and ended Mongol rule. By this time the Mongol emperors were weak. There were seven Mongol emperors after … in effect, was to convert naval to land wartare and it won the day. Naval technology remained on a plateau … There was an interesting contest during the American occupation of Japan in 1946 between a champion Japanese

and ended Mongol rule. By this time the Mongol emperors were weak. There were seven Mongol emperors after … in effect, was to convert naval to land warfare and it won the day. Naval technology remained on a plateau … There was an interesting contest during the American occupation of Japan in 1946 between a champion Japanese

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland, it is bordered to the west by the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk in the north, and the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands alongside over 14,000 smaller islands. Japan is divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditio Japan's feudal era was characterized by the emergence and dominance of a ruling class of warriors, the samurai. In 1185, following the defeat of the Taira clan by the Minamoto clan in the Genpei War, samurai Minamoto no Yoritomo established a military government at Kamakura. After Yoritomo's death, the Hōjō clan came to power as regents for the shōgun. The Zen school of Buddhism was introduced from China in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class. The Kamakura shogunate repelled Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281 but was eventually overthrown by Emperor Go-Daigo. Go-Daigo was defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336, beginning the Muromachi period (1336–1573). The succeeding Ashikaga shogunate failed to control the feudal warlords (daimyō) and a civil war began in 1467, opening the century-long Sengoku period ('Warring States'). During the 16th century, Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries reached Japan, initiating direct commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West (see Nanban trade and Nanban art). Oda Nobunaga used European technology and firearms to conquer many other daimyō; his consolidation of power began the Azuchi–Momoyama period. After the death of Nobunaga in 1582, his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, unified the nation in the early 1590s and launched two unsuccessful invasions of Korea in 1592 and 1597. Tokugawa Ieyasu served as regent for Hideyoshi's son Toyotomi Hideyori within the Council of Five Elders and used his position to gain political and military support. When open war broke out, Ieyasu defeated riva Japan's feudal era was characterized by the emergence and dominance of a ruling class of warriors, the samurai. In 1185, following the defeat of the Taira clan by the Minamoto clan in the Genpei War, samurai Minamoto no Yoritomo established a military government at Kamakura. After Yoritomo's death, the Hōjō clan came to power as regents for the shōgun. The Zen school of Buddhism was introduced from China in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class. The Kamakura shogunate repelled Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281 but was eventually overthrown by Emperor Go-Daigo. Go-Daigo was defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336, beginning the Muromachi period (1336–1573). The succeeding Ashikaga shogunate failed to control the feudal warlords (daimyō) and a civil war began in 1467, opening the century-long Sengoku period ('Warring States'). During the 16th century, Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries reached Japan, initiating direct commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West (see Nanban trade and Nanban art). Oda Nobunaga used European technology and firearms to conquer many other daimyō; his consolidation of power began the Azuchi–Momoyama period. After the death of Nobunaga in 1582, his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, unified the nation in the early 1590s and launched two unsuccessful invasions of Korea in 1592 and 1597. Tokugawa Ieyasu served as regent for Hideyoshi's son Toyotomi Hideyori within the Council of Five Elders and used his position to gain political and military support. When open war broke out, Ieyasu defeated rival clans in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. He was appointed shōgun by Emperor Go-Yōzei in 1603 and established the Tokugawa shogunate at Edo (modern Tokyo). The shogunate enacted measures including Buke shohatto, as a code of conduct to control the autonomous daimyō, and in 1639 the isolationist sakoku ('closed country') policy that spanned the two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as the Edo period (1603–1868). Modern Japan's economic growth began in this period, resulting in roads (Kaidō) and water transportation routes, as well as financial instruments such as futures contracts, banking and insurance of the Osaka rice brokers. The study of Western sciences (rangaku) continued through contact with the Dutch enclave in Nagasaki. The Edo period gave rise to kokugaku ('national studies'), the study of Japan by the Japanese. The Empire of Japan invaded other parts of China in 1937, precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). In 1940, the Empire invaded French Indochina, after which the United States placed an oil embargo on Japan. On December 7–8, 1941, Japanese forces carried out surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor, as well as on British forces in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong, among others, beginning World War II in the Pacific. Throughout areas occupied by Japan during the war, numerous abuses were committed against local inhabitants. Many women were forced into sexual slavery. After Allied victories during the next four years, which culminated in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender. The war cost Japan millions of lives and many of its conquered territories, including de jure parts of Japan such as Korea, Taiwan, Karafuto, and the Kurils. The Allies, led by the United States, repatriated millions of Japanese settlers from their former colonies and military camps throughout Asia, largely eliminating the Empire of Japan and its influence over the territories it conquered. The Allies convened the International Military Tribunal for the Far East to prosecute Japanese leaders, notably excluding Emperor Hirohito, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. In 1947, Japan adopted a new constitution emphasizing liberal democratic practices. The Allied occupation ended with the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952, and Japan was granted

called the “seven generations of the Hôjô family.” Mongol invasions . The event of principal importance during this period was the repulse of the Mongol invasion , during the reign of the emperor Shômu; it came from the department of Oda in the province of Ôshiu, and in the following year more was found in the province of Suruga. During the long period of Japan’s seclusion from the rest of the world, the gold discovered remained in the country, and the amount augmented year by year; and this no doubt tended in a great degree to convey to the earlier foreign visitors the  ​ impression that the supply was far more abundant than was actually the fact. At Tôkiô snow falls some three or four times during the winter; it covers the ground to a depth of from 3 to 5 inches on an average, but does not lie long. In January 1876, however, a remarkably severe snowstorm occurred, when the whole city was covered to a depth of 2 feet or more; so unusual was this phenomenon deemed that a large number of photographs of the landscape were taken to perpetuate the memory of the event. Farther to the south and west the  ​ cold is not, as a rule, so intense, while in the summer months the heat is far greater. The oyster is found in considerable quantities in the shallows at the head of the Bay of Yedo and elsewhere. To any student of zoology a visit to Japan would prove in the highest degree interesting. [ 10 ] Communication. —The means of transport, although not exceptionally good, have yet improved considerably during the past few years. Railway. There are but two lines of railway in Japan, both very short. The first (opened to traffic in 1872) runs from Tôkiô to Yokohama, and is but 18 miles in length. In 1879–80 the Japanese paper currency fell to a discount of above 50 per cent, as compared with the silver Mexican dollar in use amongst the foreign merchants. Public works. Public Works. —In spite of these financial difficulties, the Japanese have made great advances in public works. In the number of its lighthouses Japan may compare favourably with many a Western nation. Though all have been erected by foreign engineers during the past ten or twelve years, there is hardly a promontory or island lying in the direct track of the shipping but is possessed of a lighthouse. The heirs of the latter having failed, the office of shôgun was conferred upon different members of the illustrious house of Fujiwara, who all resided at Kamakura. The military administration, however, was invariably in the hands of the Hôjôs, who acted as regents of the shôgun ; their supremacy lasted from 1225 to 1333, through what are commonly called the “seven generations of the Hôjô family.” Mongol invasions. The event of principal importance during this period was the repulse of the Mongol invasion, which occurred in the year 1281. Kublai  ​ Khan, founder of the Yuen dynasty in China, had for some years back repeatedly sent to demand submission from Japan, but, this being refused, about 10,000 of his troops attacked Tsushima and Oki in 1274. This expedition was repulsed, and some envoys They descended upon the coast of Kiushiu, where several engagements fought; eventually a severe storm destroyed and dispersed the fleet, and the Japanese taking advantage of this favourable opportunity vigorously attacked and completely annihilated the invaders, of whom but three are said to have escaped to tell the tale. It is not surprising that no further attempt to conquer Japan should have been made by the Mongols. Two courts. During the confusion and disturbance created by the contest between the rival courts, and also throughout the whole of the 15th century, Japan was devastated by fire and sword in civil wars of the most terrible description. Several families endeavoured in succession to acquire the supremacy, but none were able to wield it long. The dynasty of shôgun (the Ashikaga line) proved bad rulers, and, though the families of Nitta, Uyésugi, and others came prominently into notice, they were unable to pacify the whole empire. Later Hôjô family. D. the empress Jingô invaded Corea, and gained several victories over the troops that opposed her; and on her return she introduced into Japan the Corean arrangement of geographical division. The Japanese being a maritime nation, it is not surprising that, prior to the edict forbidding them to leave their country, they should have extended their voyages throughout the whole of the Eastern seas. We read of their visiting China, Siam, and India; indeed at one time there existed a Japanese colony or settlement at Goa. It is also known that vessels sailed from Japan to the western coast of Mexico. The Mongol invasion in 1281 has been already noticed. They at first settled in the island of Hirado, but afterwards removed to Nagasaki, where they were virtually imprisoned in their factory on the small peninsula of Deshima in the harbour, connected by narrow causeways with the town itself. Dr Kaempfer’s History of Japan gives a full and graphic description of the mode of life of the early Dutch settlers; he himself dwelt in Japan during the rule of Tsunayoshi, the fifth shôgun of the house of Tokugawa, 1680–1709. The first Englishman who visited the shores of Japan was William Adams , a Kentish man, who came out to the East as pilot to a Dutch vessel. The drama does not hold in Japan the position it enjoys in European countries. No classic author such as Shakespeare was ever known, and the pieces represented on the stage are as a rule of a popular character. The style of these plays is often rather stilted, a large number of ancient and almost obsolete words and expressions being used; but the ordinary farces and light pieces are in the everyday colloquial. Theatre-going is a favourite amusement, especially among the lower classes in the larger towns. Newspapers. The growth of the newspaper press during the past few years deserves special attention.