Japan :: essays research papers

Japan, a country made up of islands, has a very extensive history that goes along with it. Recorded Japanese history beings about A.D. 400. It is believed that Japan was created by the sun goddess, from whom the emperors descended. The first emperor was Jimmo, who supposedly ascended the throne in 660 B.C. There're two main reasons for this report. To give people an overview of Japanese History, and what happened to make it what it has become. Also, to give a better understanding on what happened, and facts that led up to certain Japanese events.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In approximately A.D. 400, the Yamato clan, eventually based in Kyoto, managed to exact a control of the other family groups of central and western Japan. Korean contact introduced Buddhism to Japan. Through the 700's, China greatly influenced Japan, and there was an imperial court set up much similar to that of China. The authority of the Imperial court in the ensuing centuries was undermined, and various family clans vied for control. During this time, warrior clans were rising as a distinct clan known as samurai. In 1192, the Minamoto clan set up a military government under Yoritomo, their leader. Yoritomo was designated shogun (a military dictator). For the next 700 years, shoguns from different clans ruled in Japan, and the imperial court existed in relative obscurity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In about 1542, Japan had its first encounter with the Western World. An off course Portuguese ship arrived in Japanese waters. Soon after, Spanish, Dutch, and English traders followed. From Christianity, and the Portuguese support of a Japanese revolt, the shoguns of the Tokugawa period (1603-1867), cut off all trade with the foreign countries, only allowing the Dutch trading post at Nagasaki. The western countries tried to renew the trading, but failed up until 1853. In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry, from America, sailed a fleet of American ships into Tokyo Bay. Trade was forced upon Japan, under terms not favorable to the Japanese. Struggles caused by these actions brought the shogun rule to an end. Emperor Meiji came to the throne in 1868   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1889, an Imperial army was formed, and also a parliamentary government. The Japanese began to make steps to extend their empire. In 1894-95, there was a brief war between Japan and China. Japan gained Taiwan (Formosa), the Pescadores Islands, and part of southern Manchuria. China also recognized the independence of Korea, which Japan annexed in 1910.