HISTORY / PEOPLE / PLACE
Understand Japan
before you visit it.
From a palace coup in 645 to the Meiji Restoration, see how power, people and places connect across Japanese history.Start with 10 turning points ↓
WHY THIS GUIDE
More than a list of dates.
Each article separates context, event and aftermath; links people to places; and points back to museum, archive or local-government sources. The English collection begins with ten defining events and will grow from this editorial base.
ESSENTIAL EVENTS
Ten turning points
10 STORIES
The Isshi Incident and Taika Reform
A palace coup removed the Soga leadership and opened a long, uneven effort to build a government centred on the sovereign.
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The Capital Moves to Heian-kyo
Emperor Kanmu established a new capital at Heian-kyo, the city that would remain the seat of the court for more than a thousand years.
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The Battle of Dan-no-ura
A naval battle in the Shimonoseki Strait destroyed the Taira leadership and made Minamoto military dominance possible.
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Minamoto no Yoritomo Becomes Shogun
Yoritomo’s appointment as shogun formalised his military standing, but the institutions of Kamakura government had already been taking shape for years.
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The First Mongol Invasion of Japan
Forces of the Yuan empire and its allies attacked northern Kyushu, exposing Japan to a new scale of continental warfare.
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The Onin War
Overlapping succession disputes divided Kyoto into rival military camps and weakened the Ashikaga shogunate’s ability to settle conflicts.
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The Battle of Okehazama
Oda Nobunaga concentrated a smaller force against Imagawa Yoshimoto’s command position and transformed the balance of power along the Tokaido corridor.
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The Honnoji Incident
Akechi Mitsuhide turned his army toward Kyoto and attacked Oda Nobunaga, abruptly ending Nobunaga’s drive toward national unification.
Read the full story →The Battle of Sekigahara
Eastern and western coalitions fought for political control after Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s death, clearing the way for Tokugawa supremacy.
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The Meiji Restoration
A new government claimed rule in the emperor’s name and began dismantling the Tokugawa political order during a civil war.
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