HISTORY OF JAPAN

Through Japanese history, there has always been an emperor in one

unbroken lineage between heaven and earth. The country was broken
into a system of warlords known as Daimyo. There was a ruler known
as the Shogun. There were four main shogunates over the 1000 years.
These were the Kamakura, Ashikaga, Tokugawa and Meiji.

       Kamakura period - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Kamakura period (æ`‚}•r´ú, Kamakura jidai, 1185¨ C1333) is a period of  Japanese history that marks the governance  Shogunate,en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Kamakura_period

      Ashikaga shogunate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Ashikaga shogunate (×ãÀûÄ»¸®, Ashikaga bakufu, 1336¨C1573)was a feudal military dictatorship ruled by shoguns of the Ashikaga family.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Ashikaga_shogunate

      Tokugawa Ieyasu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia

Tokugawa Ieyasu January 31, 1543 ¨C June 1, 1616) was the founder and  first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate     en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokugawa_Ieyasu

      Japan from Tokugawa to Meiji

The fall of the Tokugawa shogans. Restoration of the Emperor. Economic progress, and Japanese imperialism. www.fsmitha.com/h3/h48japan.htm

There was constant warfare between the armies of the Daimyo

that were made up of  peasants pressed into service. Daimyo

relied on the merchants to supply their logistic needs.

The warrior class were the Samurai who thrived on warfare and

claimed special rights in the Japanese community. At times they

took the right to punish villagers who did not show appropriate

respect.

Warfare came to a close with the Tokugawa shogunate when the

Shoguns Toyotami Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu decreed that

warfare was to cease. For two hundred years, Japanese people

had peace. The country was cut off from outside.

A hostage system was brought in to force daimyo to stop fighting

by leaving a hostage in Tokyo. This was known as Sankin Kotai.

This meant that the merchants rose in status and wealth. The rice

houses became strong and spread influence across the country

side. They were rice houses of Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo

and Yasuda.

During the time of peace, Samurai suffered from a lack of war.

Many became poverty stricken while others joined rice houses

to maintain their status.

But in the mid 1850s, there was a change in the wind. Western

powers had been pushing into China. Now Commodore Perry

of the American navy brought warships into Tokyo Harbour

and forced Japan to trade.

Modernization followed quickly in the Meiji period. There was

implementation of western technology that revolutionized the

economy within 20 years.

By 1905, the Japanese were able to defeat the Russian navy in

Vladivostok. By 1915, the Japanese navy was escorting allied

troop ships in World War I. By the Treaty of Versailles, they

were given trusteeship over the Mariana Islands.

And the nation was no longer in the hands of the Daimyo but

a cabinet of generals. After the great depression of 1929-30,

the invasion of Manchuria and China, the oil embargo of the

United States and Britain, the scene was set for World War 2.

The rice houses were making war materials.

A line of emperors that had lived in solitary splendour for

hundreds of years was now facing a new political order in

which Japanese villagers were to die for the emperor. This

was the first time in the history of the nation.

The Samurai class was back in business and ruled with a rod

of iron as officers of the Japanese military. They were over

lords in peace and controlled the peasants in uniform.