YAML

Historical Era Classifications - YAML

Historical era classifications are an important framework for understanding history systematically. World history commonly uses a five-period division (Ancient, Medieval, Early Modern, Modern, and Contemporary), while Japanese history employs a six-period division (Prehistoric, Ancient, Medieval, Early Modern, Modern, and Contemporary). Each era is classified based on changes in political systems, economic structures, and cultural patterns, and is widely used in historical education and research.

history era classification Japanese history world history timeline ancient medieval modern

- code: "J01"
  slug: "prehistoric-japan"
  name: "Prehistoric Period"
  description: "The era before writing. From the Paleolithic to the Yayoi period."
  period: "c. 30,000 BCE - mid 3rd century CE"
  subEras:
    - name: "Paleolithic Period"
      period: "c. 30,000 - 14,000 BCE"
    - name: "Jomon Period"
      period: "c. 14,000 BCE - 4th century BCE"
    - name: "Yayoi Period"
      period: "4th century BCE - mid 3rd century CE"
  region: "japan"
- code: "J02"
  slug: "ancient-japan"
  name: "Ancient Period"
  description: "The era of ritsuryo state formation and aristocratic politics."
  period: "mid 3rd century - 1184 CE"
  subEras:
    - name: "Kofun Period"
      period: "mid 3rd century - 538 CE"
    - name: "Asuka Period"
      period: "538 - 710 CE"
    - name: "Nara Period"
      period: "710 - 794 CE"
    - name: "Heian Period"
      period: "794 - 1184 CE"
  region: "japan"
- code: "J03"
  slug: "medieval-japan"
  name: "Medieval Period"
  description: "From the establishment of warrior government to the Warring States period."
  period: "1185 - 1603 CE"
  subEras:
    - name: "Kamakura Period"
      period: "1185 - 1333 CE"
    - name: "Northern and Southern Courts Period"
      period: "1336 - 1392 CE"
    - name: "Muromachi Period"
      period: "1336 - 1573 CE"
    - name: "Sengoku Period"
      period: "1467 - 1568/1603 CE"
    - name: "Azuchi-Momoyama Period"
      period: "1573 - 1603 CE"
  region: "japan"
- code: "J04"
  slug: "early-modern-japan"
  name: "Early Modern Period"
  description: "The 260 years of peace under the Edo shogunate."
  period: "1603 - 1868 CE"
  subEras:
    - name: "Edo Period"
      period: "1603 - 1868 CE"
  region: "japan"
- code: "J05"
  slug: "modern-japan"
  name: "Modern Period"
  description: "From the Meiji Restoration to the end of World War II."
  period: "1868 - 1945 CE"
  subEras:
    - name: "Meiji Period"
      period: "1868 - 1912 CE"
    - name: "Taisho Period"
      period: "1912 - 1926 CE"
    - name: "Showa Period (Pre-war)"
      period: "1926 - 1945 CE"
  region: "japan"
- code: "J06"
  slug: "contemporary-japan"
  name: "Contemporary Period"
  description: "The era of post-war democracy and economic growth."
  period: "1945 CE - Present"
  subEras:
    - name: "Showa Period (Post-war)"
      period: "1945 - 1989 CE"
    - name: "Heisei Period"
      period: "1989 - 2019 CE"
    - name: "Reiwa Period"
      period: "2019 CE - Present"
  region: "japan"
- code: "W01"
  slug: "ancient-world"
  name: "Ancient Period"
  description: "From the birth of civilization to the decline of ancient empires."
  period: "c. 3500 BCE - 476 CE"
  subEras:
    - name: "Prehistoric Age"
      period: "until c. 3500 BCE"
    - name: "Ancient Orient"
      period: "c. 3500 BCE -"
    - name: "Ancient Greece"
      period: "8th century BCE - 323 BCE"
    - name: "Ancient Rome"
      period: "753 BCE - 476 CE"
  region: "world"
- code: "W02"
  slug: "medieval-world"
  name: "Medieval Period"
  description: "The era of feudal society and the Christian world."
  period: "476 - 1453/1500 CE"
  subEras:
    - name: "Early Middle Ages"
      period: "476 - c. 1000 CE"
    - name: "High Middle Ages"
      period: "1000 - 1300 CE"
    - name: "Late Middle Ages"
      period: "1300 - 1453/1500 CE"
  region: "world"
- code: "W03"
  slug: "early-modern-world"
  name: "Early Modern Period"
  description: "From the Age of Discovery to the bourgeois revolutions."
  period: "1453/1500 - 1789 CE"
  subEras:
    - name: "Renaissance"
      period: "14th - 16th centuries"
    - name: "Reformation"
      period: "1517 CE -"
    - name: "Age of Discovery"
      period: "15th - 17th centuries"
    - name: "Absolute Monarchy"
      period: "17th - 18th centuries"
  region: "world"
- code: "W04"
  slug: "modern-world"
  name: "Modern Period"
  description: "From the bourgeois revolutions to World War II."
  period: "1789 - 1945 CE"
  subEras:
    - name: "French Revolution"
      period: "1789 - 1799 CE"
    - name: "Industrial Revolution"
      period: "late 18th - 19th centuries"
    - name: "Age of Imperialism"
      period: "late 19th - early 20th centuries"
    - name: "World War I"
      period: "1914 - 1918 CE"
    - name: "World War II"
      period: "1939 - 1945 CE"
  region: "world"
- code: "W05"
  slug: "contemporary-world"
  name: "Contemporary Period"
  description: "From the Cold War to the era of globalization."
  period: "1945 CE - Present"
  subEras:
    - name: "Cold War Era"
      period: "1947 - 1991 CE"
    - name: "Decolonization"
      period: "1945 - 1970s"
    - name: "Globalization Era"
      period: "1991 CE - Present"
  region: "world"