History Proficiency Test (Rekiken) cheat sheet

Jōmon period (c. 14,000 BCE–300 BCE): cord-marked pottery, hunter-gatherer-fisher societies; Yayoi period (c. 300 BCE–250 CE) introduces wet-rice agriculture, bronze and iron, and social stratification.

Kofun period (c. 250–538 CE): keyhole-shaped tumuli (kofun), powerful clans (Uji), and the emergence of a Yamato court; Chinese records (Wei Zhi) describe Queen Himiko of Yamatai.

Asuka period (538–710): introduction of Buddhism (538 or 552), Prince Shōtoku's Seventeen-Article Constitution (604) and embassy to Sui (607), Taika Reform (645), and the ritsuryō codes (Taihō Code 701).

Nara period (710–794): capital at Heijō-kyō (Nara); Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720) compiled; Tōdaiji Great Buddha (752); Man'yōshū poetry anthology.

Ritsuryō system: centralized bureaucratic state modeled on Tang China; land allocated to individuals (handen shuju) and taxed through grain, labor, and cloth; declined as population grew and land became scarce.

Shōen (private estates) began to form as ritsuryō land allotments were abandoned; by the Nara period, aristocratic and temple estates received tax exemptions, foreshadowing medieval feudalism.

Key archaeological markers: Jōmon dogū figurines, Yayoi dotaku bronze bells, Kofun haniwa clay cylinders; carbon dating and stratigraphy are standard methods for dating these remains.

Primary sources: Chinese dynastic histories (Wei Zhi, Sui Shu, Tang Shu), Japanese chronicles (Kojiki, Nihon Shoki), and inscriptional evidence such as the Inariyama and Eta Funayama sword inscriptions.

Heian period (794–1185): capital moved to Heian-kyō (Kyoto) by Emperor Kanmu; Fujiwara regency (sekkan seiji) dominated politics through marital ties to the throne.

Fujiwara no Michinaga (966–1028) epitomized Fujiwara power; his diary Midō Kanpaku-ki and Murasaki Shikibu's diary describe the court culture of his era.

Sekkan seiji: Fujiwara regents served as sesshō (for child emperors) or kanpaku (for adult emperors); power declined after the Insei (cloistered rule) system began in 1086 with Emperor Shirakawa.

Shōen expansion: tax-exempt estates (fuyu no ken) and commendation (kishin) to powerful patrons eroded imperial control; by the late Heian, warrior houses (Taira, Minamoto) gained local power.

Literature: Genji Monogatari by Murasaki Shikibu (c. 1010), Makura no Sōshi by Sei Shōnagon, and Kokin Wakashū (905) compiled by Ki no Tsurayuki; kana script enabled vernacular writing.

Hōgen Disturbance (1156) and Heiji Disturbance (1159) marked the rise of Taira no Kiyomori, who became chancellor and dominated the court until the Genpei War (1180–1185).

Genpei War ended with the Battle of Dan-no-ura (1185); Minamoto no Yoritomo established the Kamakura shogunate, marking the transition from aristocratic to warrior rule.

Historiographical note: Heian court culture is often described through nikki bungaku (diary literature) and monogatari; these are literary sources that require careful reading for historical facts.

Kamakura shogunate (1185–1333): Minamoto no Yoritomo appointed shogun (1192); Hōjō regents (shikken) held real power after Yoritomo's death; Jōkyū War (1221) defeated Emperor Go-Toba and confirmed warrior supremacy.

Mongol invasions (1274, 1281) repelled with the aid of typhoons (kamikaze); the cost of defense weakened the shogunate and contributed to its fall.

Kenmu Restoration (1333–1336) under Emperor Go-Daigo failed; Ashikaga Takauji established the Muromachi shogunate (1336–1573) in Kyoto, leading to the Northern and Southern Courts period (1336–1392).

Muromachi period: Ashikaga shoguns relied on shugo daimyō; the Ōnin War (1467–1477) devastated Kyoto and inaugurated the Sengoku (Warring States) period.

Economic and social change: double-cropping, improved iron tools, and commercial agriculture; za (guilds) and markets developed; peasant uprisings (ikki) challenged warrior rule.

Culture: Zen Buddhism flourished (Dōgen, Eisai); Kitayama culture of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (Kinkaku-ji) and Higashiyama culture of Yoshimasa (Ginkaku-ji, tea ceremony, Noh theater).

Key primary sources: Azuma Kagami (Kamakura shogunate chronicle), Taiheiki (war chronicle), and the diary of Nakahara Yasutomi; legal codes such as the Goseibai Shikimoku (1232).

Historiographical debate: the transition from Kamakura to Muromachi is often framed as a shift from a warrior-dominated regime to a more decentralized daimyō system, with the Ōnin War as a turning point.

Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573–1603): Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan; Hideyoshi's sword hunt (1588) and land survey (kenchi) separated warriors from peasants; failed invasions of Korea (1592–1598).

Edo period (1603–1868): Tokugawa Ieyasu established the shogunate at Edo; the Tokugawa system was a centralized feudal order with the bakufu (shogunate) and han (domains).

Tokugawa social order: shi-nō-kō-shō (samurai, farmers, artisans, merchants) was an idealized hierarchy; sankin kōtai (alternate attendance) kept daimyō under control; sakoku (closed country) policies restricted foreign contact.

Economic development: peaceful conditions fostered agriculture, commerce, and urbanization; Edo became one of the world's largest cities; Genroku culture (1688–1704) produced Kabuki, ukiyo-e, and haiku (Bashō).

Late Edo crisis: famines (Tenmei, Tenpō), peasant uprisings, and fiscal decline; intellectual movements such as Kokugaku (National Learning) and Rangaku (Dutch Studies) challenged orthodox Neo-Confucianism.

Perry's arrival (1853) forced the opening of Japan; the Convention of Kanagawa (1854) and unequal treaties followed; the Ansei Purge and assassination of Ii Naosuke (1860) deepened political turmoil.

Boshin War (1868–1869) led to the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the Meiji Restoration; the Charter Oath (1868) outlined the new government's principles.

Primary sources: Tokugawa legal codes (Buke Shohatto), travel diaries, and ukiyo-e prints; the Edo period is well documented in local records (goningumi-chō) and domain archives.

Meiji Restoration (1868): abolition of domains (1871) replaced by prefectures; conscription ordinance (1873); land tax reform (1873); Meiji Constitution (1889) established a constitutional monarchy with the Emperor as sovereign.

Meiji oligarchy (genrō) dominated politics; the Diet was established in 1890; political parties (Jiyūtō, Rikken Seiyūkai) emerged; the period saw rapid industrialization and military modernization.

Imperial expansion: Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), annexation of Korea (1910); Japan's victory over Russia marked the first Asian defeat of a European power.

Taishō period (1912–1926): Taishō Democracy, party cabinets, and universal male suffrage (1925); the period also saw the Rice Riots (1918) and the Great Kantō Earthquake (1923).

Shōwa prewar (1926–1945): militarism and ultranationalism grew; Manchurian Incident (1931), withdrawal from the League of Nations (1933), Second Sino-Japanese War (1937), and Pearl Harbor attack (1941).

Wartime Japan: total war mobilization, the National Mobilization Law (1938), and the Pacific War (1941–1945) ended with Japan's surrender after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 1945).

Key primary sources: Meiji Constitution, Imperial Rescript on Education (1890), and wartime propaganda; postwar historiography debates the degree of continuity between prewar and postwar institutions.

Economic and social change: zaibatsu conglomerates, textile industry, and urbanization; labor movements and socialism emerged in the late Meiji and Taishō eras, prompting the Peace Preservation Law (1925).

Postwar occupation (1945–1952): Allied (mainly U.S.) occupation under General MacArthur; reforms included land reform, labor rights, women's suffrage, and the 1947 Constitution (renunciation of war in Article 9).

San Francisco Peace Treaty (1951) and U.S.-Japan Security Treaty (1960) defined Japan's postwar security framework; the treaty was revised in 1960 amid massive protests.

High economic growth (1950s–1970s): Japan became the world's second-largest economy; the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and Shinkansen symbolized recovery; the 1973 oil crisis ended rapid growth.

Political system: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) dominated from 1955 (the 1955 System); occasional opposition victories; the 1990s saw coalition governments and political realignment.

Bubble economy and lost decade: asset bubble burst in the early 1990s; prolonged stagnation, deflation, and banking crises; reforms in the 2000s; Abenomics (2012–) aimed at reflation.

Social issues: aging population, declining birthrate, and immigration debates; the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima nuclear disaster reshaped energy and disaster policy.

Constitutional debates: reinterpretation of Article 9 (2014–2015) allowed limited collective self-defense; pacifist vs. realist interpretations remain central to contemporary politics.

Primary sources: postwar Constitution, U.S. occupation documents (SCAP), and Japanese government white papers; oral histories and media archives are increasingly used by historians.

East Asian cultural sphere: Japan adopted Chinese writing, Buddhism, and Confucianism; embassies to Sui and Tang (7th–9th centuries) brought continental institutions and ideas.

Mongol Empire (13th century) attempted invasions of Japan (1274, 1281); the kamikaze typhoons became a foundational myth of divine protection.

European contact: Portuguese arrive in 1543 (Tanegashima), followed by Jesuits (Francis Xavier, 1549); Nanban trade introduced firearms and Christianity, later suppressed under Tokugawa rule.

Meiji Japan's engagement with the West: Iwakura Mission (1871–1873), adoption of Western technology and legal codes, and participation in the imperialist scramble for colonies in Asia.

World Wars: Japan allied with Britain in WWI (1914–1918) and seized German possessions in China and the Pacific; in WWII, Japan allied with Germany and Italy (Tripartite Pact, 1940).

Postwar international order: Japan joined the United Nations (1956), the OECD (1964), and hosted the G7 summit (1979, 1986, 1993, 2000, 2008, 2016); it is a major aid donor and participant in peacekeeping.

Global economic integration: Japan's trade and investment shaped East Asian development; the 1985 Plaza Accord appreciated the yen and prompted overseas investment.

Comparative historiography: Japan's modernization is often compared with other non-Western societies; debates over the uniqueness of Japanese feudalism and the role of external pressure (gaiatsu) in reform.

Primary vs. secondary sources: primary sources are contemporary with the events (documents, artifacts, diaries); secondary sources interpret them; historians evaluate provenance, purpose, and bias.

Source criticism: external criticism (authenticity, date, authorship) and internal criticism (reliability, meaning); corroboration with independent sources strengthens claims.

Japanese historical sources: chronicles (Kojiki, Nihon Shoki), diaries (nikki), legal codes (ritsuryō, Goseibai Shikimoku), and local records (goningumi-chō); many are compiled in the Dai Nihon Shiryō and Kokushi Taikei collections.

Historiographical schools: Marxist historiography (focus on class and modes of production), modernization theory (postwar), and the Annales school's emphasis on long-term structures; Japanese historians debate the nature of the premodern state.

Periodization: Japanese history is conventionally divided into periods (Jōmon, Yayoi, Kofun, Asuka, Nara, Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi, Azuchi-Momoyama, Edo, Meiji, Taishō, Shōwa, Heisei, Reiwa); period boundaries are debated.

Archaeology and dating: radiocarbon dating, dendrochronology, and stratigraphy complement textual sources; the National Museum of Japanese History and Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties are key institutions.

Digital humanities: digitized archives (Japan Search, National Diet Library Digital Collections) and databases (e.g., Historiographical Institute, University of Tokyo) facilitate source access.

Ethical and methodological issues: historians must address silences in the record (commoners, women, minorities) and avoid presentism; oral history and memory studies supplement written records.