.
We’ve made it to the modern world! The age of the samurai is over. Japan has entered the Meiji era. No longer is it a closed-off, self-sufficient island that wants nothing to do with the outside world; it is now a fledgling nation ready to embrace the Western world and all its ideals. Slowly but surely, over the course of the Edo era, Dutch texts…
Welcome to part two of this overview of the Edo era. Whereas in part one we focussed on central administration and foreign policy, this time we’re going to be paying attention to labour issues, taxes and the economy. The second half of the Edo era was characterised by three major reforms, the need for which was brought about by depleting gold and silver supplies, an…
The Edo era: 1603 – 1867 We’ve reached the Edo era! For those of you who have been reading this series since the beginning, well done for having made it to this point. Only a little further to go until we’re into the modern age. We left off last time in 1616 with Tokugawa Ieyasu dying and leaving the Edo shōgunate in the hands of…
Welcome to part 2 of this overview of the Azuchi-Momoyama era. I really thought I’d be able to sum up this thirty-year period of Japanese history in one short article. How naïve I was. It turns out even two decently-lengthed articles isn’t enough to write half of what I want to say! Not to worry though; I plan on going into much greater detail on…
We’ve reached the 6th part of this overview of Japanese history. This part covers the Azuchi-Momoyama era, and that means the rise of Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful and, arguably, influential samurai of all time. When it comes to samurai, people tend to have a very specific image: lavish kabuto helmet decorated with gold ornaments, demonic masks, plated armour and long tachi swords. This is…
Congratulations on reaching part two of the Muromachi era overview. I had to split this one into two because there’s so much to get through. It’s such a complicated era, the majority of which consists of non-stop fighting for control of the shōgunate and, by extension, the country(which, to be fair, doesn’t differentiate it much from the era that came before it). Luckily, the Ōnin…
Welcome to part four of this overview of Japanese history. This time, we’re looking at the Muromachi era. As always, if you haven’t read the previous parts, I recommend doing so. Otherwise, you might not know who Ashikaga Takauji is or how he succeeded in toppling the newly-reformed court and establishing Japan’s second shōgunate. I apologise for this article’s confusing name, but the Muromachi era…
Welcome to part three of this overview of Japanese history. As always, if you haven’t read the previous parts, I suggest you do, as they’ll give you a background into the samurai culture we’re bout to explore. This part covers the Kamakura era, where the samurai came into their own, usurping power from the court and beginning what would turn out to be a 600-plus…
Welcome to part two of this overview of Japanese history. For those who haven’t read part one, I recommend doing so. Even if you already have a decent knowledge of ancient Japan, it never hurts to review. We’re going to pick up where we left off at the end of part one: the Heian era. This era more or less marks the end of ancient…
Welcome to this overview of Japanese history. I should start off by saying that Japanese history is long. Very long. In fact, the first recorded Japanese history book, the Kojiki, published in 712, would have you believe that Japan was established in the 7th century BC. But it would also have you believe that the first emperor was a direct descendant of the gods who…