Japan Under the Shoguns By NairR01 Period: 710 to 784 Nara 751 First poetry written in Japanese Period: 794 to 1156 Heian (Kyoto) 1000 First Japanese novels Period: 1185 to 1338 Kamakura bafuku 1200 Zen Buddhism introduced 1265 First Mongol invasion 1281 Second Mongol invasion Period: 1338 to 1603 Ashikaga shogunate 1543 First Portuguese traders Period: 1543 to 1630 Warring period 1567 Major period of castle building 1603 Kabuki theatre Period: 1603 to 1868 Tokugawa shogunate 1615 Himeji Castle finished 1637 Closing of ports to foreign ships 1804 Russian request for access denied 1854 Treaty with USA 1868 Meiji Restoration