Jōmon period
The Jōmon period lasted from about 14,000 until 300 BC. The first signs of civilization and stable living patterns appeared around 14,000 BC with the Jōmon culture, characterized by a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer lifestyle of wood stilt house and pit dwellings and a rudimentary form of agriculture.
Yayoi period
The Yayoi period lasted from about 400 or 300 BC until 250 AD. This period followed the Jōmon period and completely supplanted it. This period is named after Yayoi town, the subsection of Bunkyō, Tokyo, where archaeological investigations uncovered its first recognized traces.
Prehistoric Japan
During the Jomon period, which began around 10,000 BC, the inhabitants
of Japan lived by fishing, hunting, and gathering. The period is named
after the cord-markings (jomon) on the pottery they produced. In the
Yayoi period, beginning around 300 BC, rice cultivation was introduced
from the Korean Peninsula. An account of Japan in a Chinese historical
document of the third century AD describes a queen named Himiko ruling
over a country called Yamatai.
Kofun Period (ca. AD 300-710)In the fourth century, ancestors of the present imperial family established Japan's first unified state under what is known as the Yamato court. During this period, manufactured articles, weapons, and agricultural tools were introduced from China and Korea. The period is named after the huge mounded tombs (kofun) that were built for the political elite. These tombs were often surrounded with clay cylinders and figurines called haniwa.
A centralized government, with its capital in what is now the city of Nara, was established under a Chinese-style system of law codes known as the Ritsuryo system. Buddhism became the national religion, and Buddhist art and architecture flourished. Provincial temples called kokubunji were set up throughout Japan. It was during this period that the Great Buddha at the Todaiji temple in Nara was built. Histories of Japan, such as Kojiki and Nihon shoki were compiled, as was the celebrated collection of poetry called Man'yoshu.
After the capital moved to what is now Kyoto, certain noble families,especially the Fujiwara family, gained control of the government, ruling on behalf of the emperor. The Chinese-style culture that had dominated the Nara period was gradually replaced by a more indigenous style of culture closer to the lives of the people and their natural surroundings. The palaces of the emperor and the residences of the noble families incorporated beautiful gardens, with buildings in the shinden-zukuri style of architecture. Literary masterpieces such as Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji and Sei Shonagon's Pillow Book were written during this period.
Kamakura Period (1185-1333)The Taira family, a warrior family that had come to dominate the imperial court in the late Heian period, was overthrown by the Minamoto family. Minamoto no Yoritomo was given the title of shogun by the court, and he set up a military-style government at Kamakura - the Kamakura Shogunate - ushering in a period of de facto rule by members of the warrior class. In the arts, a vigorous, realistic style emerged that was in keeping with the warrior spirit. The statues of fierce guardian deities by Unkei and other sculptors at the Southern Great Gate of Todaiji Temple are examples of this powerful, realistic style. In literature, this period is noted for military tales such as the Tale of the Heike, which celebrated the exploits of the warriors.
The beginning of this period was dominated by a political standoff
between Emperor Go-Daigo, who had briefly restored control of the
government to the imperial court, and his former supporter Ashikaga
Takauji, who had overthrown the Kamakura Shogunate but had then gone on
to establish the Muromachi Shogunate. In time the shogunate weakened,
losing its centralized control over local warlords; the latter part of
this period is referred to as the Sengoku period - a period of "warring
states." More plebeian forms of culture began to emerge as the merchant
class and the peasants managed to improve their circumstances. In the
arts this was a period of Chinese-style ink painting, and in theater
Noh drama and kyogen came to the fore. This was also the period in
which the pursuits of tea ceremony and flower arrangement were born. In
architecture, an important development was the shoin-zukuri style, with
elegant tatami-matted rooms, featuring an alcove where paintings were
hung.
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