History of Japan

Jomon Period

The origins of Japanese civilization are buried in legend, with the country's first written records dating from the sixth to the eighth centuries A.D., after Japan had adopted the Chinese writing system.

February 11, 660 BC is the traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu Tenno. This however is a version of Japanese history, which was written down in various annals in 6th - 8th centuries AC when the emperors were struggling for power. In order to legitimate their claims to the throne, they had collections of poems set up, which made up a mythological inheritance of power from the sun-goddess Amaterasu, still the most venerable deity in the Shintoist pantheon, via her grandson Ninigi to Jimmu Tenno, who was claimed to be an ancestor of the ruling imperial family. This propaganda-myth was taken up again by 19th century historians and used as a fundamental pillar of Japan's nationalistic Kokutai ideology. More reliable are Chinese sources, which describe a country "Wa" ruled by various family-clans, adhering to their respective clan-deities. Recent anthropological studies suggest immigration from Siberia and/or Polynesia to be the ancestors of the earliest settlers in Japan.

Yayoi Period