A period of heavy borrowing from China, when Buddhism, and aspects of Confucianism were adopted by the Japanese court. The great age of Buddhist architecture and sculpture.

The imperial capital was established at Heian-kyô, present-day Kyôto. The Heian was golden age of court culture, when such literary classics as the Kokinshû (Collection of Ancient and New Poems), The Tales of Ise, and the Tale of Genji were written.

After a period of warfare disturbed the long peace of the Nara and Heian periods, a succesion of shôgun, or millitary commanders, ruled the country from the bakufu, or millitary headquarters, established in Kamakura, not far from present-day Tokyo. The Emperor and the court remained in Kyoto, where they had little but symbolic power.

The 14^th through 16^th centuries were a time of nearly constant warfare and political strife. During the Ashikaga period, the shôgun’s headquarters were moved to Kyoto, but rule by shôgun rather than emperor continued.

The Momoyama was a period of political, economic, and cultural transtions. After protacted warfare and chaos, a series of powerful warlords (Oda Nobunaga, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu) unified the country. The period was marked by a growth in towns and cities, increasing trade, and the development of a money-based economy. This was also a great period of artistic innovation, when the Kanô school of artists and the modern tea ceremony were founded, and the first Kabuki performances were staged.

During this period the Tokugawa shôguns, beginning with Tokugawa Ieyasu, ruled the country from their military seat in Edo, present-day Tokyo. Contact with the West was restricted to trade with the Dutch, whose outpost was on the island of Dejima in Nagasaki. Although the Tokugawa shoguns ruled, the Emperors in Kyoto still reigned and the names of historical sub-periods below derive from the imperial court. Since the names of these periods sometimes appear in history and art history texts, I am including them for your reference below.

Meiji (Meiji Emperor) 1868-1912

Taishô (Taishô Emperor) 1912-1926

Shôwa (Shôwa Emperor) 1926-1989

  Prewar 1926-1945

  Postwar 1945-1989

Heisei (Heisei Emperor) 1989-