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![]() SAMURAI X
HISTORY OF JAPAN
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Rice cultivation reached Japan from the Eurasian continent around 300 BC during the Yayoi period, and
settlements grew larger.
Japan can be said to have taken its first steps to nationhood in the Yamato period, which began at
the end of the third century AD. During this period, the ancestors of the present Emperor began to bring a number of small
states under unified rule from their bases around what are now Nara and Osaka Prefectures.
In 604 Prince Shotoku laid down Japan's first constitution. Also from this time, Buddhism that was
introduced from the Eurasian continent began to take root in Japan. The Nara period began at the beginning of the eighth century
with the establishment of the country's first permanent capital in Nara. Toward the end of the century, the capital was transferred
to Kyoto, launching the Heian period, during which noble families predominated and a distinct national culture blossomed.
From the Kamakura period, which began at the end of the twelfth century, to the close of the Edo period
in the latter half of the nineteenth century, Japan was ruled by samurai, or warrior class. Order broke down around
the middle of the fifteenth century, and Japan was torn by civil warfare for nearly 100 years as samurai lords of different
domains fought one another. The agent of pacification and national unity was Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
The age of the samurai came to an end with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, and a new system of government
centered on the Emperor was set up. The new government promoted modernization, adopted Western political, social, and economic
systems, and stimulated industrial activity. The Diet was inaugurated, and the people began to enjoy limited participation
in politics.
From around 1920 a democratic movement gained strength. But amid a global economic crisis, the military
came to the fore, and Japan eventually marched down the road to war.
With the end of World War II in 1945 Japan put into effect a new Constitution, committed itself to
becoming a peace-seeking democracy, and succeeded in relaunching its economy. In 1956 the nation's entry into the United Nations
was approved. Since then, Japan has contributed to world peace and prosperity as a member of the international community.
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