INI
Japanese Historical Periods - INI
Japanese Historical Periods is a classification system that divides approximately 16,000 years of Japanese history from the Jomon Period to the Reiwa Period based on archaeological, cultural characteristics, and political transitions. It provides an important framework for understanding the distinctive cultures and social systems of each era, from prehistoric times (Jomon, Yayoi, Kofun) through the formation of the ritsuryo state, the rise of warrior government, to the transitions of early modern, modern, and contemporary periods.
Japanese history
historical periods
chronology
archaeology
Japan
[item.jomon-period]
code=01
slug=jomon-period
name=Jomon Period
description=Period characterized by cord-marked pottery.
category=prehistoric
endYear=-300
startYear=-14000
[item.yayoi-period]
code=02
slug=yayoi-period
name=Yayoi Period
description=Period when rice cultivation and metal tools began.
category=prehistoric
endYear=300
startYear=-300
[item.kofun-period]
code=03
slug=kofun-period
name=Kofun Period
description=Period when large keyhole-shaped burial mounds were constructed.
category=ancient
endYear=538
startYear=300
[item.asuka-period]
code=04
slug=asuka-period
name=Asuka Period
description=Period when Buddhism was introduced and the foundation of the ritsuryo state was laid.
category=ancient
endYear=710
startYear=538
[item.nara-period]
code=05
slug=nara-period
name=Nara Period
description=Period when the capital was established at Heijo-kyo (Nara) and the ritsuryo state was completed.
category=ancient
endYear=794
startYear=710
[item.heian-period]
code=06
slug=heian-period
name=Heian Period
description=Period when the capital moved to Heian-kyo (Kyoto) and aristocratic culture flourished.
category=classical
endYear=1185
startYear=794
[item.kamakura-period]
code=07
slug=kamakura-period
name=Kamakura Period
description=Period when the first warrior government (shogunate) was established.
category=medieval
endYear=1333
startYear=1185
[item.muromachi-period]
code=08
slug=muromachi-period
name=Muromachi Period
description=Period when the Muromachi shogunate was established, including the Northern and Southern Courts conflict and the Sengoku period.
category=medieval
endYear=1573
startYear=1336
[item.sengoku-period]
code=09
slug=sengoku-period
name=Sengoku Period
description=A period of civil wars in the late Muromachi period with competing regional daimyo.
category=medieval
endYear=1573
startYear=1467
[item.azuchi-momoyama-period]
code=10
slug=azuchi-momoyama-period
name=Azuchi-Momoyama Period
description=Period of national unification under Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
category=early-modern
endYear=1603
startYear=1573
[item.edo-period]
code=11
slug=edo-period
name=Edo Period
description=A peaceful period of over 260 years under the Edo shogunate.
category=early-modern
endYear=1868
startYear=1603
[item.meiji-period]
code=12
slug=meiji-period
name=Meiji Period
description=Period when Japan began its path to becoming a modern nation through the Meiji Restoration.
category=modern
endYear=1912
startYear=1868
[item.taisho-period]
code=13
slug=taisho-period
name=Taisho Period
description=Period characterized by Taisho Democracy and democratic tendencies.
category=modern
endYear=1926
startYear=1912
[item.showa-period]
code=14
slug=showa-period
name=Showa Period
description=Period that experienced war, reconstruction, and high economic growth.
category=modern
endYear=1989
startYear=1926
[item.heisei-period]
code=15
slug=heisei-period
name=Heisei Period
description=Period of economic stagnation after the bubble burst and advancing globalization.
category=contemporary
endYear=2019
startYear=1989
[item.reiwa-period]
code=16
slug=reiwa-period
name=Reiwa Period
description=Current period where digitalization and addressing social issues are advancing.
category=contemporary
endYear=
startYear=2019