Themes in Japanese history
Long-running themes that cut across the periods of Japanese history.
SamuraisamuraiWarriors, rulers and bureaucrats for seven centuriesShogunatebakufuSeven centuries of rule by generals in the emperor's nameSakokusakokuControlled contact rather than total isolationMeiji RestorationMeiji IshinFrom black ships to a new state in two decadesPacific WarTaiheiyō sensōFrom the war in China to Hiroshima, Nagasaki and surrenderJapan's postwar economic miraclekōdo keizai seichōFrom ruins to the world's second-largest market economyAinuAinuPeople of the kamuy, from Hokkaido to SakhalinRyukyu KingdomRyūkyū ōkokuA bridge between nations in the East China SeaImperial House of JapankōshitsuThe oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the worldGreat East Japan EarthquakeHigashi Nihon daishinsaiEarthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster on 11 March 2011