humans".

Culture

Kaitai Shinsho, treated anatomy published in 1774 and is a Japanese translation of the Dutch book Ontleedkundige Tafelen, done by scholars rangaku.

The Great Wave of Kanagawa, engraved ukiyo-e made by Hokusai in 1832.

Japan timidly received the Western techniques and sciences of rangaku (蘭学, ' rangaku'^? «dutch learning») through of books and supplies carried by Dutch traders on Dejima. The fields of study ranged from medicine, geography, astronomy, art, natural sciences, languages, physics and mechanics. During the government of the shōgun Tokugawa Yoshimune, the introduction of foreign books was made more flexible in 1720 and their translation into Japanese was allowed, which caused a greater boom in this study. At the beginning of the 19th century there was a clear cultural exchange between the Japanese and the Dutch. For example, Dr. Philipp Franz von Siebold first taught Western medicine in 1824 to Japanese students, with the permission of the shogunate. However, the shogunate decided to reverse its support for rangaku in 1839 by enacting the edict bansha no goku, which provoked the repression of several scholars who questioned the effects of the sakoku and the edict of repulsion of foreign ships of 1825. However, these edicts ceased to be valid. take effect in 1842 and rangaku was again taught, until it became obsolete with the abolition of sakoku a decade later.

Locally, Neo-Confucianism became the main intellectual movement and permeated the shogunate, appealing to greater attention to the secular life of man and society, resulting in a rationalist and humanist thought. By the middle of the 17th century it had become mainstream philosophical and laid the foundation for the kokugaku school. i> (国学, 'kokugaku'^? «national learning») that rejected Chinese Confucianism and valued pre-Chinese influenced Japanese culture.

With the spread of Neo-Confucianism, the samurai class showed a greater interest in Japanese history and the cultivation of the arts, resulting in the bushido (way of the warrior). There was also a cultural flowering in the popular class, through the chōnindō, and education, literacy and the teaching of arithmetic were extended in a general way to the population.

One of the consequences of this more cultured lifestyle was the appearance of the ukiyo (浮世, 'ukiyo'^? «floating world»), which was the fun and entertaining lifestyle of the middle class and which produced a cultural flowering in the Genroku era (1688-1704, also called Genroku culture): the bunraku, the kabuki, geishas, the tea ceremony, music, poetry and literature became part of that world and was exposed as art through ukiyo-e. The ukiyo-e began at the end of the XVII century by Harunobu, and had as its main exponents Kiyonaga and Utamaro in the 18th century and Hiroshige and Hokusai in the first half of the XIX.

Major exponents of literature from this period include the playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon and the poet Matsuo Bashō, who wrote haiku verse during his tour of various sites in Japan at the turn of the century XVII.

Beginning of decline

By the 18th century, freight traffic experienced significant growth in both urban and rural areas. This brought as a consequence that both the shogunate and the daimyos found themselves at the point where the tax revenues that were based on rice production were becoming insufficient to cover the expenses that increased each year. It was decided to increase taxes, but this caused rebellions on the part of the peasant class, added to the appearance of numerous famines and natural disasters that plagued the country, such as the great Meireki fire of 1657, the Genroku earthquake of 1703 and the eruption of Mount Fuji in 1707, which caused thousands of deaths. For this reason, the shogunate carried out several reforms in order to contain a decline in the governance of the country: the Kyōhō reforms (1717-1744) aimed at the financial solvency of the government, the Kansei reforms (1787-1793) resolved several social problems caused by the great famine of Tenmei, which occurred between 1782 and 1788, and in reversing some government decisions, the Tenpō reforms (1830-1842) aimed to control In the social chaos caused by the Great Tenpō Famine, immigration to Edo, rangaku, and the formation of societies were prohibited, although the scope of these reforms extended to the military level. ar, religious, financial and agricultural; and finally the Keiō reforms (1866-1867), which were intended to contain the growing rebellion that existed in the domains of Satsuma and Chöshü, without any success.

Although the government tried to contain the problems, they became more notorious and a desire for greater transformations arose in the popular sector in the face of the inaction of the shogunate. One of these cases was that of the samurai Ōshio Heihachirō, a A minor official of the shogunate in Osaka who, during the great Tenpō famine, begged his superiors to feed the famine victims. Faced with their refusal, Heihachirō sold his books in order to help people, and later, following Neo-Confucian precepts, he accused the shogunate of corruption. He created an army out of peasants, Neo-Confucian students, and other commoners and sparked a rebellion in 1837 that destroyed part of the city before government troops could put it down. Heihachirō committed seppuku when he was captured.

Japanese representation of HMS Phaeton in Nagasaki Bay in 1808. This incident was one of the few attempts by the West to unsuccessfully break the policy of sakoku.

In parallel with what was happening at home, some foreign countries began to put pressure on the shogunate to abandon the sakoku. At the end of the century XVIII several Russian explorers came to the Kuril Islands and Hokkaido (Pavel Lebedev-Lastochkin in 1778 and Adam Laxman in 1792) with the aim of eventually opening trade with Japan, task that was unsuccessfully assigned by Nikolai Rezanov in 1804, thus the Russian Empire clashed with the shogunate over the Sakhalin and Kuril Islands dispute in the first half of the century XIX.

In 1808, the British frigate HMS Phaeton arrived in the port of Nagasaki, challenging the Dejima and shogunate authorities by forcibly demanding supplies under the threat of firing their cannons at the Japanese and Chinese ships anchored in the port. The Nagasaki bugyō (official of the shogunate of the city), Matsudaira Yashuide, initially asked for reinforcements but due to their delay, he finally agreed to the demands of the English. After the incident, Yasuhide committed seppuku and alerted the shogunate authorities to the presence of foreign ships, encouraging the "edict of repulsion of foreign ships" created in 1825.

The Morrison incident of 1837, where an American merchant ship returning Japanese shipwrecked was shelled, along with the defeat of the Chinese Empire in the Opium War in 1842 and signaling a turnaround in the international situation in the Far East, led to criticism of the shogunate over its isolation policy, resulting in the abolition in 1842 of the edict of repulsion of foreign ships, the suspension of the executions of foreigners who arrived in the country and in providing supplies to their ships. This is how whalers from England, the United States and other countries came to the coast of Japan to ask for water and food. Despite the fact that this abolition was not for commercial purposes, some countries insisted on the opening of the country: in 1846 the American commander James Biddle, who signed the first treaty between the United States and China, tried unsuccessfully to open trade with Japan, but in 1848 Captain James Glynn achieved the first successful negotiation with the shogunate and was the person he recommended to the United States Congress United negotiations with Japan, if possible, by force, being one of the causes of Commodore Perry's expedition in 1853.

Bakumatsu and Meiji Restoration

Matthew Perry forced Japan to end isolation in 1853.

Although the political system established by Ieyasu and fine-tuned by his two successors Hidetada and Tokugawa Iemitsu remained largely intact until the mid-19th century, various political, social, and economic changes rendered the Tokugawa government inefficient and subsequently caused its collapse. In the mid-18th century, the shogunate and daimyos suffered serious economic difficulties as wealth shifted to the merchant society in urban areas. The growing discontent among the farmers and samurai motivated the Government to try to counteract the situation through various measures, none of which had any effect. In addition to internal problems, the country's situation also worsened due to various pressures from foreign powers that tried to force the Government to open the country to trade. This period would be known between 1853 and 1867 as bakumatsu (幕末, 'bakumatsu&# 39;^?).

Opening to Western Powers

In July 1853 American Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Tokyo Bay with a fleet of ships known by the Japanese as the "Black Ships" (黒船, kurofune ^?) and gave Japan a deadline to break isolation in one year, threatening that if they his request Edo would be besieged by the sophisticated Paixhans guns of the ships. Despite the fact that the Japanese began to fortify themselves before the return of the Americans (the islands-fortresses of Odaiba were created, the ship was built Shōhei Maru from rangaku texts and a reverberatory furnace was built to make cannons), when Perry's fleet returned in 1854, they were met without any resistance by the shogunate officer, A be Masahiro, who had no experience in national security and unable to reach a consensus between the various factions (Imperial Court, shogunate and daimyos) decided unilaterally to accept Perry's demands and allow the opening of several ports and the posting of an American ambassador. in Japan, with the signing of the Kanagawa Convention of March 1854, formally terminating the sakoku policy that governed Japan for more than two centuries. Although the shogunate was initially undecided about how to deal with foreign powers, trade was eventually allowed and a series of treaties, known as "Uneven Treaties" (Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty, Harris Treaty, Friendship Treaty) were signed. and Anglo-Japanese Trade), during the Kanagawa Convention, without the consent of the imperial household, which led to strong anti-Tokugawa sentiment.

Abe's decision significantly injured the stability of the shogunate, although he tried to seek military assistance from the Netherlands and sought advice from the shinpan and tozama daimyō, a fact that annoyed the fudai daimyō who held the highest positions. For all this he was replaced by Hotta Masayoshi. However, some officials such as Tokugawa Nariaki, a follower of the Mito school, created from Neo-Confucianism and kokugaku, expressed feelings against the foreign presence and appealed for reverence for the emperor, since they considered that the Tokugawa shogunate it was no longer a trustworthy institution. This nationalist thought was known by the motto sonnō jōi (尊王攘夷, 'sonnō jōi'^? «revere the emperor, expel the barbarians»), proposed by the thinker of the Mito Aizawa Seishisai school in a book published in 1825.

Scene of the Shimonoseki battle between the United States and Chōshū in July 1863.

Hotta sought the support of the Imperial Court for the ratification of the new treaties, but failed to convince them, unleashing a political crisis between the shogunate and the Court. In 1858 the situation worsened with the death of the shōgun Tokugawa Iesada, leaving no heir. Nariaki, along with the shinpan and tozama daimyō, supported Tokugawa Yoshinobu, while the fudai daimyō supported Tokugawa Iemochi, eventually winning his court approval. The leader of the faction Ii Naosuke became tairō, and was the architect of a purge of prominent members opposed to the signing of the treaties. This event, known as the Ansei purge, placed Nariaki and Yoshinobu under house arrest, as well as several members of the shogunate, various han and even the Imperial Court, and eight people were executed, among them Yoshida Shōin, an intellectual of the sonnō jōi. a growing friction between foreigners and samurai, which escalated to the point that both foreigners and Japanese collaborators were regularly killed. Ii Naosuke was assassinated in March 1860 during the Sakuradamon Incident and brought about the end of the purge. Added to the attack on the British Legation in Edo in 1861 and the Nanamugi incident in 1862, they justified a military intervention against the samurai to the Western powers. In March 1863, Emperor Kōmei broke with the ceremonial role that emperors had for centuries and entered the political arena by issuing the order to expel the barbarians (攘夷実行の勅命, jōi jikkō no chokumei^?). The Chōshū domain complied with the order and decided to attack foreign ships in the Shimonoseki Strait. Other domains such as Satsuma and Tosa, which were against the shogunate, decided to ally themselves and follow the edict.

Since the shogunate was unable to control these incidents, foreign countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands) took the initiative in retaliating against the nationalist movement. On July 16, 1863, the battle of Shimonoseki between the United States and the Chōshū domain was staged, four days later France bombarded Shimonoseki and then it was again bombarded by an allied coalition on September 5 and 6, 1864, causing the imminent defeat of Chōshu. In August 1863, the United Kingdom bombarded Kagoshima, defeating the Satsuma domain. Between May 1864 and January 1865, the shogunate fought against samurai and rōnin followers of the sonnō jōi in the rebellion of Mito, achieving the victory of the shogunate. Other followers of the sonnō jōi and members of the Chōshū domain unsuccessfully attempted to seize the Imperial Palace in Kyoto during the Hamaguri rebellion on August 20, 1864. By the end of 1864 the shogunate had succeeded through of these battles to neutralize the xenophobic movement and nationalist movements such as the Ishin Shishi had been brutally repressed. Emperor Kōmei decided to change his position of not making treaties with foreign powers, after in November 1865 several Allied warships had been stationed in the ports of Hyōgo and Osaka, in exchange for the Emperor's ratification of trade treaties with the United States. From then on, the philosophy of "drive out the barbarians" it lost its momentum since it was an unrealizable object, especially when the western powers managed to severely repress those who challenged them. However, the economic burden imposed on Japan when it was defeated in these combats (indemnities, new treaties, the opening of more ports and more privileges to the powers) showed that the structure of the shogunate was already obsolete and that a new one was necessary. type of leadership, having the emperor as the highest figure.

• 

  Japanese painting depicting the "Black Boats" of Comforter Matthew Perry.

• 

  Image that evoked the feeling of "expelling the barbarians" (1861).

• 

  Commercial exchange in Yokohama (1861).

• 

  Scene of the rebellion of Mito (1864).

Twilight of the Shogunate

Tokugawa Yoshinobu.

Chōshū maintained a belligerent position against the shogunate, so in June 1866 the government sent a punitive expedition that ended in failure because the Chōshū domain had modernized its army. This defeat forced the shogunate to modernize as well, sending some students abroad and accepting a French military mission in 1867. After the premature death of the shōgun Iemochi in late 1866, he was finally succeeded by Tokugawa Yoshinobu, who had aspired to the position years before. In January 1867, Emperor Kōmei passed away and was succeeded by Prince Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji.

Yoshinobu tried to maintain apparently cordial relations with the new emperor, although in reality there was tension between the two rulers; however, the displeasure of the daimyos opposed to the shogunate was uncontainable, and finally on November 9, 1867, the emperor secretly ordered the lords of Chōshū and Satsuma to eliminate the shōgun. However, at the request of the daimyō of Tosa, Yoshinobu voluntarily decided to surrender his authority and power to the emperor., and agreed to convene a general assembly of daimyos to create a new government.

Although Yoshinobu's resignation had created a vacuum in the government, the shogunate continued to exist. In addition, the shogunate government and the Tokugawa family in particular would continue to be a major force in the new order and would retain great political power, a prospect that the more die-hards of Satsuma and Chōshū found unacceptable. Events were precipitated when, the On January 3, 1868, the latter seized control of the imperial palace in Kyoto and, the next day, made the fifteen-year-old Emperor Meiji declare the restoration of his absolute power, ending the Tokugawa regime and to the rule of the shoguns in the country, which had lasted for more than seven centuries.

Meiji Period

Emperor Meiji. (1872)

With the fall of the shogunate, the emperor established himself as a symbol of national unity and began a series of extremely radical reforms, the first being the promulgation of the Letter of Oath (五箇条の御誓文, Gokajō no Goseimon^?) of 1868, which was intended to increase morale as well as getting financial help for the new government.

Boshin War

Tokugawa Yoshinobu and his army at Osaka Castle during the Boshin War.

Scene of the battle of Ueno.

Although Yoshinobu initially agreed to the demands of the emperor's followers, on January 18, 1868, he declared that he would not accept the terms of imperial restoration. On January 24, he decided to launch an attack on Kyoto, where the Satsuma and Chōshū armies were, since in Edo he was receiving pressure and attacks from the rebels against the shogunate. The samurai who still remained loyal to the shogunate rose up in arms, sparking a civil war known as the Boshin War (戊 辰戦争, Boshin sensō^?).

On January 27, the Battle of Toba-Fushimi took place, in which the forces of Satsuma and Chōshū, together with a contingent of the Imperial Court commanded by Komatsu Akihito, managed to defeat the shogunate army. The main reason for his defeat was that several factions that had initially supported the shogunate changed sides due to the emperor's official support for Satsuma and Chōshū; this was added to the use of sophisticated firearms by the victors. among which were Armstrong cannons, Minié rifles and some Gatling guns, while on the side of the shogunate the majority of the troops were samurai armed with swords.

Yoshinobu had to retreat to Edo, while Imperial forces led by Saigō Takamori slowly approached the city and succeeded in besieging it in May. The shogunate's resistance in Edo subsided after the Battle of Ueno on July 4; the imperial forces seized the city during that month and placed Yoshinobu under house arrest at the Kan'ei-ji temple. He was stripped of his land, although several years later he was released. On September 3, it was decided to rename the city of Edo to Tokyo, and Emperor Meiji moved the capital from Kyoto to Tokyo, taking Edo Castle. like the new imperial palace.

However, some factions resisted capitulating, such as the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei, an alliance of northern domains (among them the Aizu domain) that united with Enomoto Takeaki, chief of the shogunate navy that had escaped from Edo with eight warships before the city's surrender. However, the alliance troops were unsophisticated and slowly broke down before the advancing imperial army; In October 1868, the Battle of Aizu took place, during which part of the shogunate army left the region by sea in the direction of Hokkaido. After a month of siege, Aizu surrendered on November 6.

Arriving on the island of Hokkaido, Enomoto reorganized the army and established his own government, proclaiming the Republic of Ezo on December 25, of which he was elected president. He tried unsuccessfully to gain international recognition and failed to win approval from the new Imperial Japanese government for Hokkaido to be ceded to the Tokugawa shogunate under imperial rule. Japanese naval forces arrived at Miyako Bay en route to Hokkaido in March 1869, there the naval battle of the bay of Miyako broke out in which a boarding operation was attempted to capture the flagship of the imperial navy, in the same month of May some seven thousand men of the imperial troops landed on the island, advanced slowly seizing various strategic positions and managed to finally destroy the Ezo Republic's defenses during the Battle of Hakodate. After having lost half the men and almost all the ships, Ezo agreed to surrender on May 17, 1869.

With the end of the Boshin War, the Imperial government gained control of all of Japan, leaving no rival internal forces. With the war won, the privileges of the samurai class were abolished, so the nationalists, who had initially supported the figure of the emperor as well as the philosophy of sonnō jōi, felt betrayed.

Meiji Government

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

Despite various protests, government leaders continued with the intense modernization of the country: telegraph cables were laid in the main cities and railways, shipyards, munitions factories, as well as textile plants were built. All these measures modernizing forces ultimately led the country to become the first industrialized Asian country.

Concerned about national security, they made great efforts to modernize the Army: foreign war systems were studied, advisers from other countries were hired, cadets were sent to European countries and the United States, a standing army was established with a large number reserves and military service became compulsory.

Satsuma Rebellion

Saigō Takamori (feated, in western uniform), surrounded by his officers. Article in the newspaper Le Monde Illustré1877.

Saigō Takamori, one of the oldest leaders in the Meiji government, was particularly concerned about growing political corruption. After a series of differences with the government, he resigned his position and withdrew to the Satsuma domain. He there he established academies where all students underwent training and instruction in warfare tactics. The news about the Saigō academies was received with great concern in Tokyo.

On February 12, 1877, Saigō met with his landowners Kirino Toshiaki and Shinohara Kunimoto and announced his intention to go to Tokyo to meet with the government. His troops began to advance, and by February 14 the advance party reached Kumamoto Prefecture, where they attacked Kumamoto Castle. On February 19, the first shots were fired by the defenders, as Satsuma units attempted to force their way into the castle. On February 22, the main Satsuma army arrived and attacked the castle, bringing the castle down. The battle continued until nightfall and the Imperial forces that had come out to meet them withdrew. The Satsuma army was unable to take the castle and after two days of unsuccessful attack, the Satsuma forces dug in around the castle and tried to lay siege to it. During the siege, many of Kumamoto's former samurai defected to Saigō's side. Meanwhile, on March 9, Saigō, Kirino, and Shinohara were stripped of their official positions and titles from Tokyo.

Statue of Saigō Takamori in Ueno Park, Tokyo.

The main contingent of the Imperial Navy, under the command of General Kuroda Kiyotaka and assisted by General Yamakawa Hiroshi, arrived at Kumamoto to help the castle's occupants on April 12. This caused the Satsuma troops, who were now completely outnumbered, to flee. After constant pursuit, Saigō and his remaining samurai were pushed back to Kagoshima, where the final battle would take place: the Battle of Shiroyama. The Imperial Army troops commanded by General Yamagata Aritomo and the Marines commanded by Admiral Kawamura Sumiyoshi outnumbered Saigō's forces sixty to one. The imperial troops spent seven days building and elaborate systems of dams, walls, and obstacles to prevent their escape. Five warships joined the might of Yamagata's artillery and reduced the rebel positions. After Saigō rejected a letter requesting his surrender, Yamagata ordered a frontal attack on September 24, 1877. By 6 a.m., only 40 rebels were still alive, and Saigō was mortally wounded. His followers claim that one of them, Beppu Shinsuke, acted as kaishakunin and helped Saigō commit seppuku before he could be captured. After Saigō's death, Beppu and the last samurai standing raised their swords and headed down the slope towards the Imperial positions, until the last of them fell from Gatling gun fire. With these deaths, the Satsuma rebellion came to an end.

Creating a representative government

Itagaki Taisuke, a prominent politician of the Meiji Era.

The greatest institutional achievement after the Satsuma Rebellion was the beginning of the trend to create a representative government by citizens who had been removed from government.

One of the prominent figures of this movement was Itagaki Taisuke, one of the main leaders of Tosa Province. In 1875 he formed the Aikokusha in order to put pressure on the government in 1878. In 1881 he formed the Jiyūtō (自由党, Liberal Party^?), which had tendencies towards French politics. The following year Ōkuma Shigenobu founded the Rikken Kaishintō (立憲改進党, Progressive Constitutional Party^?), which advocated the establishment of a constitutional democratic system similar to the English system. In response, members of the government formed the Rikken Teiseitō (立憲帝政党 , Imperial Regime Constitutional Party^?) or the Constitutional Party of the Imperial Regime that same year of 1882. After these parties, many other movements emerged, some violently. Finally in 1889 the Constitution of the Empire of Japan (also known as the Meiji Constitution) provided for an Imperial Diet composed of a popularly elected House of Representatives, accompanied by an extremely underrepresented House of Peers composed of the nobility in a system called kazoku.

The first elections were held in 1890, electing the 300 members of the House of Representatives.

Expansionism

First Sino-Japanese War

During the 19th century the Korean peninsula attracted the attention of Japan due to its geographical position, which could result in a strategic point for the defense of the archipelago. An early conflict with Korea had been momentarily resolved through the signing of the Kanghwa Treaty in 1876, through which the Japanese had gained access to that nation's ports. In 1894 a political crisis was precipitated when a pro-Japanese Korean leader was assassinated in Shanghai. The situation worsened when the Chinese army crushed the Tonghak Rebellion on Korean soil, despite the fact that in the Tianjin Convention both China and Japan had agreed to withdraw their respective armies from the Korean peninsula, withdrawing support for the various warring factions in the country.. Japan responded quickly to the Chinese incursion and won what is now known as the First Sino-Japanese War, which ended in 1895 and nine months after hostilities began, when a ceasefire was called.

The conflict ended with the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, through which the independence of Korea was recognized and therefore it ceased to be considered as a tributary state, 200 million taels of compensation from China to Korea, the opening of the Yangtze River to the Japanese for trade, the right for Japanese investors to conduct business in China, as well as the ceding of Taiwan, the Pescadores Islands, and the Liaodong Peninsula to Japan, albeit over the objections of Russia, Germany, and France, Liaodong was returned.

Representation in ukiyo-e of the battle of Pionyang in Korea, part of the First Sino-Japanese War.

Russo-Japanese War

Negotiation of the Portsmouth Treaty (1905). From left to right and from the Russian side (at the bottom): Korostovetz, Navohoff, Serguéi Witte, Roman Rosen, Plancoff; from the Japanese side are: Adachi, Ochiai, Komura, Takahira, Sato. The table is still preserved at the Meiji Mura Museum in Japan.

The imperialist ambitions of both Russia, which was interested in maintaining control over China, and Japan, which wanted control of Korea, led the two countries to clash in 1904.

In 1902 the United Kingdom signed the Anglo-Japanese Alliance with Japan, through which the British recognized Japan's interests in Korea and promised to remain neutral in the event of a possible war with Russia "unless another power ally with them, in which case they would take a more active role." This alliance posed a threat to the Russians, who sought a more conciliatory tone than they had previously used, even promising to withdraw troops by 1903.

After Japan lodged a complaint over Russia's failure to timely withdraw troops, Russia offered to divide Korea along the 39th parallel, with Japan controlling the south and a neutral zone to the north, but assuring that Manchuria it would be outside the Japanese sphere of influence.

War broke out in February 1904, and after a series of Japanese land victories, as well as the naval victory at Tsushima in May 1905, a peace conference was held with the United States as mediator, where Russia recognized the pre-eminence of Japan's interests in Korea, assured that military action in Korea and Manchuria would be avoided, ceded to Japan the lease of Dalian, its adjacent territories and the railway, as well as the southern part of the island of Sakhalin, and granted him the right to fish in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea, after which both sides eventually agreed to evacuate Manchuria.

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

Taishō period

Emperor Taishō with his coronation suit.

The Meiji period ended with the death of the emperor in 1912 and the consequent accession to the throne of Emperor Taishō. The new emperor was an extremely sick and weak man, both physically and mentally, so during his tenure he kept away from political issues and government decisions fell to the Diet and its cabinet. Due to his incapacity, his son Hirohito was named "Prince Regent" in 1921.

World War I

See also: First World War

Seeking to consolidate its sphere of influence in China and taking advantage of the fact that Germany was occupied on the European stage, Japan declared war on it in August 1914 and quickly occupied the territories leased by this country in the province of Shandong in China, as well as the Mariana Islands, the Carolinas and the Marshall Islands in the Pacific. Japan also tried to consolidate its position in China by taking advantage of the fact that its allies were busy in the war, so it tried to get this country to sign the "Twenty One Demands" (対華二十一ヵ条要求, Taika Nijyūichikkajō Yōkyū^?), which would practically make China a Japanese protectorate. Faced with international repudiation, a growing anti-Japanese sentiment in China, as well as the delay of the Chinese government, finally in May 1915 a treaty of thirteen demands was signed, among which it was contemplated that China would not grant islands or coasts to third parties.

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

In 1919 Japan found itself on the side of the "big five" powers at the Versailles Peace Conference. Japan was granted a permanent seat in the League of Nations and also transferred to it the rights that Germany had had over Shandong. Eventually, the Pacific islands held by Germany were placed under a Japanese mandate, called the South Pacific Mandate.

Taishō Democracy

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

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

Great Kantō Earthquake

Metropolitan Police Office after the earthquake.

On September 1, 1923, shortly before noon, one of the strongest earthquakes in history occurred in the Kantō region, with an estimated magnitude of 8.3 on the Richter scale. The movement in the tectonic plates also caused a strong tsunami: in Kamakura the waves reached 5 meters in height, while in Atami they reached 13.

It is estimated that around 110,000 people lost their lives, either from the effects of the earthquake, the subsequent tsunami, as well as a large number of fires that lasted for several days.

To the human losses due to the above causes must also be added those resulting from several waves of violence against Korean and Chinese political activists by civilians, police and military that took place some time after the tragedy.

Nihonbashi desolation and Kanda view from the roof of the Dai-ichi Sogo building, Kyōbashi.

Showa Period

Emperor Shōwa, known in the West by his first name, Hirohito.

Emperor Taishō passed away on December 25, 1926 after a brief reign and from this date Prince Regent Hirohito was inaugurated as the new Emperor of Japan, thus beginning the Shōwa era.

In 1922, with the Washington Naval Treaty, the number of Imperial Japanese Navy ships was constrained below the American and British fleets, adding to Japan's already existing anger over having to leave the regions obtained in China during the Russo-Japanese War. Japan was also offended mainly by the fact that foreign powers occupied what they considered their sphere of influence. The only large area from which they could obtain the raw material necessary for the development of their economy without depending on imports was China and in 1931 they decided to invade and occupy Manchuria, to later invade China in 1937.

The invasion of China sparked what is known as the Second Sino-Japanese War, an eight-year conflict.

Second Sino-Japanese War

General Iwane Matsui entering Nanking.

Japanese troops guarded the Manchurian railroad tracks, because through these various resources were transported to ports in Korea, from where they were finally sent to Japan. In September 1931 explosives exploded on these tracks, in what is known as the "Mukden Incident". The Japanese government then decided to send troops to occupy all of Manchuria, also forming a puppet government called Manchukuo under the nominal command of Emperor Pu-Yi.

Small clashes took place in the following years, but in 1937, after the "Marco Polo Bridge Incident" where Japanese troops were attacked on the outskirts of Beijing, open war with China began. Japan quickly attacked the main coastal cities, and by December of that same year they were already on the outskirts of the nationalist capital, Nanking. When the city surrendered to the invaders, the Imperial Army carried out acts of extreme cruelty against the civilian population, events known as the "Nanking Massacre", where nearly 300,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed.

Initial Japanese victories were followed by a period of stalemate and by 1938 the war was at a stalemate, a situation that continued until 1941, when the Japanese entered the theater of World War II. This war ended in 1945, when Japan announced its unconditional surrender to the allies.

World War II

Yōsuke Matsuoka during a visit to Adolf Hitler in 1941.

Relations with the West deteriorated during the late 1930s, and by 1940 Prince Konoye was appointed prime minister, forming a nationalist cabinet in favor of forced expansion into the area. That same year, on September 27, Foreign Minister Yōsuke Matsuoka signed the Tripartite Pact along with Germany and Italy, aligning Japan with the Axis powers.

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

There was debate in the Japanese cabinet about what to do next, chiefly featuring Hideki Tōjō, the defense minister, who was a strong supporter of the war. By then Japan had the largest force in the Pacific: it was roughly twice the size ships than the United States in the Pacific, its army numbered one million eight hundred thousand soldiers, and its force was one of the most professional in the world. Its air force consisted of two thousand aircraft.

On November 5, the Shōwa Emperor and his cabinet decided to enter the war if the United States did not lift the economic embargo by the end of that month, but the US government's response came on November 26 when, through its Secretary of State, the US demand that Japanese troops withdraw from Manchuria, China and Indochina was ratified, in addition to Japan's resignation from the Tripartite Pact.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Explosion of a torpedo at the USS West Virginia, seen from a Japanese plane.

On November 26, the Japanese Combined Fleet left the Kuril Islands bound for Pearl Harbor, with the aim of destroying the US Pacific fleet. The first attack with more than 180 aircraft was carried out on December 7 at 7:55 a.m., managing to sink six battleships, three cruisers and four other ships, in addition to destroying 188 aircraft on the ground. The attack also left a balance of 2,403 dead.

At 8:45 a.m. a final attack took place that ended at 10:00 a.m., but for this assault the defenses were already better prepared, so Nagumo canceled a third scheduled attack. The next day, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed Congress calling for a declaration of war on Japan, in one of the most famous speeches in history.

Pacific Front by the end of 1941

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

Pacific front in 1942

During the first half of the year, the forces of the Empire of Japan were victorious on almost all fronts: on February 7, its fleet was victorious against the Allies in the Battle of the Java Sea, and on February 15, In the same month, Allied forces surrendered Singapore. In addition, the Philippines, Malaya, and most of New Guinea were defeated. The second half of the year represented a turning point in the war: US forces ousted the Japanese from Guadalcanal, in addition to be victorious at the Battle of Midway, where the Japanese lost half their carrier fleet and around 150 aircraft.

Attempt to hold the defensive ring

The USS Princeton on fire during the Battle of the Gulf of Leyte.

During 1944 the Japanese concentrated on holding the defensive ring, but were forced to retreat in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, in addition to suffering heavy defeats in the Gilbert Islands, although they maintained their advance on Burma and the Indian border. During this year, they also suffered major naval defeats, such as the Battle of the Bismarck Sea fought from March 2 to 5, and the Battle of the Bering Sea on March 26.

During 1944 the situation became untenable for Japan, as its fleet was practically destroyed during the Battle of the Philippine Sea and American troops landed on the Marshall Islands, the Gilbert Islands and the Philippines. The bombardment of Japan began from airfields in the Philippines. On July 18, General Tōjō resigned along with his entire cabinet. In late October of that year, the Japanese lost another major naval engagement, the Battle of the Gulf of Leyte, during which the suicide groups generally known as kamikazes first appeared.

Kamikazes

The USS Bunker Hill was attacked by two planes kamikazes in less than 30 seconds of difference on May 11, 1945.

Since 1942 different voices were raised within the Japanese Army in an effort to implement suicide tactics in the war and try to reverse the sign of war again. Special suicide units were eventually formed both on the ground (as in the case of the «Banzai cargo») and at sea (such as the Shin'yō boats). Finally, in mid-1944, Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō instructed the Air Raid Corps to organize a special unit, giving birth to the Shinpū tokubetsu kōgeki tai (神風特別攻撃隊, «Shinpū Special Attack Unit»^?) or for its abbreviation tokkōtai (特攻隊, 'tokkōtai' ^?), better known in the West as kamikazes.

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

1945

By February 1945, Germany already faced certain defeat, and during the Yalta Conference Stalin promised to also declare war on Japan within two months of the final defeat of the German forces.

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

Group photo after the Potsdam Conference. From left to right and from top to bottom: William Leahy, Ambassador of the United States to France; Ernest Bevin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom; James Byrnes, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United States; Viacheslav Mólotov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union; Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Harry Truman, President of the United States of America; and Iósif Stalin.

Another bloody battlefront took place in Okinawa: the invasion began on April 1 with "Operation Iceberg." Meanwhile, on April 5, Prime Minister Koiso Kuniaki resigned from his post as the war approached the main islands of Japan. During the invasion, more than 12,000 Americans died, while an estimated 110,000 casualties were on the Japanese side.. The United States also lost 36 ships, and 368 were damaged, most by kamikaze attacks. Okinawa finally fell on June 21, providing the Allies with an important base of operations.

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

Atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Mushroom cloud over Hiroshima after dropping the bomb Little Boy.

The mushroom cloud created by the bomb Fat Man as a result of the nuclear explosion on Nagasaki.

After Harry Truman's authorization, the atomic bombings took place on August 6 and 9, 1945, after six months of intense bombing of 67 other cities. The Little Boy nuclear weapon was dropped on Hiroshima on Monday, August 6, 1945, followed by the detonation of the Fat Man bomb on Thursday, August 9 over Nagasaki. To date these bombings constitute the only nuclear attacks in history.

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

Surrender

The Japanese representatives, Mamoru Shigemitsu and Yoshijiro Umezu, aboard the USS Missouri before the signing of the surrender document on 2 September 1945. Behind them, from left to right, General Yatsuji Nagai, Katsuo Okazaki, Admiral Tadatoshi Tomioka, Toshikazu Kase and Lieutenant General Suichi Miyakazi.

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

On August 15, the Shōwa Emperor broke his silence, radioed Japan's unconditional surrender to the Allies—it was the first time the vast majority of Japanese had been able to hear the Emperor's voice—and called on his people to offered no resistance and his troops to lay down their arms. Two days later, on the 17th, Prince Higashikuni was appointed prime minister with the intention of overseeing the country's surrender, which was made official on September 2 aboard the USS Missouri., which ended the War of the Pacific and World War II.

In total, Japan is estimated to have lost about 1,506,000 soldiers and about 900,000 civilians, mostly in the past year, to incendiary and atomic bombing.

Occupation of Japan

General Douglas MacArthur was appointed Supreme Commander and was charged with overseeing the occupation of Japan, which lasted until 1952.

During the first two years, a process of democratization and demilitarization took place: the army and navy were abolished, ammunition and weapons were destroyed, and weapons factories were converted for civilian uses. State Shinto was eliminated and political, economic and social reforms were sought.

War crimes trials

Hideki Tōjō before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, where he was found guilty and subsequently executed.

During this period, more than 5,000 Japanese soldiers and officers were tried for war crimes, of which 900 were executed. International Military Criminal Tribunal for the Far East based in Tokyo, composed of judges from the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, China, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, and the Philippines. These trials lasted two years: from May 1946 to November 1948.

Of the 28 accused, only 25 were indicted, due to the natural death of two of them (Yosuke Matsuoka and Admiral Osami Nagano), and because Okawa Shumei suffered a nervous breakdown and was no longer prosecuted. Seven were sentenced to death (including Hideki Tōjō) and 16 to life imprisonment. Shigenori Tōgō was sentenced to twenty years and Mamoru Shigemitsu to seven.

Constitution of Japan

MacArthur lobbied the government to amend the old Meiji Constitution of 1889, as neither Prime Minister Kijūrō Shidehara nor his cabinet wanted to be the first to replace the old constitution with a more liberal document. Although MacArthur's initial recommendation was for a single-chamber parliamentary system, at the insistence of Japanese politicians the document was drafted to provide for a two-chamber system, both democratically elected. The new constitution, which technically turned out to be an old-fashioned amendment rather than repeal, it was enacted on November 3, 1946, and took effect on May 3, 1947.

Three points stand out among its characteristics: the symbolic role of the emperor, the prominence of civil rights and human rights, and the renunciation of war.

End of occupation

Shigeru Yoshida, Prime Minister of Japan, along with government envoys signing the San Francisco Treaty.

Japan's rapid stabilization led to a relaxation on the part of the occupying forces regarding media censorship, as well as the measures taken. Foreign trade was allowed and a rapid recovery in the economy was fostered. Finally, in September 1951, 51 nations met in San Francisco (California) with the aim of reaching a peaceful agreement. At that meeting, Japan announced its resignation from Korea, Taiwan, the Pescadores Islands, the Kuril Islands, Karafuto, islands obtained by League of Nations mandate, islands in the South China Sea, as well as Antarctic territory. Japan also pledged to resolve any disputes peacefully and in accordance with the statutes of the United Nations Charter. In addition, the resignation of the country to the war was made known to those present.

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

Post Allied Evacuation Period

Flag of Japan's Self-Defense Forces, an agency created in 1954.

Politics

Virtually as soon as the occupation of Japan began, various political parties began to re-emerge. The former Rikken Seiyūkai as well as the Rikken Minseitō resurfaced as the Nihon Jiyūtō and Nihon Shinpotō respectively. The first post-war elections were held in 1946 and were notable for being the first time women were granted the right to vote, in addition to Yoshida Shigeru being elected prime minister. For the following year's elections, opponents of Yoshida left the Jiyūtō and joined forces with the Shinpotō, giving birth to the Minshutō, which gave him it forces the Nihon Shakai-tō or Socialist Party, which formed a short-lived cabinet until its power waned again.

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

Continuing divisions in political parties as well as the succession of governments by political minorities led conservative members to form the Jiyū Minshutō or Liberal Democratic Party in November 1955, which held power constantly between 1955 and 1993.

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

The world situation due to the Cold War as well as the nearby war in Korea fostered economic development as well as the suppression of socialism under American influence.

Economic development

The Tokyo Stock Exchange suffered a stock market crack on October 20, 1987.

Throughout the entire post-war period, the Japanese economy began to grow beyond all expectations, the so-called Japanese miracle. The country quickly caught up with the West in both foreign trade, gross national product, and quality of life; achievements that were highlighted by the 1964 Tokyo Olympics (the first Olympic Games in Asia and for which the first shinkansen bullet train line was inaugurated), and the Osaka International Exposition of 1970.

Starting in the second half of the 20th century, Japan would be known for its high technology. With economic growth, it became the most important power in the world in terms of exports, with prevalence in the fields of electronics, information technology, robotics, the automotive industry and banking, with which there were great economic benefits.

The economic growth and political calm of the mid-1960s were interrupted by the OPEC oil price spike in 1973, triggering Japan's first recession since World War II.

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

International relations

The greatest political crisis of the post-war period took place in 1960, when the Mutual Security Assistance Pact was revised, ratified under the name of the "Mutual Cooperation and Security Treaty" and which caused massive demonstrations in the streets as a symbol of rejection, and the resignation of the cabinet a month after the Diet approved the new treaty. After several years of demonstrations, the general opinion of Japanese citizens towards the United States improved in 1972 when Okinawa was placed under Japanese sovereignty again.

Japan also reestablished relations with the Republic of China at the end of World War II, but due to their support for the nationalist government in exile in Taiwan, friction arose with the government of the People's Republic of China. The relationship with this country was restored again in 1972.

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

Heisei Period

Akihito, emperor of Japan during the Heisei era.

The Heisei Era began on January 8, 1989, one day after the death of Emperor Shōwa and the subsequent accession of Prince Akihito to the throne.

During this era, the financial and real estate bubble began to burst in Japan: since the end of 1987, the prices of shares and land inflated continuously and rapidly, and coupled with low interest rates, created a speculative bubble. After the dollar plunged on "Black Monday," Japanese investors began buying American properties and companies, prompting the Federal Reserve to take various measures to counter Japanese economic policy. During the month of May 1989, the Bank of Japan finally raised the interest rate up to four times, so that from the beginning of the following year the bubble economy began to collapse.

In 1993, and amid accusations of corruption within the Liberal Democratic Party, a coalition led by Morihiro Hosokawa momentarily seized power, despite its lack of unity, the disasters of the great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake that destroyed Kobe, killed more than six thousand people and caused ten trillion yen in losses in 1995, added later to a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway by a doomsday cult that same year, led to the defeat of the coalition government in 1996 against the Liberal Democratic Party, which elected Ryūtarō Hashimoto as prime minister. However, with economic instability, he was succeeded by Keizō Obuchi in 1998, who helped stabilize the economy, but died in 2000 of a stroke. Yoshirō Mori succeeded Obuchi and was widely considered unpopular due to his failures in government and was succeeded by Jun'ichirō Koizumi in 2001.

Koizumi implemented a series of economic reforms focused on government debt, which managed to stop the economic crisis and led to an increase in the government's popularity. Koizumi remained in office until his resignation in 2006, even though the Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide victory in the legislative elections in 2005. Also during Koizumi's government, in 2004 the dispatch of a large contingent of six hundred Japan Self-Defense Forces soldiers to Iraq, without United Nations endorsement, in order to support the reconstruction of Iraq, marking the first deployment of a large military contingent outside the country since the end of World War II, and caused a controversy over the interpretation of Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan, which prohibits acts of war by the State.

The year 2004 was marked by a series of natural disasters: a record ten typhoons per year hit Japan, and particularly the one in October left ninety-four people dead or missing. Heavy rains and floods, which affected Niigata, Fukushima and Fukui prefectures, claimed the lives of twenty more people. In the same month of October, an earthquake struck the central part of Niigata Prefecture, killing 64 people, injuring more than 4,800, and evacuating 100,000 people. Said earthquake also caused the derailment of the shinkansen; the first time it had happened in forty years.

Following Koizumi's resignation, a series of weak and short-lived governments emerged: Shinzo Abe, Koizumi's successor, resigned in September 2007 over a series of corruption scandals and poor leadership. He was succeeded by Yasuo Fukuda, who also failed to govern efficiently and resigned in September 2008. He was succeeded by Taro Aso, who was considered one of the most charismatic members within the Liberal Democratic Party, but was unable to rally the various factions when he took over as head of Government, and his eagerness to advance the legislative elections, before resolving the economic crisis derived from the financial chaos in the United States, caused him a drastic drop in his popularity.

In the 2009 elections, the coalition formed by the Democratic Party of Japan, the Social Democratic Party of Japan and the New People's Party won the elections, thus Yukio Hatoyama was elected prime minister and successor to Tarō Asō, which put an end to more than fifty years of hegemonic dominance of the Liberal Democratic Party. However, Hatoyama's government was short-lived, lasting eight months, after he reconfirmed the presence of the US military in Okinawa, despite of the refusal of the Japanese population, causing a split in the government alliance and in the subsequent resignation of Hatoyama on June 2, 2010. He was replaced by Naoto Kan, also from the Democratic Party, taking office as prime minister on June 8. Kan would be replaced by Yoshihiko Noda, another leader of the Democratic Party, on September 2, 2011. The wear and tear of the Noda government and the Democratic Party led to a return to power. er of the Liberal Democratic Party in the general elections of December 2012, Shinzo Abe being reappointed as prime minister.

During this period Japan became the third world economic power since 2009 (behind China, which ranks second, and the United States), although its unemployment rate was 5.7%; the highest since World War II.

2011 earthquake and tsunami and nuclear accident in Fukushima

Aerial view of Minato following the earthquake

On Friday, March 11, 2011 at 2:46 p.m. Japanese time, an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale occurred, creating tsunami waves of up to 40.5 meters. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the sea, off the coast of Honshu, 130 km east of Sendai, in Miyagi Prefecture. The magnitude of 9.0 made it the most powerful earthquake experienced in the country, as well as the fourth most powerful in the world of all earthquakes measured to date.

The Japanese National Police Agency confirmed 15,845 deaths, 380 people missing, and 5,893 injuries across Japan's eighteen prefectures. The Japanese Foreign Ministry confirmed the deaths of nineteen foreigners of American, Canadian, Chinese, Korean (South and North), Pakistani, and Filipino nationality. The police agency added on April 3, 2011 that 45,700 buildings were destroyed and 144,300 were damaged by the tsunami and earthquake. Building damage includes 29,500 structures in Miyagi Prefecture, 12,500 in Iwate Prefecture, and 2,400 in Fukushima Prefecture. Three hundred Tohoku hospitals were damaged by the disaster, eleven of them being completely destroyed.

A state of emergency was declared at the Tokyo Electric Power company's Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant due to the failure of the cooling systems of one of the reactors. Radiation levels eight times higher than normal were found, with the possibility of a core meltdown.

Akihito's Abdication

On August 8, 2016, Emperor Akihito announced through a rare televised speech a noticeable decline in his health, which was interpreted as an intention to abdicate.

Following this, preparations began to allow such an abdication through a legislative amendment. On June 8, 2017, the Diet of Japan approved the amendment and gave the government the green light to make preparations for the imperial transition, the first in two centuries. The abdication occurred on April 30, 2019, where Akihito he would assume the title of "emperor emeritus" (Jōkō) and the following day Crown Prince Naruhito assumed the title of emperor, ending the Heisei era.

Reiwa Period

Current governors

Naruhito,
126. Or emperor.

The Reiwa period began on May 1, 2019, with the inauguration of Naruhito as the 126th Emperor of Japan (although his coronation officially took place on October 22).

This era begins politically with a consolidated power of Shinzo Abe, who has ruled Japan continuously since 2012. On July 4, 2019, the country entered a trade war with South Korea after the country gave the green light for people to sue Japanese companies extraterritorially for damages during the occupation period.

On July 18, 2019, the arson attack against Kyoto Animation would take place, becoming the largest massacre in history after the end of World War II, killing 36 people. On October 12, 2019, the typhoon Hagibis struck the Kanto region, killing 83 people and becoming the strongest cyclone to hit Japan's capital area since 1958.

On July 8, 2022, while making a public speech in the town of Nara, the former Prime Minister of Japan, Abe Shinzo, was shot twice and died hours later.

Government in Japanese History

Emperors

See also: Japanese Emperors

Emblem of the chrysanthemum flower, imperial seal of Japan.

From the Shinto mythological point of view, reflected in the Kojiki and the Nihonshoki, Japan has a divine origin, having been founded by Emperor Jinmu, direct ancestor of the sun goddess Amaterasu, in the 7th century B.C. C.. Jinmu is also traditionally considered the first emperor in history.

Although these myths are not generally considered historical sources, it is generally accepted that the emperors or tennō (天皇, 'tennō'^? lit.« Heavenly Sovereign") have reigned for more than 1,500 years, all being descendants of the same imperial family.

Despite the long tradition, the real power exercised by the emperors has been symbolic or limited throughout most of history, although the real rulers (such as the Fujiwara regents and the Hōjō or the various shoguns) respected their investiture and sought to legitimize their government.

The current emperor is Naruhito, who will have the name "Reiwa" at the time of his death, and is the 126th on the traditional list.

Shoguns

Mon of the Tokugawa clan.

During the twelfth century and until 1868 the shōgun was established as the de facto ruler of the entire country, although theoretically the Emperor was the legitimate ruler and he deposited the authority in the shōgun to rule on his behalf. During this time, the Emperor was forced to fully delegate any civil, military, diplomatic and judicial powers or authority to whoever held said title, dedicating himself exclusively to spiritual tasks, as he acted as "chief priest" of the country's official religion, Shinto.

During the 1850s and 1860s the shogunate came under severe pressure both from the outside, from foreign powers, and from within. It was then when various groups angry with the shogunate for the concessions made to various European countries found in the figure of the Emperor an ally through which they could expel the Tokugawa shogunate from power. The motto of the movement was sonnō jōi (尊王攘夷, 'sonnō jōi&# 39;^? «Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians») and it finally succeeded in 1868, when imperial power was restored after centuries of being in the shadow of the country's political life. With this, the shogunate was abolished.

Prime Ministers

Official Assembly of the Prime Minister of Japan.

In the Japanese political system, executive power is vested in the cabinet, headed by the prime minister, who is responsible for the appointment and removal of cabinet members.

The prime minister in this country is elected by the political party that wins the most seats in the Diet (the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors), usually being the party's president.

Since its formation in 1955, the conservative Liberal Democratic Party has held power almost continuously, except for short periods. As of January 2022, the prime minister is Fumio Kishida of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, and is the 100th prime minister in Japanese history.