History - Japan: Prehistory through Modern Era
The spine of the course
旧石器 → 縄文 (hunting and gathering, 竪穴住居, 貝塚, 三内丸山遺跡 in Aomori) → 弥生 (wet-rice farming, metal tools, 邪馬台国 and 卑弥呼, the 漢委奴国王 gold seal) → 古墳 → 飛鳥 (十七条憲法, 冠位十二階, 遣隋使, 大化の改新 645, 大宝律令 701) → 奈良 (平城京, 東大寺, 万葉集) → 平安 (平安京 794, 摂関政治, 院政, warrior bands) → 鎌倉 → 室町 → 安土桃山 → 江戸 → 明治 and beyond.
Reforms that get swapped
The 享保の改革 of 徳川吉宗 (目安箱, 公事方御定書) is not the 天保の改革 of 水野忠邦 (株仲間解散, 上知令). For the modern era, hold these tight: 大政奉還 1867, 五箇条の御誓文 and 明治維新 1868, 版籍奉還 1869, 廃藩置県 1871, 学制・徴兵令・地租改正 1872–73, 大日本帝国憲法 promulgated 1889 and in force 1890, 日清戦争 1894–95 with the 下関条約 and 三国干渉, 日露戦争 1904–05 with the ポーツマス条約, 韓国併合 1910.
Worked example
Why must 廃藩置県 (1871) come before 地租改正 (1873)? Reasoning: the new government could not tax land it did not control. Abolishing the domains replaced 藩 boundaries with 府県 under central officials; only then could a uniform survey fix the 地価 and a national 3% money tax replace the old rice tribute. Cause precedes mechanism - answer in that order.
Traps that cost marks
Giving 1889 for the Constitution's enforcement rather than its promulgation; dating 普通選挙法 to 1925 but forgetting it covered only men aged 25 and over (women voted from 1945–46); confusing 版籍奉還 with 廃藩置県; placing 三内丸山遺跡 in 弥生 rather than 縄文.