Page No: 16 Dulwich Despatch
History Society: Japanese History
The earliest period of Japanese history is the Jomon Period, named after the pots, characterised by a ropey design, that the farmers of the time made. There still were hunter-gathers, at this time, though more had become farmers by the end of this period. The next period is influenced by Korean ideas. The beginning of the period starts with rice farming being introduced in the third century BC. Recorded at this time in an ancient Chinese document is a queen called Himiko who ruled over a country called Yamati. Six hundred years later a unified state was established in Japan under the Yamato court. More Korean and Chinese influence happened in this period, with manufacturing techniques, tools and weapons being brought in. This period was characterised by its large burial mounds, after which the period was named. “Kofun” means ancient tomb and they were generally built in a keyhole shape. The largest in existence is one thousand feet by on ethousand five hundred feet! In 710AD the government made changes to the old ruling system
"JarWithSpiralsFinalJomonKame gaokaStyle" by I, PHGCOM. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons
and created a new method of governing, the Ritsuryo system that started the Nara Period. This not only set down the law for the country, but also how the country should be split into provinces, districts and neighbourhoods and how they should be governed as well as establishing Buddhism as the official religion, with many temples being built. It was based on the principles of Confucianism and Chinese law. In the Heian Period the capital became the city of Kyoto, and the Ritsuryo system was slowly modified to be closer to the people. Culture flourished and many Japanese literary masterpieces were written at this time, such as the Tales of Genji. The architecture was just as well-crafted with beautiful gardens and giant houses that were one- level mansions covering acres. This period, Kamakura, was
characterised by the overthrow of the emperor and his dynasty and their replacement by the warrior shoguns. The shoguns were the top military commanders in the country at the time and were hitherto appointed by the emperor, but they consolidated their power in 1192 and effectively ruled for nearly 700 years until 1868, when the shogun of the time was forced to hand back power to the emperor. The culture of the time kept up with the new warrior spirit and artistic designs became more realistic, with the same happening in literature as well. The rule of the shoguns was briefly interrupted in 1333 by an emperor who
"KofunHorseCharriots". Licensed under Public Domain via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
restored imperial dominance, but his dynasty was weakened over time and the second half of this period was filled with civil strife with the emperors hanging on to control until 1568, when shogun
(Continued on page 17)
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