Glossary of Japanese history

Information about Glossary of Japanese history


History of Japan
Glossary


This is the glossary of Japanese history including the major terms, titles and events the casual (or brand-new) reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject.

A

  • ashigaru (足軽) - feudal foot soldiers drawn from the peasant or commoner class, rather than from the samurai hereditary warrior class. Ashigaru were initially seen during the Ōnin War fought in and around the city of Kyoto. This urban conflict required the services of irregular foot soldiers to supplement those of the samurai mounted archers, who were more suited to battle in the open field. During the later Sengoku Period, the feudal warlords organized ashigaru into trained, cohesive units of foot spearmen, archers or matchlockmen. In time, these cheaper and more readily available troops came to comprise the greater portion of feudal Japanese armies.
  • Ashikaga - the Ashikaga family ruled Japan as Shogun from 1336-1573.

B

  • bakufu (幕府) - a Shogun's government; commonly called "shogunate" in English.
  • bugyō (奉行) - a magistrate. Examples include the Edo machibugyō who administered the city during the Edo period.
  • bushidō (武士道) - the samurai (noble warriors) code of honor; roughly analogous to Western chivalry.

D

F

  • fudai (譜代) - a daimyo who was a hereditary vassal of the Tokugawa during the Edo period

G

H

  • Haimyō (俳名) - a "haiku pen-name". It was common in the Edo period for artists, writers, kabuki actors and others to take part in poetry circles and to take on pen-names under which they would compose poetry or create related works, such as haiga paintings.
  • han (藩) - feudal fiefs; the land owned and controlled by a noble lord or clan.
  • Hansatsu (藩札) - scrip issued by a han.
  • Heian
  • (a) Heiankyō (平安京) - capital of Japan from 794 to 1185; located in present-day Kyoto.
  • (b) Heian period (平安時代) - historical period during which capital was located at Heian

J

K

M

  • Meiji Restoration - The 1867 restoration of the Emperor to being the true ruler of the country, in practice as well as name, and the downfall of the last shogunate. This event marks the beginning of the conversion of Japan from a medieval feudal country to a modern, industrialized one.
  • Minamoto - the Minamoto clan defeated the rival Taira clan in 1185, establishing the first long-running shogunate. They established a government that ruled from 1185-1333 from Kamakura, and thus this rule is usually known as the Kamakura shogunate or Kamakura period.

N

  • Nagaokakyō (長岡京) - the capital of Japan from 784 to 794 (after Nara, before Kyoto).

R

  • ritsuryo (律令) - the east Asian historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism. In Japan, ritsuryo's had been in effect during the late Asuka period, the Nara period and the early Heian period. Taihō-ritsuryo (大宝律令, Code of Taihō) is one of the ritsuryo's.
  • Rōjū (老中) - one of the highest-ranking government posts in the Tokugawa shogunate. There were usually four or five Rōjū.

S

  • sakoku (鎖国) - the "Closed Door" policy followed during the Edo period (1603-1867), under which Japan engaged in very little trade or communication with the outside world.
  • samurai (侍) - the feudal Japanese noble warrior class.
  • sankin kotai (参勤交代) - the Edo period (1603-1867) policy under which feudal lords (daimyō) had to travel to the capital in Edo annually, and to leave their families in Edo year-round. This was used by the shogun (warlord leader of the nation) to prevent rebellion.
  • seppuku (切腹) - honorable ritual suicide. Also called hara-kiri.One of the death penalties which respected a samurai's honor.The belly was cut ceremonially and the assistant cut the head from back in practice.Honor was kept by committing suicide because it is dishonorable that a samurai is killed by others.
  • shōgun (将軍) - warlord dictator; the practical head of the nation, having seized power militarily or inherited it from another shōgun.
  • shogunate - see bakufu
  • Shikken (執権) - the regent for the shogun in the Kamakura shogunate. The Hōjō clan monopolized Shikken and they were the effective rulers of Japan mostly during the period.
  • shizoku (士族) - literally "warrior families", term used to refer to former samurai after the abolition of the class system following the Meiji Restoration.

T

  • Tairō (大老) - the highest-ranking government post in the Tokugawa shogunate. There was usually only one Tairō, or, at times, none.
  • Tokugawa - Tokugawa Ieyasu united Japan through force, becoming Shogun in 1603. His family ruled in that position until 1867.
  • Tozama (外様) - a daimyo viewed as an outsider, not a hereditary vassal of the shogun

See also

history of Japan began with brief appearances in Chinese history texts from the first century AD. However, archaeological research indicates that people were living on the islands of Japan as early as the upper paleolithic period.
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Japanese Paleolithic (旧石器時代 kyū-sekki-jidai
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Kamakura period (鎌倉時代 Kamakura-jidai
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Kemmu Restoration (建武の新政; Kemmu no shinsei) was a period of Japanese history that occurred from 1333 to 1336.[1] It marks the three year period between the fall of the Kamakura shogunate and the rise of the Ashikaga shogunate, when
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Muromachi period (Japanese: 室町時代, Muromachi-jidai, also known as the Muromachi era, the Muromachi bakufu, the Ashikaga era, the Ashikaga period, or the Ashikaga bakufu
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Warring States period (戦国時代 sengoku jidai
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Nanban trade (Japanese: 南蛮貿易, nanban-bōeki, "Southern barbarian trade") or the Nanban trade period (Japanese: 南蛮貿易時代, nanban-bōeki-jidai
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Late Tokugawa Shogunate (Japanese: 幕末 Bakumatsu) is the period between 1853 and 1867 during which Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy called sakoku
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Japanese nationalism refers to a broad range of ideas and sentiments entertained by the Japanese over the last two centuries regarding their native country, its cultural nature, political form and historical destiny.
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At the end of the Second World War, Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers, led by the United States. This was the first time since the unification of Japan that the island nation had been occupied by a foreign power.
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History of Japan
  • Paleolithic 35000–14000 BCE
  • Jōmon period 14000–300 BCE
  • Yayoi period 300 BCE–250 CE
  • Kofun period

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Heisei (Japanese: 平成) is the current era name in Japan. The Heisei era started on January 8, 1989. In 1989, Akihito, the current emperor of Japan succeeded to the throne, after the death of his father, Hirohito, the Showa Emperor.
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Economic history of Japan is one of the most studied for its spectacular growth after the Second World War when the island nation rose to become the world's second largest economy.
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history of education in Japan dates back at least to the sixth century, when Chinese learning was introduced at the Yamato court. Foreign civilizations have often provided new ideas for the development of Japan's own culture.
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military history of Japan is characterised by a long period of feudal wars, followed by domestic stability, and then foreign conquest. It culminates with Japan's defeat by the Allies in World War II.
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naval history of Japan can be said to begin in early interactions with states on the Asian continent in the early centuries of the 1st millennium, reaching a pre-modern peak of activity during the 16th century, a time of cultural exchange with European powers and extensive trade
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The Japanese ashigaru (足軽) were conscripted foot-soldiers of medieval Japan. During the Muromachi period, ashigaru were employed by the shogun as his personal army.
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1336 in other calendars
Gregorian calendar 1336
MCCCXXXVI
Ab urbe condita 2089
Armenian calendar 785
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Bah' calendar -508 – -507
Buddhist calendar 1880
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15th century - 16th century - 17th century
1540s  1550s  1560s  - 1570s -  1580s  1590s  1600s
1570 1571 1572 - 1573 - 1574 1575 1576

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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