Japanese Eras

Paleolithic, Jōmon, Yayoi, Kofun, Asuka, Nara, Heian, Kamakura, Nanboku, Muromachi, Azuchi-Momoyama, Edo (Tokugawa), Meiji, Taishō, Shōwa, Heisei, Reiwa

14,000-300 BC. Known for unglazed, cord marked pottery

300 BC - 250 AD. Wave of immigrants brought agricultural advances like wetland rice cultivation, smoother pottery

250 - 538. Keyhole tombs, placed haniwa (clay cylinder) on burial sites, pre-Buddhism

538 - 710. Yamato polity emerges, as does Buddhism. Country starts being known as Nihon instead of Wa. First constitution under Prince Shotoku - also Shaka Triad of him and from this time

710 - 794. Nara is the capital briefly until it's changed to Kyoto because Nara was too religiously focused, lots of shrines and temples. Agricultural village society - kami relevant. Chinese influence very strong on Japan during this period

794 - 1185. Named after Kyoto's old name. Buddhism and Taoism at their height of influence. Peak of imperial court, art, poetry. Personal diaries and writing, moved away from Chinese influence and developed its own Japanese culture

1185 - 1333. Kamakura Shogunate - first Shogun (Minamoto no Yoritomo). Emergence of samurai and class system and feudalism - samurai, farmers, artists, merchants

1334 - 1392. Period of Northern and Southern Courts. Fighting amongst the two, North won - relevant to current emperor system

1392 - 1573. Later medieval period of Japan. Zen Buddhism and shoguns patronising the arts

1573 - 1603. Final phase of warring states period. Society went from medieval to early modern., Period associated with Christian missionaries, the development of urban cities, and the rise of the merchant class

1603 - 1868. Tokugawa shogunate + daimyo. Isolationist policies, economy growth, street social order.

1868-1912 Emergence, with Western stimulus, into modern international world, marked by dramatic alterations in institutions, traditional social organization, and culture.

1912-1926

1926-1989

1989-2019

2019-present