JOMON (10,000 B.C.E. to 200 B.C.E.): prehistoric hunters and gathers; pottery culture; strong emphasis on fertility; evidence of snake cult

YAYOI (250 B.C.E. to 300 C.E.): wet rice agriculture; metal used for ritual objects such as mirrors, swords, bells;  shamanic rituals with female shamans

YAMATO (300 C.E.-645 C.E.): Yamato clan (ancestors of Imperial family) gained control great tombs; haniwa clay figures; introduction of continental culture from Korea and China, including writing and Buddhism; Regency of Prince Shotoku (573-621) who supported Buddhism as unifying ideology and sent the first embassy to China (607)

NARA (710-794): first permanent capital established at Nara; the great Buddhist temples of the "Nara school" established; Great Buddha dedicated at Todaiji in Nara (752); popular Buddhist shamans (ubasoku) worked and taught among the lower classes

HEIAN (794-1185): capital moved to Heian Kyo (the old name for Kyoto); the "golden age" of classical Japanese culture and imperial society; Emperor is nominal head of state, but true power was in the hands of the Fujiwara family; dominant Buddhist religions were esoteric Shingon and Tendai but Pure Land Buddhism is established in Japan; towards the end of the period, the provincial warrior families (samurai) manage to take control of the country

Important events/people/books in Heian period:

805: introduction of Tendai Esoteric Buddhism by Saichô
806: introduction of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism by Kukai
903: Sugawara no Michizane dies in exile
935-939: Taira no Masakado leads rebellion in Kanto provinces, styling himself "new emperor"; killed by Fujiwara no Hidesato
954: the author of The Gossamer Years (Kagerô nikki) marries Fujiwara Kaneie; her diary covers the period from 954-974
995-1027: Fujiwara no Michinaga consolidates Fujiwara family's control of government
circa 1000: Sei Shonagon writes Pillow Book
circa 1000: Murasaki Shikibu writes The Tale of Genji and her diary

1159-60: Heiji conflict; Taira no Kiyomori, a samurai from the eastern part of the country, gains military control of the country. He begins to practice "marriage politics" by marrying his daughter, Kenreimon'in, to Emperor Go-Shirakawa, and in 1180 places his 8 year-old grandson, Antoku, on the throne.
1175: Establishment of the Jôdo (Pure Land) sect in Japan by Honen Shônin (1133-1212)
1180-85: Genpei War between the Genji (Minamoto) and the Heike (Taira)
(The Genpei War is the topic of The Tale of the Heike; an initial version compiled by "biwa priests" is in existence by around 1220; put into final form by the biwa priest Kakuichi around 1370)
1183: Heike forced to flee the capital
1184: Minamoto Yoshitsune leads a daring attack on the Heike encampment at Ichi no Tani, sending the Heike across the inland sea to Yashima on the northern shore of Shikoku, and from there in early 1185 to Dan no Ura on the southern tip of the main island (Honshu)
1185 Battle of Dan no Ura: Minamoto Yoritomo gains military control of the country

(Pseudo-classical tales such as "The Lady Who Loved Vermin" and "Torikaebaya" date to the end of the Heian period, beginning of the Kamakura period; setsuwa in Japanese Tales date from last Heian through Kamakura period)

KAMAKURA PERIOD (1185-1336): Minamoto Yoritomo is given the "temporary" position of shôgun, with the power to command the military for the purpose of "conquering barbarians." Theoretically, the position answered to the Emperor, but in fact, since the shôgun could move armies without the emperor's permission, he was the most powerful person in the country. Yoritomo establishes his military government, called the Shogunate (Bakufu) in Kamakura in the eastern part of the country, to gain some independence from the court and its bureaucracy.Whereas before the land was held by the power of the court, now it is held as land grants from the Kamakura military government. Japan is ruled by a series of military governments for the next 700 years. For a short while the Minamoto reign supreme, but within thirty years Yoritomo's family has died out. The family of Yoritomo's wife (Hôjô Masako), who was acting as regent for their son Sanetomo, takes control of the country after Sanetomo's assasination. Gradually the economic system shifts towards a feudal system and the marriage system dominant under the Heian court changes along with it. Primogeniture (oldest male) becomes the dominant form of inheritance and women (and second sons) begin to lose their rights of inheritance, particularly of property. Pure Land, Nichiren, and Zen become important popular forms of Buddhism. After the two Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281, the Kamakura shogunate was greatly weakened because of discontent among the warrior families who fought, but were not rewarded (there being no land to redistribute). The emperor Go Daigo took the opportunity to try and regain control of the country. He raised an army to defeat the Hôjô by gathering support from discontented warriors including Ashikaga Takauji. The army defeated the Hôjô; however, by 1336 Takauji and Go Daigo had fallen out, and Takauji took control of the government, forcing Go Daigo to flee to Mt. Yoshino in the south. Until 1392 there were two emperors and two courts, the Northern (Kyoto) and Southern (Yoshino).

1192: Title of Shôgun granted to Minamoto no Yoritomo
1203: Hôjô Tokimasa is appointed Shogunal Regent
1219: last Minamoto shôgun, Sanetomo, assassinated
1221: Emperor Go Toba tries to retake control of the country; Hôjô Masako enlists other samurai families to defeat him
1253: Nichiren (1222-1282) develops a new form of Buddhism that focuses solely on chanting the Lotus Sutra as a means to salvation.
1232: The Kamakura Law Code (Jôei shikimoku) is issued by the Hôjô
1274, 1281: Mongol invasions
1334-36: Kenmu restoration; Emperor Go Daigo attempts to take control of the country with the help of Ashikaga Takauji. Restoration fails in 1336 and Takauji takes military control of the country.

MUROMACHI (OR ASHIKAGA) PERIOD (1336-1573):. Kyoto is reinstated as the capital and the center of government is moved to an area of Kyoto known as Muromachi. The Ashikaga control the country from Kyoto until the Onin Civil War of 1446-67, which was started by a succession struggle between two daimyô families, but quickly spread throughout the nation. Most of Kyoto was burned to the ground, and countless invaluable art treasures and manuscripts burned with it. The war disabled the Ashikaga shogunate and inaugurated the "Warring States Period" in which a series of small civil wars kept the country in a constant state of turmoil. This period is called the era of gekokujô (the low overthrow the high) because this social turmoil also made possible a good deal of upward social mobility for the lower classes. During this period, as the earlier aristocratic system of marriage politics was completely abandoned, women lost most of their economic rights.

1368-94: Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408), third shôgun and active art patron
(The Noh play Aoi no Ue created by 1370s)
1375: Zeami (ca.1364-ca.1443) performs Noh before Yoshimitsu (about 18 years old), who then becomes Zeami's patron; through Zeami's exposure to court culture, Noh is transformed into a highly literary art
(Noh plays Atsumori, Tadanori, Yashima written by Zeami, probably between 1390-1420; Kyogen developed at the same time that Noh did, but wasn't written down until the late 16th century)
1405: Zenchiku born (died during Onin war), Zeami's son-in-law and author of Nonomiya
1449-73: Yoshimasa (d. 1490), eighth shôgun
1467-77: Onin War
1542 or 43: Portuguese at Tanegashima; introduction of western firearms
1549: St. Frances Xavier (1506-1552) arrives in Japan

MOMOYAMA PERIOD (1568-1600): the final and most intense period of civil war, in which three samurai domainal lords, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu battled it out for supremacy over Japan. Hideyoshi and Ieyasu are major patrons of Noh; Hideyoshi commissions a series of Noh plays celebrating his exploits in war.

1568: Occupation of Kyoto by Oda Nobunaga
1582: Nobunaga assasinated by Akechi Mitsuhide
1586: Osaka Castle built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi
1590: Hideyoshi supreme in Japan
1592: Hideyoshi's first invasion of Korea
1598: Death of Hideyoshi and withdrawal of troops from Korea
1600: Victory of Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara

TOKUGAWA OR EDO PERIOD (1603-1868):

Tokugawa Ieyasu won the final battle at Sekigahara and established the Tokugawa shogunate, which controlled the country for the next 250 years. The Tokugawa shogunate outlawed firearms, banned Christianity and suppressed the more "democratic" forms of Pure Land Buddhism, and secluded the country from foreign influence. They also banned women and very young boys from the stage in a series of laws, beginning in 1623. Neo-Confucian norms became standard, including the four classes of 1) Samurai warrior; 2) Peasant; 3) Artisan; 4) Merchant were created and people were supposed to stay in their places. The "Great Learning for Women" (Onna Daigaku) promoted Neo-Confucian ideals for women, including the concept of onnarashisa (being "woman-like"). The economic position of women continued to decline, although because women played an important economic role in the lower-classes, things may not have been as bad as the "ideal" would indicate.

1603: Title of Shôgun acquired by Tokugawa Ieyasu
1603: Traditional date for first performance of Women's Kabuki (onna kabuki) by shrine dancer Okuni; Young Boy's Kabuki (wakashû kabuki) begins to be performed as well
1614-15: Capture of Osaka Castle and destruction of major Pure Land Buddhist temple in Osaka (15,000 people died)
1622-1651: Institutional foundations of Tokugawa Shogunate completed by Iemitsu, third shogun
1629: Prohibition of women from the public stage (ban repeatedly issued)
1637-38: Shimabara uprising of Christians
1639: Era of seclusion from foreign contact promulgated
1641: Dutch factory moved to Deshima at Nagasaki
1652: Young Boy's Kabuki is banned
1688-1704: Genroku era; flowering of merchant culture; heyday of Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724), greatest playwright of Puppet and Kabuki theater
1701: The Ako incident occurs; Lord Asano attacks Lord Kira and is forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide)
1703: January 30, the 47 rônin (masterless samurai) attack the mansion of Kira, and kill him; March 20, they are ordered to commit seppuku (becomes the basis for Chushingura)
1706: Chikamatsu's version of the 47 Rônin story is performed in Osaka and allowed by censors
1716-1745: Kyôhô reforms intiated by Yoshimune, eighth shogun
1746: Sugawara's Secrets of Calligaphy by Takeda Izumo I and II (plus 2 others) first performed in Osaka
1748: Chûshingura is written by Takeda Izumo II and two others
1751-52: Chronicle of the Battle of Ichinotani written for the Bunraku puppet theater in 1751 and then staged for Kabuki theater in 1752
1804-1829: Bunka-Bunsei era, second flowering of culture; heyday of decadent ghost stories like the ones written by Kabuki playwright Tsuruya Nanboku (1755-1829), author of Yotsuya Kaidan (Yotsuya Ghost Stories)
1837: Rice riot in Osaka led by Confucian scholar
1841-43: Tempô reforms undertaken by Mizuno Tadakuni
1853: Commodore Perry arrives at Uraga
1854: Treaty of Kanagawa with the United States
1858: Commercial treaty with the United States
1865: Imperial ratification of treaties with foreign powers
1866-67: Last shogun, Yoshinobu (d. 1913)
1867: Enthronement of Mutsuhito (Emperor Meiji)

MEIJI PERIOD (1868-1912):
1868: January 3rd, resumption of rule by the Emperor
1869: Return of daimyô domains to the Emperor
1873: New national conscription (draft) law; new land system; establishment of Home Ministry
1877: February-September, Satsuma Rebellion
1877: Ban lifted on women's performance on the public stage
1881: Decree promising constitution
1885: Beginning of Cabinet system; Itô first premier
1889: Promulgation of the Constitution
1890: Imperial Rescript on Education
1894-95: Sino-Japanese War
1899: Revision of treaties; extraterritoriality ended
1902: Signing of Anglo-Japanese alliance
1904-1905: Russo-Japanese war
1910: Annexation of Korea
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TAISHÔ PERIOD (1912-1926):
1913: Takarazuka review founded by Kobayashi Ichizô (1873-1957)
1914: Japanese declaration of war on Germany
1915: Twenty-one demands pressed on China
1918: Beginning of "party government"
1921-22 Washington Conference
1924: Takarazuka Grand Theater opens
1925: Passage of the Universal Manhood Suffrage Bill and the Peace Preservation Law by the Diet

SHÔWA PERIOD (1926-1989):
1930: Signing of London Naval Treaty
1931: Outbreak of the "Manchurian Incident"
1933: Japan quits League of Nations
1937: Outbreak of war with China
1940: Tripartite Alliance with Germany and Italy
1941: December 7, Attack on Pearl Harbor
1945: Surrender of Japan
1946: Gen. MacArthur appointed SCAP; disavowal of "divinity" by the Emperor; new constitution promulgated; Occupation reforms
1950: Creation of the National Police Reserve (self-defense forces)
1951: Peace Conference in San Francisco
1952: Occupation terminated
1953: United States-Japan Mutual Security Agreement
1956: Japan admitted to United Nations
1960: Demonstrations against continuation of US-Japan Mutual Security Treaty
1964: Tokyo Olympics