-
The last shogun,
Tokugawa Yoshinobu,
steps down and
hands power back
to the imperial family
under Emperor Meiji. -
The Convention of Kanagawa
puts an end to the policy
of sakoku. Japan opens up
trade with the United States. -
Commodore Matthew
Perry, a US naval
officer, arrives in the city
of Edo (modern-day
Tokyo) to persuade the
Japanese to open their
borders to trade -
Timber harvesting in Japan has
now been reduced by 60 per
cent. It remains at low levels for
the next 30 years, allowing Japans forests to recover -
A policy is introduced to reduce logging and
increase the planting of trees. Only the shogun
and his daimyo are able to authorise the use of wood. -
Tokugawa Iemitsu introduces
a policy known as sakoku
(meaning ‘locked country’).
Under the policy, no
Japanese people are
permitted to leave Japan and
no foreigners are allowed to
enter. The policy remains in
effect until around 1853. -
Tokugawa Ieyasu becomes
shogun and establishes a
base in the city of Edo
(modern-day Tokyo). The
Tokugawa shogunate rules
Japan for the next 260 years. -
William Adams, a sailor and
navigator, becomes the first
Englishman to visit Japan. He
befriends Tokugawa Ieyasu (a future
shogun) and later becomes a key
adviser to him. -
A period of civil war,
known as the Warring
States period, begins
in Japan between rival
warlords. It lasts for around 100 years. -
Ashikaga Takauji
seizes power from
Emperor Go-Daigo
to become the new shogun -
Emperor Go-Daigo
overthrows the
Kamakura shogunate
and takes back power
from the sho -
The Mongol army launches a
second attack on Japan, landing
once again on the island of Kyushu.
For the second time a typhoon hits,
destroying almost all Mongol
ships, and the invasion fails. -
The Mongol army launches an
attack on Japan, landing on
the island of Kyushu. A typhoon
destroys many of their ships and
the invasion fails -
The Minamoto clan seizes power
from the emperor. Minamoto no
Yoritomo becomes shogun and
establishes his own capital city in
Kamakura. With support from
daimyo (lords) and samurai
(warriors), a series of shoguns rules
Japan for the next 700 years. -
Under orders from Emperor Kammu,
the capital of Japan moves to the city
of Heian-Kyo (modern-day Kyoto). It
remains the official capital of Japan
for the next 1000 years -
The first official capital of Japan is
based in the city of Nara; the
imperial family – led by a series of
emperors or empresses – ru