A Chinese scribe in the 3rd century AD wrote of islanders living off the coast of Korea, ruled by a queen. That brief note is the first written trace of Japan. The short answer to the question of Japanese history is this: long stretches of isolation let the archipelago build a culture of its own, and its forced opening in the 19th century pushed that culture, and its political appetites, onto the world stage.
The Land of the Rising Sun carries a history that runs from the 3rd century AD to today. Each era left something you can still see in a garment, a mask or a bowl.
What follows runs period by period: feudal Japan, the age of the samurai, the Edo closure, the Meiji opening, then the modern Japanese era.
Key points
- Japan's first written mention comes from Chinese court annals of the 3rd century AD.
- The Heian period (794-1175) is when Japanese myth and folklore merged with Chinese art.
- The samurai class held real power from 1185 until the Meiji Restoration of 1868.
- Japan closed its borders for more than two centuries under the Tokugawa shogunate, keeping only Nagasaki open.
- That isolation shaped the culture we buy, wear and collect today: kimono, theatre, tea ceremony, sumo.
The Heian period
The first written discovery of Japan comes from the annals of the Chinese court (3rd century AD). They are the first documents relating to the Japanese archipelago. The Chinese described a people living off the coast of Korea, on islands, ruled by a queen named Himiko. A new Japanese elite emerged in this period. Chinese aristocrats and their manners shaped its taste.
This is a key period for Japanese civilization. During the Heian period (794-1175), Japanese myths and folklore merged with Chinese art. The two cultures share calligraphy, poetry (haiku), painting and prints. Certain symbols travel between them too, like the Japanese dragon or the snake in fantastic stories.
Heian taste was about colour pairings and restraint, not loud patterns. That logic still works in a modern wardrobe: one printed piece, everything else plain.
The era of the samurai
The Japanese were above all a people of warriors. Not just any warriors: noble and proud ones, following a strict code of honour called bushido. That code rests on 7 principles, among them bravery, loyalty and honour. The samurai of feudal Japan trained from a very young age to master the sword (katana). They also learned to shoot the Japanese bow. Their warrior virtues made their name.
They swore loyalty to their daimyo. In Japan today, the myth of the samurai still feeds popular culture through animated films and manga.
Historically, the samurai class took power from 1185. The refinement of the imperial court gave way to wars between feudal warlords and clans fighting for central power. Two great clans clashed: the Minamoto and the Taira.
That civil war founded the first shogunate. Power held in Kyoto moved to the new capital, Kamakura. Shogun warlords ruled the country on paper in the name of the emperor. To learn more about them, read our article on the greatest Japanese shogun, with their war stories, their challenges and their decline.
Their omnipotence did not last. In 1467, a new civil war ended it. This Japanese history period brought a century of conflict and unrest. Authority was re-established by Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Ieyasu Tokugawa. The new power settled in a small fishing port called Edo, the city we now call Tokyo.
The Edo period
To keep control over the archipelago, the Tokugawa shogunate limited foreign imports from the western world to the single region of Nagasaki. During this period, Portuguese missionaries (Jesuits) tried to convert the Japanese people to Catholicism.
The result was the expulsion of the Portuguese, and of almost all foreigners, from Japanese soil. Only the Dutch kept trading, because they had helped suppress the young Christian community.
For more than two centuries, Japan practised a policy of autarky. Relations between Japan and the West were almost entirely cut off. In 1700, Edo became the most populated city in the world, with close to a million inhabitants.
This is when Japanese theatre, a daring literature and the "floating world" (the pleasure districts) developed. Rich Edo merchants paid for it. The authentic Japanese culture we recognise today owes much to that long closure.
Think of the geisha, the tea ceremony, sumo wrestling. The Edo silhouette, printed cotton and wooden soles, is also the easiest piece of this history to actually wear.
The Meiji period
In 1853, Commodore Perry of the U.S. Navy entered the Bay of Edo without authorisation. He defied the Japanese ban on international relations. This moment began the end of the samurai era. It also gave the emperor an opening, since he no longer wished to be a puppet in the hands of the shogun. The reality was more tangled than that.
A new civil war brought violent clashes between the shogunate and the reformers. The reformers used western weapons to subdue the shogunate, which collapsed completely.
The Meiji era stands for technological modernisation and the end of the samurai caste's power.
From 1868, Emperor Meiji took full imperial power. He settled in the new capital: Tokyo. The country modernised fast, with western technologies.
Westernisation started here too: the railroad, imported cigarettes, European fashion. The traditional kimono gave way to trousers and shirts.
Japan of the 20th century
One catastrophe transformed the face of Japan: the Kanto earthquake, which killed about one hundred thousand people. A large part of Tokyo was destroyed. Within Japanese society, opinions split. Some read the disaster as the result of Taisho-era excess, a judgment from heaven.
Riots broke out between Japanese residents and Korean immigrants. The Koreans were accused of taking advantage of the chaos to plunder Tokyo after the quake.
Japan still holds a moment of silence on September 1, in memory of the Kanto victims.
In search of past greatness, Japan launched surprise offensives on the British Empire and the United States in December 1941. That marked its entry into the Second World War. In August 1945, the Americans dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Emperor Hirohito then asked for peace.
The post-war period in Japan
After the defeat, the Americans occupied Japan for seven years. The occupation transformed the country and part of its traditional culture.
In 1952, Japan was liberated with the end of the American occupation. For the first time in decades, the country was under no military control of any kind.
Creative expression opened up. Japanese literature, art and architecture moved fast in those years.
May 1968 brought the revolt of Japanese youth. The zengakuren were a militant student association, sometimes violent, ready to confront the police during demonstrations. For a sense of it, look at the manga Akira and its scenes of protest turning to chaos, much as in 1968.
To meet western demand, Japan's industrial production grew. Exports of cars and technology of every kind made Japan one of the richest countries in the world. The country kept prospering until the economic bubble burst in 1992.
Japan in the 21st century
Despite the long slowdown that followed the recession, Japan remains an industrial giant on the world stage. It keeps innovating in space, transportation, media and design.
In culture, Japanese style and fashion sit at a high point. Major designers mix traditional Japanese clothing with European tailoring.
The Tokyo Olympic Games were the country's chance to place itself in the eyes of the world again, and that showcase strategy continues through food, design and pop culture.
If travelling to Japan is not an option right now, visit our Japanese store or read our article on the meaning of Japanese symbols to go deeper into this history.
FAQ
What are five key facts about Japanese history?
Japan first appears in writing in 3rd-century Chinese annals. The Heian period fused Japanese folklore with Chinese art. The samurai held real power from 1185 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate closed the borders for over two centuries. The Meiji era then modernised the country at speed.
Why was Japan closed off for more than two centuries?
The Tokugawa shogunate feared that foreign trade and Christian conversion would weaken its grip on the clans. It expelled almost all foreigners and kept a single controlled opening at Nagasaki. The Dutch were the exception, allowed to trade because they had helped suppress the Christian community.
Which period shaped the Japanese clothing sold today?
The Edo period, above all. Kimono shapes, obi belts, cotton yukata and wooden geta all settled into the forms we recognise during those two closed centuries. The haori (羽織), the short jacket worn over a kimono, also spread among townspeople then.
What is Japan best known for today?
Cars and electronics, anime and manga, food culture, and craftsmanship in textiles, ceramics and masks. Each of those has a root in the history above. Our selection follows the craft side, with pieces made by talented local artisans and chosen in the spirit of Ikigai, Kaizen and Wabi-Sabi.
