Timeline: Japanese shogunate period

Timeline of shogunate Japan (794–1867)

Capital established at Kyoto Beginning of military rule under the

 Influences from China first reach
control of the shogun
 Constant warfare as daimyo  New capital established at Edo

Japan compete for power

 First contact with European  New capital established at Edo

explorers

Place the events below in the appropriate boxes along the timeline. These events are not in chronological order. A summary of key events is provided on
the next page.
 First contact with European explorers
 Beginning of military rule under the control of the shogun
 Capital established at Kyoto
 Christianity banned and no foreigners allowed into Japan
 Constant warfare as daimyo compete for power
 Influences from China first reach Japan
 New capital established at Edo

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 PERIODS KEY EVENTS

 Period name ‘Heian’ means peace and tranquillity

 Emperors controlled the government
 Emperor Kammu established the new capital at Kyoto
Heian Period

Significant influence from China, including Buddhism, Daoism

794–1185


and Confucianism
 Period of great art, poetry and other forms of literature
 Rise of the warrior class (including samurai)

Emperor Kammu
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Emperor_Kammu_large.jpg

 Beginning of military rule (bakufu) by the shogun

 Minamoto clan established control and in 1192 Minamoto
Kamakura Period

Yoritomo became shogun

1185–1333

 New capital at Kamakura where Minamoto clan was centred

(Emperor remained at Kyoto)
 Japanese successfully defended the country against two
invasion attempts by Mongol ruler Kublai Khan

Shogun Minamoto Yoritomo

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Minamoto_no_Yoritomo.jpg

 Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu restored military government in

Kyoto where the Emperor continued to live
 Power of daimyo (local clan lords) greatly expanded and
Ashikaga Period

shogun’s power was weak

1336–1603

 Daimyo competed with each other for power and the position
of shogun — constant wars occurred
 First contact with European (Portuguese) explorers in 1543
followed by merchants and Christian missionaries who open up
Japan to western influence
Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/  Resistance to Ashikaga rule led by generals Oda Nobunaga
File:Yoshimitsu_Ashikaga_cropped.jpg
and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi

 Japan united for the first time under a strong military shogun,
Tokugawa Ieyasu
 New capital established at Edo, now Tokyo (Emperor remains
in Kyoto)
Tokugawa Period

 Shogun introduced strict social hierarchy and clearly defined

1603–1867

social classes
 Period of peace, prosperity, innovation and progressive
environmental policies
 Christianity banned and no foreigners allowed into Japan —
period of seclusion
Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu
 Japanese forbidden to travel outside Japan on penalty of death
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Tokugawa_Ieyasu2.JPG  Resistance to Tokugawa rule led by Western daimyo and
Emperor restored to power in 1868

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1. Match the following terms with the definitions provided in the table below.

shogun samurai emperor bakufu daimyo

Term Explanation

Emperor Hereditary ruler of Japan but with little real power during the shogunate period

Daimyo Military ruler appointed by the Emperor but who assumed total control of
Japan

Samurai Warrior class of Japan

Shogun System of military government established by the shogun

Daimyo Leaders of clans

2. Choose information from the table about Japanese historical periods which supports the following
statements:

Statement Information from table

Japanese history often experienced conflict.

The Tokugawa period was beneficial for Japan.

The Tokugawa period was a period of isolation

from the rest of the world.

The emperor was once the most powerful

person in Japan.

The power of the emperor was eventually

restored.

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