Japan travel guide

History is well defined by place in Japan, as each emperor created his own capital city, so the geographical influences are strong. However, in AD 710, the buck stopped at Nara, when a ‘permanent’ court was established, and so if you were to visit Japan in chronological order, this would have to be your first stop. Home to the next seven emperors, it was during this time that there was a definite shift from the indigenous religion of Shintoism, to Buddhism, with Japanese scholars and political experts being sent to China to garner greatness from various gurus. The temples around Nara, such as Todai-ji, pay homage to that.

Next stop for locating history on Japan’s map is Kyoto, known then as Heian-Kyo, which became the capital in 794 until 1185, also known therefore as the Heian Period, when political power shifted from the emperors to court nobles. Although Kyoto remained home to the imperial residence until the 19thcentury. Buddhism still reigned during this period too, with scholars and artists adapting what they had learned in China to create their own literature and artforms, all with a Japanese twist.

The mood twisted too around the mid-12th century, from one of peaceful Buddhism to regional revolts led by clans clambering for more power. Civil wars broke out, and the feudal Kamakura Period began, the Genji clan gaining the strongest foothold and creating a government in the fishing village of Kamakura, only 50 kms from present day Tokyo. Yoritomo was the leader of this clan, becoming the first military leader, or Shogun, of Japan. His warriors were known as the samurai, who also became military nobility and, given that they ruled the country for the next 700 years, it is no wonder that their military power is still so well known around the world today. They were known as bushi in Japan and their teachings still have a strong influence on Japanese martial arts. As does the fact that most people were not allowed to use weapons, due to a caste system that grew during this time, which led to the growth of non-armed combat skills.
 
It was the Tokugawa shogunate that finally encouraged a calming of the clans, but also set the caste system in stone. By reunifying the country in 1600 in a feudal state governed from Edo, which is modern day Tokyo, Tokugawa ‘s mission was to keep people in their place, which also meant creating an isolated country with no international trade or intervention. Japan was to become a total island, metaphorically as well as physically, for the next 269 years, the period which probably created the greatest cultural time capsule. Nagasaki was the exception to the rule, with Dutch and Chinese merchants allowed to trade, and what an insight they must have had during this time, with the rest of the country closed off and cultural gems such as kabuki theatre, fine woodwork, silk and printmaking starting to thrive. This was also the time when ryokan or traditional inns were created, in order to accommodate feudal lords en route to Edo.

Japan opened up again in 1853, when the US Navy landed with commercial agreements in hand. Like dam gates opening, a tidal wave of commercialism began, and Shogunate rule ended. Emperor Meiji moved to Tokyo in 1868, and oversaw an industrialization that moved at super speed, in an effort to catch up with the rest of the industrialised world. Known as the Meiji Restoration Period, this was also when Edo was renamed Tokyo.

Commercialisation led to colonization, however, and the Japanese tourism authorities tend to gloss over the next century a little too quickly in many cases. Such as the Sino-Japanese War from 1894-95, when Japan took control of Taiwan, Korea and parts of Manchuria. Or the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-5 when it was also victor. Not letting that grass grow, it moved full guns a-blazing into China in 1939, having also signed an anti-communist agreement with Nazi Germany in 1936, leading to their fateful attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. This attack was in order to gain greater access to SE Asia, which the US was defending, and it was the turning point not only for Japan’s colonization plans, but history as we know it. Japan had not only brought the US into World War 2, but the military meeting of minds led to the atomic bombs being dropped by the US on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the surrender of the Japanese in 1945. During this period, over ten million Chinese and other Asians had been killed and relations between China and Japan are still strained today.
 
The US occupied Japan, with the emperor maintaining his position on paper. Having signed up to pacifism and democracy, Japan gained independence in 1952, joined the UN in 1956 and continues to go from economic strength to strength. There have been blips, of course, such as the worldwide economic crash, the earthquakes of 1995 and 2011, or the shutting down of all 48 of its nuclear reactors, following the Fukushima catastrophe in 2011. They are still shut today, with Japan responding by becoming the second highest users of solar pv energy now. They don’t hang about in Japan. One way to deal with the economic crash was to, ironically, allow a relaxation of Japan’s self-imposed ban on arms exports in 2011. In the following year, the country’s overall exports rise by 10 %, although the arms sales are intended for humanitarian missions only. Interestingly, in July 2014, the Japanese government approved a landmark change in security policy, which will enable it to send troops to fight overseas again. Tourists who are united in peace, however, and hope that the tides won’t ever turn again, must ensure they visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, or Genbaku Dome, the only building to survive the A Bomb, as a sobering reminder of how quickly, and far, a country can come, and go.