Depiction of bearded Emperor Jimmu with his emblematic long bow and an accompanying wild bird.
The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inventions were introduced from Asia. During this period, the first known written reference to Japan was recorded in the Chinese Book of Han in the first century AD.
Around the 3rd century BC, the Yayoi people from the continent immigrated to the Japanese archipelago and introduced iron technology and agricultural civilization. Because they had an agricultural civilization, the population of the Yayoi began to grow rapidly and ultimately overwhelmed the Jōmon people, natives of the Japanese archipelago who were hunter-gatherers.
Between the fourth and ninth centuries, Japan's many kingdoms and tribes gradually came to be unified under a centralized government, nominally controlled by the Emperor of Japan. The imperial dynasty established at this time continues to this day, albeit in an almost entirely ceremonial role. In 794, a new imperial capital was established at Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto), marking the beginning of the Heian period, which lasted until 1185. The Heian period is considered a golden age of classical Japanese culture. Japanese religious life from this time and onwards was a mix of native Shinto practices and Buddhism. (Full article...)
The Azumi (阿曇氏 or 安曇族) were a warrior clan and tribe who originated during the Jōmon period in Japan, whose cultures and beliefs are considered to be one of Japan's earliest sea religions. Their existence dates back to the early 3rd – 7th centuries, when their extensive knowledge of navigation between waters made them the naval force of Yamato Japan in Kyushu. They originally lived in Northern Kyushu, especially in an area called Chikuzen, now part of modern-day Fukuoka Prefecture. Their knowledge and ability to use tidal changes, weather patterns and star constellations ensured their successful routing and voyaging on the sea during their regular exploration. In essence, the working of Azumi life was centred around their sea God, Watatsumi and their omnipotent deity ‘Isora’, who provided the Azumi people with a strong sense of spiritual guidance throughout their day-to-day life. (Full article...)
Diorama of Jomon people at Sannai Maruyama.Jōmon people (縄文人, Jōmon jin) is the generic name of the indigenous hunter-gatherer population that lived in the Japanese archipelago during the Jōmon period (c. 14,000 to 300 BC). They were united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a considerable degree of sedentism and cultural complexity.
The Jōmon people are characterized by a deeply diverged East Asian ancestry and contributed around 10-15% ancestry to modern Japanese people. Population genomic data from multiple Jōmon period remains suggest that they diverged from "Ancestral East Asians" prior to the divergence of Northern and Southern East Asians, sometime between 30,000 to 20,000 years ago, but after the divergence of "Basal East Asian" Tianyuan and Hoabinhian lineages. After their migration into the Japanese archipelago, they became largely isolated from outside geneflow at c. 15,000 to 20,000 BC. (Full article...)
The Japanese Paleolithic period (旧石器時代, kyūsekki jidai) is the period of human inhabitation in Japan predating the development of pottery, generally before 10,000 BC. The starting dates commonly given to this period are from around 40,000 BC; although any date of human presence before 35,000 BC is controversial, with artifacts supporting a pre-35,000 BC human presence on the archipelago being of questionable authenticity. The period extended to the beginning of the Mesolithic Jōmon period, or around 14,000 BC.
Chinese character 倭; 'submissive'', 'distant'', 'dwarf' to refer to the inhabitants of the Wa kingdoms on Kyushu and those of the ancient Yamato kingdom. In the 8th century, the Japanese replaced the character with 和, wa, 'harmony', 'peace', 'balance'. (Full article...
)
Image 7
order of succession. Very little is known about this Emperor due to a lack of material available for further verification and study. Kōshō is known as a "legendary emperor" among historians as his actual existence is disputed. Nothing exists in the Kojiki other than his name and genealogy. Kōshō's reign allegedly began in 475 BC, he had one wife and two sons. After his death in 393 BC, his second son supposedly became the next emperor. (Full article...
)
Image 8
National Treasure of Japan The Haniwa (埴輪) are terracotta clay figures that were made for ritual use and buried with the dead as funerary objects during the Kofun period (3rd to 6th centuries AD) of the history of Japan. Haniwa were created according to the wazumi technique, in which mounds of coiled clay were built up to shape the figure, layer by layer. Haniwa can also refer to offering cylinders, not the clay sculptures on top of them as well as the "wooden haniwa" found in Kofuntumuli.
Terracotta Haniwa were made with water-based clay and dried into a coarse and absorbent material that stood the test of time. Their name means "circle of clay", referring to how they were arranged in a circle above the tomb. The protruding parts of the figures were made separately and then attached, while a few things were carved into them. They were smoothed out by a wooden paddle. Terraces were arranged to place them with a cylindrical base into the ground, where the earth would hold them in place. (Full article...
)
Image 9
Satsuma and Ōsumi regions of southern Kyushu during the Nara period. They frequently resisted Yamato rule. After their subjugation they became subjects of the government under Ritsuryō, and the Ministry of the Military had an office known as the Hayato-shi (隼人司) in charge of their governance. The name also came into use by samurai as a title, Hayato no suke (隼人助). In modern times, Hayato is a Japanese male given name. (Full article...
)
Image 10
Emperor Sujin (崇神天皇, Sujin-tennō), also known as Mimakiirihikoinie no Mikoto (御眞木入日子印恵命) in the Kojiki, and Mimakiiribikoinie no Sumeramikoto (御間城入彦五十瓊殖天皇) or Hatsukunishirasu Sumeramikoto (御肇國天皇) in the Nihon Shoki was the tenth Emperor of Japan. While Sujin is the first emperor whose existence historians widely accept, he is still referred to as a "legendary emperor" due to a lack of information available and because dates for his reign vary. Both the Kojiki, and the Nihon Shoki (collectively known as the Kiki) record events that took place during Sujin's alleged lifetime. This legendary narrative tells how he set up a new shrine outside of the Imperial palace to enshrine Amaterasu. He is also credited with initiating the worship of Ōmononushi (equated with the deity of Mount Miwa), and expanding his empire by sending generals to four regions of Japan in what became known as the legend of Shidō shogun.
This Emperor's reign is conventionally assigned the years of 97 BC – 30 BC. During his alleged lifetime, he fathered twelve children with a chief wife (empress) and two consorts. Sujin chose his future heir based on dreams two of his sons had; in this case, his younger son became Emperor Suinin upon Sujin's death in 30 BC. Like other emperors of this period, the location of Sujin's grave if it exists is unknown. He is traditionally venerated at the Andonyama kofun in Tenri, Nara. (Full article...)
Image 11
The Civil War of Wa or Great Rebellion of Wa (倭国大乱, wakoku tairan) was a period of disturbances and warfare in ancient Japan (Wa) during the late Yayoi period (2nd century AD). It is the oldest war in Japan that has been documented in writing. Peace was restored around 180, when the shaman queen Himiko (Pimiko) of Yamatai-koku took control of the region. (Full article...)
Image 12
Kimi (君) was an ancient Japanese hereditary title denoting rank and political standing (a kabane) that was reserved for certain members of the Tomo no Miyatsuko clans, which were clans associated with particular occupations. They became a hereditary title passed down the generations. The kimi rank was lower than the muraji and omi ranks in political power and standing during much of the Kofun period and Asuka period which are collectively grouped as the Yamato period.
"Kimi" literally means "Lord" (of a local area). For example, in the name, Kamitsukeno no Kimi Wakako, "Kamitsukeno no kimi" means "Lord of Kamitsukeno" and Wakako is his personal name. Sometimes the character (公) is used in place of (君). (Full article...)
Honshū took place in the mid-Yayoi period; use of the term Zoku-Jōmon is then confined to those, in Hokkaidō, who did not "become Yayoi". Despite the elements of continuity emphasised by the name, which include the continuing production of cord-marked ceramics, ongoing employment of stone technology, and non-transition to rice-based agriculture, all Jōmon hallmarks, the Zoku-Jōmon period nevertheless saw a "major break in mobility and subsistence patterns". (Full article...
)
Image 15
The
Okinawa, Japan. The remains have been dated at 32,000±1000 years ago. The most important bones found in the cave in Yamashita are those of an approximately 6 to 8-year-old girl. (Full article...
...that in Shinto, yorishiro, such as sacred trees, attract spirits, give them a physical space to occupy and make them accessible to people for religious ceremonies?
...that according to a legend, the Heishi rock(pictured) represents the God of the Sea of Japan?
The word Nihon written in kanji (horizontal placement of characters). The text means "Japan" in Japanese. (from History of Japan)
Territorial extent of Yamato court during the Kofun period (from History of Japan)
Prince Shōtoku was a semi-legendary regent of the Asuka period, and considered to be the first major sponsor of Buddhism in Japan. (from History of Japan)
A handscroll painting dated c. 1130, illustrating a scene from the "Bamboo River" chapter of The Tale of Genji (from History of Japan)
The Daibutsu-den, within the complex of Tōdai-ji. This Buddhist temple was sponsored by the Imperial Court during the Nara period. (from History of Japan)
Middle Jōmon vase (2000 BC) (from History of Japan)
Later Three-Year War in the 11th century (from History of Japan)
Miniature model of the ancient capital Heian-kyō (from History of Japan)
Reconstruction of a Jōmon family from the Sannai-Maruyama Site (from History of Japan)
Daisenryō Kofun, Osaka (from History of Japan)
A vase from the early Jōmon period (11000–7000 BC) (from History of Japan)
Prince Shotoku and represents the beginning of Buddhism in Japan. (from History of Japan)
Commons
Wikibooks
Wikidata
Wikinews
Wikiquote
Wikisource
Wikiversity
Wiktionary
.svg)
