Japan(Nihon in Japanese language) is certified by Guinness World Records as the oldest country in the world.
The name “Japan” came into existence in 670 B.C.
Although many phrases represent history in Japan remain until now, one of them is “〇〇 period” that to express historical periods in Japan
Japanese people would guess the period by knowing the “〇〇period”.
This article is about “〇〇 period” which is important to know Japanese culture well and frequently appear in this blog.
Classification of historical periods in japan
Here is the Japanese chronological table.
Paleolithic period （~14000 BCE）
Jōmon period （14000 BCE ~ 1000 BCE）
Yayoi period （1000 BCE ~ Mid-3rd century）
Kofun period （Mid-3rd century ~ 7th century）
Asuka period （592 ~ 710）
Nara period （710 ~ 794）
Heian period （794 ~ 1185）
Kamakura period （1185 ~ 1333）
Kenmu Restoration （1333 ~ 1336）
Muromachi period （1336 ~ 1573）
Azuchi-Momoyama period （1573 ~ 1603）
Edo period （1603 ~ 1868）
Meiji period （1868 ~ 1912）
Taisho period （1912 ~ 1926）
Showa period （1926 ~ 1989）
Heisei period （1989 ~ 2019）
Reiwa period （2019 ~ ）
How are periods defined in Japan??
Japanese periods have been changed by political backgrounds after the Asuka period.
For example, The Asuka period began in 592 when Sogano Umako who had a strong power of influence conducted political reforms.
The modern period(after the Edo period) got started on exact dates.
As for Edo period, There was the “Battle of Sekigahara” which was a decisive battle on 21st October 1600.
The battle led to the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate(=Edo period) by Tokugawa Ieyasu on 24th March 1603.
Periods are creations in the later years.
These periods were defined by historians in the later years.
No one (even including politicians) did not have the idea “It is Edo period” when they were living”.
The style of the period they commonly used at that time was “name of inperial era”.
I am planning to release an article about it in the near future.
An unique period “Sengoku period”
There was an unique period called “Sengoku period” started from 1467(some people insist 1493) to 1590.
The sengoku period is know as the Warring states period which was a violent period of Japanese history.
Nevertheless, the sengoku period is famous among the people in the world nowadays by appearing significant Japanese historical worloads(Sengoku-Busho).
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