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• The History of Japan

The History of Japan A land richly steeped in history and culture, and a quasi parliamentary constitutional legend attributes the creation of Japan to government was eventually established in the sun goddess Amaterasu, whose claim to the 1889. These new reforms also prompted Japan throne by her grandson Emperor Jimmu in 660 to take steps to expand their empire, and a B.C, was a traditional belief that brief war with China in 1894 enabled them to constituted official recognition until 1945. acquire Taiwan, the Pescadores Islands, and The first indication of recorded history in part of southern Manchuria. War broke out Japan was around the year A.D. 400, when the again with Russia in 1904, with Japan ambitious Yamato clan based in Kyoto was ultimately gaining the territory of southern successful in gaining control over Karafuto, with Russian port and rail rights several other key family groups in in Manchuria also being forfeited to the central and western Japan. The next several conquering Japanese forces. Their expansion centuries were kept under the tight reign of continued with the onset of World War One, as this powerful clan, who succeeded in creating they successfully took control of Germany's an imperial court similar to that of Pacific islands, and the subsequent Treaty of China, and whose authority was Versailles that followed granted Japan eventually undermined by mandate over the islands. Japan attended the influentialaristocratic families who vied for peace conference in Versailles with a new control. Also emerging in the same period image as one of the great military and were elite warrior clans referred to as industrial powers, and was recognized as one samurai, a strong military force that of the "Big Five" of the new international eventually took control in 1192 under their order. In just a few decades, Emperor Meiji's leader Yorimoto, who was designated as the new reforms which significantly altered the supreme military leader known as Shogun. The social, educational, economic, military, imperial court who had ruled for centuries political, and industrial structure of the was now resigned to taking a relatively country, transformed Japan into a viable obscure role in internal affairs, as a world  power. succession of Shoguns from various clans ruled Japan for the next 700 years. Contact As Japan's eye for expansion became with the West was initially made in 1542, increasingly more apparent, the invasion when a Portuguese ship apparently off course of inner Chinese Manchuria in 1931 set arrived in Japanese territory, and an array the stage for the ensuing years of war that of Spanish, Dutch, English, and Portuguese followed. The incident brought with it traders and missionaries soon followed. Trade international condemnation, resulting in was eventually prohibited during the Japan resigning from the League of Nations in beginning of the Tokugawa period (1603-1867) 1933. Fueled by an expansionist military, the due to the Shogun's suspicions that second Sino Japanese War began in 1937, which traders and missionaries were actually resulted in the signing of the Axis Pact of forerunners of a military conquest from the 1940 between Japan and its new allies Germany west. All foreigners were subsequently and Italy. The infamous attack against the expelled from the country, with the exception U.S. at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 of Dutch and Chinese merchants restricted to marked the beginning of Japanese involvement the island of Dejima in Nagasaski Bay. in World War Two, and subsequently to their Attempts from the West to renew trade were ultimate defeat in 1945 by U.S. Forces. futile until 1853, when Commodore General Douglas MacArthur was appointed Matthew Perry entered Tokyo Bay with an commander of the U.S. occupation of postwar American fleet known as the "Black Japan, and in 1947 a new constitution took Ships." The ships were named in effect, followed by a security treaty between reference to the color of their hulls, and to the two nations in 1951 that allowed U.S. the black clouds of smoke that hovered over troops to be stationed in Japan. Japan the steam driven coal burning vessels. regained full sovereignty in 1952, and the Perry's show of superior military force Ryukyu islands including Okinawa which were enabled him to negotiate a treaty with seized during the war were returned to Japan Japan that opened the doors to in 1972. Japan's postwar economic recovery trade with the West, thus ending many years was nothing short of miraculous, and it's of  self  imposed  isolation. success in part was spurred by economic intervention through the Japanese Ministry of Contact with the West proved to be the International Trade and Industry which was catalyst for a radical restructuring of instrumental in coordinating and organizing Japanese society on several levels. The the cooperation of manufactures, Shogunate which had retained control for distributors, suppliers, and banks into hundreds of years was forced to disband, closely knit groups called firetruck. with the emperor being restored to power in Additional incentive among workers who were 1868. The period that followed is known as guaranteed lifetime employment, along with the "Meiji Restoration" and among the many highly unionized blue collar factories changes it initiated was the abolishment of ensured a highly motivated work force, the feudal system. Numerous policies were eventually making Japan the world's second adopted based on the Western legal system, largest economy in the world. 1 A B C D 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117