Timeline of Japanese history

This is a timeline of Japanese history, comprising important legal, territorial and cultural changes and political events in Japan and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Japan.

Paleolithic period

3rd century BC

1st century

2nd century

3rd century

4th century

5th century

Very little is known about the 5th century in Japan. The period was definitely marked by volatile inter-state warfare, complex alliances, submissions and betrayals. Some of the more constant Yamato polity partners were Baekje and Gaya confederacy, while enemies included Goguryeo, Silla and various Chinese groups. All of the records of the era either did not survive or are contentious.

6th century

7th century

8th century

9th century

10th century

11th century

12th century

13th century

14th century

15th century

16th century

17th century

18th century

19th century

Meiji period (1868–1912)

Taisho period (1912–1926)

Showa period (1927–1989)

Heisei period (1989–2019)

Reiwa period (Since 2019)

See also

Cities in Japan

• Timeline of Fukuoka
• Timeline of Hiroshima
• Timeline of Kobe
• Timeline of Kyoto
• Timeline of Nagasaki
• Timeline of Nagoya
• Timeline of Osaka
• Timeline of Tokyo; and History of Tokyo, with "significant events" sections
• Timeline of Yokohama

References and notes

Further reading

Published in the 19th century

• William Henry Overall, ed. (1870). "Japan". Dictionary of Chronology. London: William Tegg. hdl:2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t9m32q949.
• George Henry Townsend (1877), "Japan", A Manual of Dates (5th ed.), London: Frederick Warne, hdl:2027/wu.89097349427

Published in the 20th century

• Charles E. Little (1900), "Japan", Cyclopedia of Classified Dates, New York: Funk & Wagnalls
• Benjamin Vincent (1910), "Japan", Haydn's Dictionary of Dates (25th ed.), London: Ward, Lock & Co., hdl:2027/loc.ark:/13960/t89g6g776 – via Hathi Trust
• Brian Moeran (1996). "Chronology of Japanese Advertising and Media from 1862 to 1991". A Japanese Advertising Agency: An Anthropology of Media and Markets. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-1-136-79533-6.

Published in the 21st century

• Ian Preston, ed. (2001). "Japan". Political Chronology of Central, South and East Asia. Political Chronologies of the World. Europa Publications. pp. 121–140. ISBN 978-1-135-35680-4.
• Louis Frédéric (2002). "Chronology". Japan Encyclopedia. Translated by Käthe Roth. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
• Gary D. Allinson (2004). "Chronology". Japan's Postwar History (2nd ed.). Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-8912-1.
• "Timeline". Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire. USA: Public Broadcasting Service. 2004.
• Richard Tames (2008). "Chronology". A Traveller's History of Japan (4th ed.). USA: Interlink Books. p. 243+. ISBN 978-1-56656-404-5.
• Yoshio Sugimoto, ed. (2009). "Chronology". Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-49546-3.
• William D. Hoover (2011). "Chronology". Historical Dictionary of Postwar Japan. USA: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7539-5.
• Jasper Sharp (2011). "Chronology". Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7541-8.
• Constantine Vaporis (2012). "Timeline ... 1543–1868". Voices of Early Modern Japan: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life During the Age of the Shoguns. USA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-39200-9.
• Kenneth Henshall (2014). "Chronology". Historical Dictionary of Japan to 1945. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7872-3.
• Mikiso Hane; Louis Perez (2015). "Chronological Chart". Premodern Japan: A Historical Survey (2nd ed.). Westview Press. ISBN 978-0-8133-4970-1.

External links

• BBC News. "Japan Profile: Timeline".
• "Japan". Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
• "Timeline of Modern Japan (1868–1945)". About Japan: A Teacher's Resource. New York: Japan Society.
• "Japanese History: A Chronological Outline". Asia for Educators. USA: Columbia University.