Jōmon period

c. 10,500–300 B.C.E.

The Jōmon period is Japan’s Neolithic period.

Yayoi period

300 B.C.E.–300 C.E.

Around 300 B.C.E., people from the Asian continent who were cultivating crops began to migrate to the Japanese islands. These people gradually absorbed the Jōmon hunter-gatherer population and laid the foundation for a society that cultivated rice in paddy fields, produced bronze and iron tools, and was organized according to a hierarchical social structure.

Kofun period

300–552 C.E.

Kofun are large, mound tombs, and the source of much of the art of this early period.

Asuka period

538–710 C.E.

The Asuka period is Japan’s first historical period, different from the prehistoric periods because of the introduction of writing via Korea and China. With the Chinese written language also came standardized measuring systems, currency in the form of coins, and the practice of recording history and current events. Standardization and record-keeping also encouraged the crystallization of a centralized, bureaucratic government, modeled on the Chinese.

Nara period

710–794 C.E.

During this short period, the Japanese court established its first permanent capital, and adopted Buddhism as its official religion.

Heian period

794–1185 C.E.

During the Heian period, the new capital, Heian or Heian-kyō, was the city known today as Kyoto. There a lavish culture of refinement and poetic subtlety developed, and it would have a lasting influence on Japanese arts.

Kamakura period

1185–1333 C.E.

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The Kamakura period marked the beginning of feudal Japan and the samurai caste.

Nanbokuchō and Muromachi periods

Nanbokuchō (1333–1392 C.E.), Muromachi (1392–1573 C.E.)

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This period of intense social and political conflict gave rise to innovative artistic traditions.

Azuchi-Momoyama period

1573–1615 C.E.

The Azuchi-Momoyama period gets its name from the opulent residences of two warlords who attempted to unify Japan at the end of the Sengoku (“warring states”) era, namely Oda Nobunaga’s Azuchi Castle and Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s Fushimi or Momoyama Castle.

Edo period

1615–1868 C.E.

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Even within this strict feudal system, Japan saw the rise of arts that catered to merchants and intellectuals.

Meiji period

1868–1912 C.E.

1868 was a watershed year for Japan. After over two centuries of shogunal rule, practical political power was restored to the emperor (Meiji).

1912–present

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From colonialism to radicalized nationalism to the watershed changes of the postwar period, Japan saw drastic shifts in political direction and ongoing tensions between historical patterns and social reforms throughout the 20th century. The Great Kantō earthquake of 1923 and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki of 1945 had long-lasting effects on all aspects of life in Japan, including art and culture. The visual arts developed bold new forms of expression, in relation to tradition, the trauma of contemporaneous events, western sources, and all the modern artistic styles and movements.