A Very Brief History of Japan

Japan has prehistoric roots in a hunter-gatherer culture that likely arrived by boats from mainland Asia long before its Jomon Period. Little is known about the culture, save that it was overwhelmed and taken over by the Yayoi and its bronze crafts, leading into a slow unity by conquest of the Japanese mainland, as suggested by agricultural evidence.

Before the 9th century AD, influenced by Chinese culture, Japan underwent a cultural awakening of sorts during the Heian period within the Imperial Court of Kyoto. (The capital cities Japan built in this period were based on Chinese models.) This was soon changed by the rise of the warrior class, the Samurai. The two major clans of the Taira and Minamoto clashed for control in three conflicts: the Hogen Insurrection and the Heiji Rebellion, which saw a brief Taira victory, before the Minamoto clan ousted them in the Gempei War and enacted the rise of the Shogunate just before the 12th century. (Many members of the Taira clan would subsequently retreat to Okinawa.)

Minamoto no Yoritomo founded the autocratic Kamakura Shogunate following his victory over the Taira, but he died shortly afterwards, leaving his young son Yoriie to be manipulated by advisors. The Hōjō clan soon rose to prominence as they claimed power, leading to rule by shikken and subsequent "tokusō autocracy", nonetheless recognised as consensual governance which provided stability to the people.

Despite the stability the samurai brought, corruption soon caused some to yearn for Imperial control, leading to the overthrow of the Kamakura Shogunate by Emperor Go-Daigo. However, Go-Daigo's reign was short-lived, creating a new era of strife. Civil war raged soon after, and all attempts to unify Japan failed until the beginning of the 17th century, when Tokugawa Ieyasu ended the long era of conflict by founding the Tokugawa Shogunate, a military government built on the efforts of the other two of the three great unifiers, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who never lived to see beginning of the era they fought to achieve.

The Edo period that came after was one of strict isolationism, fueled by Japanese lords fearing Western influence on the people of Japan after the bloody Shimabara Rebellion. Both trade and travel outside of the country were heavily restricted. Meanwhile, the country experienced a great cultural reawakening, leading to many of the traditions considered emblematic of Japanese culture by the West at the time.

This period of internal prosperity wasn't to last. The United States of America, via its navy led by Commodore Matthew Perry, forcibly opened Japan up and strong-armed its government into making ties with the west once more in 1854 during the Convention of Kanagawa. This became one of the main drivers of the Meiji Restoration, a turbulent time due to the internal strife caused by the embrace of Western imports by the government.

Many 20th century conflicts were rooted in Japan's resentment over the Western invasion of their culture, which was also one of the main causes for the rise of Japanese Imperialism. The Second Sino-Japanese War began from a staged false flag so that Japan could have pretext to invade Manchuria, marking an era of military brutality of such magnitude that it shaped many of the modern foreign relations with other countries. To this day, many Japanese politicians stubbornly refuse to admit to the atrocities committed in this era upon the civilian populace of both China and Korea.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan, which led to the beginning of the USA’s involvement in World War II, was the result of USA trade embargoes on Japan in the Pacific Ocean that came from the sudden Imperialism. This dream of further imperial expansion led to a bloody war in the Pacific, which ended in the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States.

Japan became occupied territory by the US military, with support from Allied forces, and as part of its peace terms, it ceased to be an empire and became a constitutional monarchy instead. Furthermore its military was permanently disbanded, and its industries supplying their war machine were forcibly reduced. The terms only allowed for a small defense force, known as the JSDF or Japanese Self Defense Force.

This provided the stage for what was called the 'Japanese economic miracle', a period of growth starting from the mid-1950s, when Japanese life had recovered to pre-war standards. Various policies led Japan towards becoming one of the world's largest economies in the 1960s, until the upswing ended in 1973 over the price of oil.

Another significant time in Japan was the economic boom of the 1980s. Shifting from an emphasis in agriculture and manufacturing to processing, information, and telecommunications, domestic demand for Japanese goods was high, as was demand for imported goods. Starting in the late 80s, real estate and stock market prices were greatly inflated, accelerating until the economic bubble burst in the 1990s, leading to a period of stagnation referred to as the "Lost Decade".

It's impossible to truly encapsulate all the forces that shaped the modern Japan we know today, from the rapid urbanization of the country to the entry of women into the workforce, but the scars of the 20th century shape nearly all facets of Japan to this day.