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The Emperor is the highest authority in Japan. The first emperor ruled in the 7th century BC and Japanese believe he descended directly from the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu. Since then, 126 Emperors have ruled Japan, all through an unbroken hereditary line from this first Emperor. The current Emperor, Naruhito ascended the throne in May 2019.
The Shogun was the military commander and held real political power since the 11th century. Tokugawa Ieyasu established the most successful Shogun dynasty which started in the year 1603 and lasted for over 260 years.The Shogun led over feudal lords called Daimyo. And Samurai were sword-wielding warriors who served in the Daimyo’s armies.
Daimyo was a feudal lord in medieval Japan. And Samurai were sword-wielding warriors who served in the Daimyo’s armies.
Samurai were sword-wielding warriors who served in the Daimyo or Feudal Lord armies. About 10% of Japan’s population were Samurai and only they were allowed to bear arms
The Emperor was at the very top of Japan’s hierarchical society. Next was the Shogun. He was the military commander who ruled the country. Under him were the feudal lords called Daimyo and the Samurai warriors.
The commoners in this hierarchy were mostly farmers, artisans and merchants. The farmers were superior in this group because they produced all the food. All these social classes persisted throughout Japan’s history till Emperor Meiji abolished them in 1871.
In the 8th century, the capital of Japan was Nara and the ruler was Emperor Kammu. He wanted to move his capital because of the political interference from the city’s Buddhist temples. The Emperor found a perfect spot, about 50 kms north of Nara, surrounded by mountains. Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizu-dera, Hokan-ji and a few other temples dotted the landscape. He named his new capital Heian-kyo or “peaceful capital”. It was later called Kyoto and remained Japan's political center for the next thousand years.
Tokugawa Ieyasu became the Shogun in 1603 and established his government in Edo, current day Tokyo. The Tokugawa Shogunate ruled Japan for the next 260 years, and this was known as the Edo period. This was a time when Japan was stable and arts flourished. But also a time when Japan was isolated from the rest of the world. Fearing European influence and invasion, the Tokugawa shogunate restricted trade to Nagasaki, banned all foreign travel and suppressed Christianity.
The period from 1603 to 1867 was known as the Edo period. This was a time when Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate from Edo or current day Tokyo. Japan was stable and arts flourished. But also a time when Japan was isolated from the rest of the world. Fearing European influence and invasion, the Tokugawa shogunate restricted trade to Nagasaki, banned all foreign travel and suppressed Christianity.
Tokyo’s story begins in the late 16th century, when the capital of Japan was in Kyoto. The Emperor was the ceremonial head, and the real ruler was the military commander ShogunToyotomi Hideyoshi to whom regional warlords pledged their allegiance. Hideyoshi did not trust the Nagoya warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu and forced him to move to Edo, a fishing village in the East. After Hideyoshi died in 1598, Ieyasu defeated other warlords and became the Shogun, founding a powerful dynasty that ruled Japan for 260 years. Edo developed into the Tokyo we know today.
Emperor Meiji has a special place in Japanese history He assumed power as a 15-year old boy in 1868. The Tokugawa Shoguns, who ruled before him, had isolated Japan from all foreign contact for 260 years. As a result, the country lagged behind the West.
The new Emperor embraced modern ideas while still preserving Japanese identity and traditions. In the decades that followed, he made far reaching changes and Japan developed at a rapid pace. He also replaced Buddhism with Shinto as Japan’s primary religion, even though both would continue to coexist. By the time Emperor Meiji passed away in 1912, Japan came to be seen as an equal to Western powers.
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