Japan History

The history of Japan and its people gives you background so you can understand what records are available for certain time periods.

History
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asian continent and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea in the south. Japan is a stratovolcanic archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands.

From the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shōguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a long period of isolation in the early 17th century, which was ended in 1853 when a United States fleet pressured Japan to open to the West. After nearly two decades of internal conflict and insurrection, the Imperial Court regained its political power in 1868 through the help of several clans from Chōshū and Satsuma and the Empire of Japan was established.

Japan benefits from a highly skilled and educated workforce; it has among the world's largest proportion of citizens holding a tertiary education degree. Japan is a highly developed country with a very high standard of living and Human Development Index. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, but is experiencing issues due to an aging population and low birthrate. 

Timeline
1603 - 1868 The isolationist closed country policy spanned two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as the Edo period 1854 - Commodore Matthew Perry and the Black Ships of the United States Navy forced the opening of Japan to the outside world with the Convention of Kanagawa 1904 – 1905 Japan gained control of Taiwan, Korea and the southern half of Sakhalin 1931 - Japan invaded and occupied Manchuria 1937 - 1945 The Empire of Japan invaded other parts of China, precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War 1941 - Japanese forces carried out surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor 1945 - Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender but the war cost Japan, its colonies, China and the war's other combatants tens of millions of lives Japanese society and government came under the strong cultural influence of China and Buddhism in the sixth century. The writing system for names and the religious records that were made date from this time period.
 * 500 AD
 * 500 AD

The authority of the imperial government declined. Kana writing began to be used in records.
 * 800 AD
 * 800 AD

A feudal system developed with the rise of a warrior class called the samurai, and military rule was established under shoguns. For the next 700 years Japan was ruled by warriors.
 * 1192 AD
 * 1192 AD

Earliest known kakocho (Buddhist temple records) were made.
 * 1200 AD
 * 1200 AD

The centralized shogun power declined. The period was marked by civil wars, during which the feudal lords and the Buddhist monasteries built up local power. Census records were made because the feudal lords began counting the inhabitants of their domains.
 * 1400— 1500 AD
 * 1400— 1500 AD

Christianity was introduced by Jesuit priests. Roman Catholic Christianity gained many converts despite disapproval and persecution by the shoguns.
 * 1549 AD
 * 1549 AD

The country was unified under the Tokugawa clan, who established a centralized, efficient, but repressive shogunate in Tokyo. A lot of records were made at this time.
 * 1600 AD
 * 1600 AD

Japan closed its ports to all foreigners and Christianity was suppressed. This gave rise to the religious census records. Japan isolated itself and its culture turned inward.
 * 1639 AD
 * 1639 AD

The shogunate conducted a census (ninbetsu aratame’ of its own domains [tenryo]). These censuses were usually prepared by village and town officials upon instruction from district and town administrators.
 * 1644 AD
 * 1644 AD

Buddhist shrines began to keep kakocho records.
 * 1670 AD
 * 1670 AD

Religious registers (shumon aratome) came into existence because of a Tokugawa government policy that excluded Christian and foreign influences.
 * 1671 AD
 * 1671 AD

National surveys were scheduled every six years.
 * 1726 AD
 * 1726 AD

Records (Enshrined Patriots’ Lists) were kept of the soldiers who gave their lives in battles during these years.
 * 1852— 1945 AD
 * 1852— 1945 AD

The U.S. naval officer, Matthew C. Perry, arrived in Japan and forced the opening of trade with the West.
 * 1853 AD
 * 1853 AD

The last shogun resigned and control of the government passed to the boy emperor, Meiji. A new government was established under the leadership of former samurai. Adopting the techniques of Western civilization, Japan modernized rapidly into an industrial state and military power.
 * 1867 AD
 * 1867 AD

A family registration law that produced a nationwide compilation of records called the jinshin koseki was begun, and was completed in 1873. This record exists, but at present it is not available to the public.
 * 1872 AD
 * 1872 AD

The Christian church was no longer absolutely prohibited in Japan. Because of this, religious inquisition census records were no longer kept.
 * 1873 AD
 * 1873 AD

A constitutional monarchy and a parliament (diet) were established by the constitution.
 * 1889 AD
 * 1889 AD

Japan was successful in wars with China. Useful gazetteers of Manchuria were written by Japanese people in the Japanese language.
 * 1894 AD
 * 1894 AD

The koseki included all of the members of a household owner’s extended family.
 * 1898 AD
 * 1898 AD

The koseki was changed to include only the householder’s immediate family.
 * 1948 AD
 * 1948 AD


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Online Histories

 * Japanese History, from Ohio State University
 * The Samurai Archives Japanese History Page
 * Japanese history and artifacts, from Minneapolis Institute of Arts
 * Brief summary of Japanese history from Michigan State University
 * "An Introduction to the History of Japan," a Google eBook, published in 1920
 * "The Midado's Empire, Vol 1: The History of Japan from 680 B.C. to 1872 A.D.," a Google eBook, published in 1903