- 660 B.C.
--- Legend says Jimmu Tenno became Japan's first
emperor and set up the ruling Yamato
State. Weapons and armour develop.
- 400's A.D.
--- Horses introduced into Japanese fighting.
- 500's A.D.
--- Buddhism arrived in Japan; becomes a powerful
philosophy for rulers and warriors.
- 500's A.D.
--- Soga clan dominated the Yamato court.
- 645 A.D.
--- Taika Reforms began.
- 702 A.D.
--- Taiho law codes established the Great Council
of State.
- 710 A.D.
--- Nara rule began with first permanent capital.
- 781 A.D.
--- Emperor Kammu came to power and moved capital
to Kyoto a few years later.
- 794 A.D.
--- Heian period began.
- 858 A.D.
--- Fujiwara family gained control of imperial
court.
- 935 A.D.
--- Taira Masakado revolted and proclaimed
himself "The New Emperor." Other
Samurai
leaders exerted their influence across the land
and changed the history of Japan.
- 1180-85 A.D.
--- Minamoto Yoritomo takes up arms against the
Taira clan in The Gempei War.
- 1192 A.D.
--- Yoritomo became first permanent shogun of
Japan and set up his Samurai
government in Kamakura.
- Late 1200's A.D.
--- Mongols invade Japan. The Samurai defeat the
Mongols after many years of
fierce fighting. The Samurai developed a style of
formation combat and depended more on the
sword as a primary weapon in battle.
- 1318 A.D.
--- Go-Daigo became the 96th Emperor of Japan. He
attempted to overthrow the Hojo
regents, but gave rise instead to a new dynasty
of Shoguns, the Ashikaga family, who set up their
government in the capital city of Kyoto.
- 1400'a A.D.
--- Master swordsmen established schools to teach
their style of ken-jutsu.
- 1467-77 A.D.
--- The Onin War saw the decline of the Shogun's
power and began the Sengoku Jidai
("The Age of the Country at War") which
lasted 150 years.
- 1542 A.D.
--- Portuguese guns were introduced into Japan.
- 1560 A.D.
--- Oda Nobunaga began the process of unifying
Japan. Toyotomi Hideyoshi continued
the quest after Nobunaga's death.
- 1592 A.D.
--- Hideyoshi invaded Korea on his way to
invading China, but died in 1598 before
succeeding.
- 1603 A.D.
--- The Tokugawa family began ruling Japan. The
regime lasted more than 200 years.
- 1605 A.D.
--- Miyamoto Musashi, Japan's most famous
Samurai, began his musha-shugyo (warrior
pilgrimage). Musashi fought and won more than 60
sword fights before the age of 30. He founded
the Individual School of Two Skies and taught for
many years. At the age of 60, Musashi wrote
Gorin No Sho ("The Book of Five
Spheres"), the most famous writing about the
Japanese Sword
Arts. He also wrote "The 35 Articles on the
Art of Swordsmanship."
- 1615 A.D.
--- Tokugawa Ieyasu drew up the "Buke Sho
Hatto" (Rules for Martial Families) before
his death. It gave Samurai 13 guides to living as
a warrior during peace time.
- 1630 A.D.
--- Japan cut its ties with the outside world.
- 1854 A.D.
--- Commodore Matthew Perry opened trade between
the United States and Japan.
- 1867 A.D.
--- Emperor Mutsuhito regained his traditional
powers and took the name Meiji. It was
the beginning of the Meiji Restoration. Meiji
(Mutsuhito) set up his new capital city in Edo
(Tokyo).
- 1868 A.D.
--- Emperor Meiji introduced the "Five
Articles Oath" which began the dismantling
of the
Samurai class.
- 1873 A.D.
--- Emperor Meiji established an army based on
conscription; an army open to anyone.
- 1876 A.D.
--- Emperor Meiji declared a new law that ended
the wearing of swords. The Samurai
had lost their profession and their right to wear
swords. Their position as a special class ended
after
almost 1,000 years.
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