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A land steeped in rich history and culture, legend attributes the creation of Japan to the sun goddess Amaterasu, whose claim the throne by his grandson, son Jimmu in 660 BC, was a traditional belief that constituted official recognition until 1945. The first indication of recorded history in Japan was about the year 400, when the ambitious Yamato clan based in Kyoto has managed to take control several other key family groups in central and western Japan. The centuries that followed were kept under the tight reign of this powerful clan, which managed to create an imperial court similar to that of China, and whose authority was eventually undermined by the influence
families aristocrats who vied for control. Also appear in the same period were the clans of warriors called samurai elite, a military force that eventually took control in 1192 under their leader Yoritomo who was appointed as supreme military commander known as Shogun. The Imperial Court which had prevailed for centuries, is now resigned to playing a relatively obscure in domestic affairs, as a succession of Shoguns various clans ruled Japan for 700 years. Contact with the West was originally made in 1542, when a Portuguese ship apparently outside the course is managed by Japanese territory, and an array of Spanish, Dutch, English, and Portuguese traders and missionaries soon followed. Trade has finally been banned for the start of the Tokugawa period (1603-1867) because of suspicion of the Shogun as traders and missionaries were actually forerunners of a military conquest of the west. All foreigners who were subsequently expelled from the country, except of Dutch and Chinese traders restricted to the island of Dejima, at Nagasaki Bay. Attempts by the West to renew trade proved fruitless until 1853, when Commodore Matthew Perry entered Tokyo Bay with a fleet known as the American black ships "." The boats were named in reference to the color of their hulls, and black clouds of smoke hung over the burning of coal and steam paddle ships. Perry's show of military force than he helped negotiate a treaty with Japan that opened the doors of trade with the West, ending several years of self isolation.
Contact with the West proved to be the catalyst for a radical restructuring Japanese society on several levels. The shogunate had retained control of hundreds of years has been forced to dissolve, with Emperor having returned to power in 1868. The period that followed is known as the "Meiji Restoration" and among the many changes in the opening was the abolition of the feudal system. Many policies have been adopted on the basis of Western legal system, parliamentary government and quasi – Constitution was finally established in 1889. The new reforms also prompted Japan to take steps to expand their empire and a brief war with China in 1894 allowed them to acquire Taiwan, the Pescadores islands, and part of southern Manchuria. The war broke out again with Russia 1904, with Japan eventually wins the territory south of Karafuto, with the port of Russia and the rights of railway in Manchuria are forfeited to the conquest Japanese forces. Their expansion has continued with the advent of the First World War because they were able to take control of the Pacific Islands Germany, and the Treaty of Versailles that followed granted Mandate of Japan on the islands. Japan participated in the peace conference at Versailles a new image as a major industrial and military powers, and has been recognized as one of the "Big Five" of the new international order. In recent decades, new Emperor Meiji reforms that dramatically altered the social, educational, economic, military and political structure Industrial countries, Japan has transformed into a viable world power.
As the eye of Japan for the expansion has become increasingly apparent, invasion of Manchuria within China in 1931 paved the way for the years that followed the war that followed. The incident has brought with it international condemnation, Japan arising resign from the League of Nations in 1933. Fueled by an expansionist military, the Sino Japanese War began in 1937, which led to the signing of the Axis Pact of 1940 between Japan and its new allies, Germany and Italy. The infamous attack against the United States at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 marked the beginning of Japan's participation in the Second World War, and thereafter their final defeat in 1945 by U.S. forces. General Douglas MacArthur is named commander of the U.S. occupation of postwar in Japan and in 1947 a new constitution came into force, followed by a security treaty between the two nations in 1951 that allowed U.S. soldiers who will be stationed in Japan. Japan regained full sovereignty in 1952, including the islands of the Ryukyu Okinawa that were seized during the war were returned to Japan in 1972. Japan's economic recovery after the war was nothing miraculous, and is part of the success has been driven by economic intervention by the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry has been instrumental in coordinating and organizing cooperation of manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and banks in closely knit groups called Firetruck. Additional incentive for workers who were guaranteed employment for life, plants with highly unionized blue collar provided a workforce highly motivated work, which subsequently the second largest economy in the world of Japan in the world.
About the Author:
Jim Sherard is the author of “Land of the Rising Sun, A Guide to Living and Working in Japan”, which can be found at: http://www.escapeartist.com/e_Books/Living_and_Working_in_Japan/Living_and_Working_in_Japan.html
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – The History of Japan
Blue in Japan
