13 Lesser-Known Historical Facts about Japan:
1. The Jomon period, beginning around 14,000 BCE, is known for its pottery, among the oldest in the world.
2. The Heian period (794-1185) was a golden age of art, poetry, and literature in Japan.
3. Samurai, the warrior class, played a crucial role in Japanese history from the 12th to the 19th century.
4. The Kamakura period saw the rise of the shogunate, a military government, starting in
1192.
5. Japan was largely isolated from the rest of the world during the Edo period (1603-1868), known as Sakoku.
6. The Meiji Restoration in 1868 marked the end of feudal Japan and the beginning of modernization and industrialization.
7. Japan was the first Asian country to defeat a European power, Russia, in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905).
8. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the only cities ever to be targeted with atomic bombs, in August 1945.
9. The island of Okinawa was an independent kingdom known as the Ryukyu Kingdom before its annexation by Japan in 1879.
10. Zen Buddhism, introduced in the 12th century, has had a profound influence on Japanese culture and aesthetics.
11. The Tale of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, is considered the world's first novel.
12. Nara, Japan’s first permanent capital, was established in 710 and is famous for its large Buddhist temples.
13. The Great Wave off Kanagawa, a woodblock print by Hokusai, is one of the most famous works of Japanese art.
