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85-565: Habikino is located in the southeastern part of Osaka Prefecture, in the Kawachi Plain surrounded by Ikoma , Kongō , and Katsuragi Mountains and Mount Nijō . It is within about 20 kilometers from the center of Osaka metropolis. Nara Prefecture Osaka Prefecture Habikino has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa ) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Habikino

170-471: A prolonged war with China . Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 led to war with the United States and its allies . Japan's forces soon became overextended, but the military held out in spite of Allied air attacks that inflicted severe damage on population centers. Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender on 15 August 1945, following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and

255-463: A deterioration in already poor standards of health and nutrition, whereas contemporaneous Yayoi archaeological sites possess large structures suggestive of grain storehouses. This shift was accompanied by an increase in both the stratification of society and tribal warfare, indicated by segregated gravesites and military fortifications. During the Yayoi period, the Yayoi tribes gradually coalesced into

340-467: A major catalyst for further administrative reforms. These reforms culminated with the promulgation of the Taihō Code , which consolidated existing statutes and established the structure of the central government and its subordinate local governments. These legal reforms created the ritsuryō state, a system of Chinese-style centralized government that remained in place for half a millennium. The art of

425-520: A new imperial capital was established at Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto ), marking the beginning of the Heian period , which lasted until 1185. The Heian period is considered a golden age of classical Japanese culture . Japanese religious life from this time and onwards was a mix of native Shinto practices and Buddhism . Over the following centuries, the power of the imperial house decreased, passing first to great clans of civilian aristocrats — most notably

510-541: A number of kingdoms. The earliest written work to unambiguously mention Japan, the Book of Han , published in 111 AD, states that one hundred kingdoms comprised Japan, which is referred to as Wa . A later Chinese work of history, the Book of Wei , states that by 240 AD, the powerful kingdom of Yamatai , ruled by the female monarch Himiko , had gained ascendancy over the others, though modern historians continue to debate its location and other aspects of its depiction in

595-590: A rival member of the imperial family to the throne, Emperor Kōmyō , who did appoint him shogun. Go-Daigo responded by fleeing to the southern city of Yoshino , where he set up a rival government. This ushered in a prolonged period of conflict between the Northern Court and the Southern Court . Takauji set up his shogunate in the Muromachi district of Kyoto. However, the shogunate was faced with

680-442: A series of natural disasters, including wildfires, droughts, famines, and outbreaks of disease, such as a smallpox epidemic in 735–737 that killed over a quarter of the population. Emperor Shōmu (r. 724–749) feared his lack of piousness had caused the trouble and so increased the government's promotion of Buddhism, including the construction of the temple Tōdai-ji in 752. The funds to build this temple were raised in part by

765-705: A substantial following in Japan reaching 350,000 believers. In 1549 the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier disembarked in Kyushu. Initiating direct commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West, the first map made of Japan in the west was represented in 1568 by the Portuguese cartographer Fernão Vaz Dourado . The Portuguese were allowed to trade and create colonies where they could convert new believers into

850-497: A trading ship was blown off course and landed in 1543 on the Japanese island of Tanegashima , just south of Kyushu. The three Portuguese traders on board were the first Europeans to set foot in Japan. Soon European traders would introduce many new items to Japan, most importantly the musket . By 1556, the daimyōs were using about 300,000 muskets in their armies. The Europeans also brought Christianity , which soon came to have

935-653: Is 1,527.7 mm (60.15 in) with June as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.6 °C (74.5 °F), and lowest in January, at around 0.9 °C (33.6 °F). Ancient Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Paleolithic , around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period , named after its cord-marked pottery ,

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1020-432: Is 14.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1475 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.7 °C. Per Japanese census data, the population of Habikino increased rapidly from the 1960s through 1990s, and has leveled off since. The area of the modern city of Habikino was within ancient Kawachi Province and

1105-540: Is a part of Kongō-Ikoma-Kisen Quasi-National Park . It is one of the most famous picnic spots in the Kansai region . On the top of the mountain, there are many TV towers for broadcasting to the Kansai region and Ikoma Sanjo Amusement Park . Mount Ikoma was an important object of worship for ancient Japanese people. On the east foot of the mountain, Ikoma Jinja (literally 'Shrine for Mount Ikoma') has been extant since

1190-522: Is commonly accepted that the tomb was built for Emperor Nintoku . The kofun were often surrounded by and filled with numerous haniwa clay sculptures, often in the shape of warriors and horses. The center of the unified state was Yamato in the Kinai region of central Japan. The rulers of the Yamato state were a hereditary line of emperors who still reign as the world's longest dynasty. The rulers of

1275-650: Is located on the route of the Take-no-uchi Kaidō, a highway which connected the ancient capitals of Asuka and Heijō-kyō with the coast. Numerous kofun burial mounds were built in the area during the Kofun period , including many attributed to early Emperors. During the Heian period , the area was controlled by the Kawachi Genji clan, the ancestors of the Minamoto clan who dominated Japan during

1360-474: Is supported by genetic and linguistic studies. Historian Hanihara Kazurō has suggested that the annual immigrant influx from the continent range from 350 to 3,000. The population of Japan began to increase rapidly, perhaps with a 10-fold rise over the Jōmon. Calculations of the increasing population size by the end of the Yayoi period have varied from 1 to 4 million. Skeletal remains from the late Jōmon period reveal

1445-562: The Tosa Diary , both associated with the poet Ki no Tsurayuki , as well as Sei Shōnagon 's collection of miscellany The Pillow Book , and Murasaki Shikibu 's Tale of Genji , often considered the masterpiece of Japanese literature. The development of the kana written syllabaries was part of a general trend of declining Chinese influence during the Heian period. The official Japanese missions to Tang dynasty of China, which began in

1530-727: The Abe clan , who occupied key posts in the regional government, were openly defying the central authority. The court requested the Minamoto clan to engage the Abe clan, whom they defeated in the Former Nine Years' War . The court thus temporarily reasserted its authority in northern Japan. Following another civil war – the Later Three-Year War  – Fujiwara no Kiyohira took full power; his family,

1615-724: The Battle of Okehazama , his army defeated a force several times its size led by the powerful daimyō Imagawa Yoshimoto . Nobunaga was renowned for his strategic leadership and his ruthlessness. He encouraged Christianity to incite hatred toward his Buddhist enemies and to forge strong relationships with European arms merchants. He equipped his armies with muskets and trained them with innovative tactics. He promoted talented men regardless of their social status, including his peasant servant Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who became one of his best generals. The Azuchi–Momoyama period began in 1568, when Nobunaga seized Kyoto and thus effectively brought an end to

1700-519: The Book of Wei . During the subsequent Kofun period , Japan gradually unified under a single territory. The symbol of the growing power of Japan's new leaders was the kofun burial mounds they constructed from around 250 AD onwards. Many were of massive scale, such as the Daisenryō Kofun , a 486 m-long keyhole-shaped burial mound that took huge teams of laborers fifteen years to complete. It

1785-584: The Five kings of Wa . Craftsmen and scholars from China and the Three Kingdoms of Korea played an important role in transmitting continental technologies and administrative skills to Japan during this period. Historians agree that there was a big struggle between the Yamato federation and the Izumo Federation centuries before written records. The Asuka period began as early as 538 AD with

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1870-638: The Fujiwara — and then to the military clans and their armies of samurai . The Minamoto clan under Minamoto no Yoritomo emerged victorious from the Genpei War of 1180–85, defeating their rival military clan, the Taira . After seizing power, Yoritomo set up his capital in Kamakura and took the title of shōgun . In 1274 and 1281, the Kamakura shogunate withstood two Mongol invasions , but in 1333 it

1955-473: The Kamakura period . After the Meiji restoration , the area became part of Osaka Prefecture from 1881. The villages of Furuichi, Imagatani, and Nishiura were created with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On April 1, 1896 the area became part of Minamikawachi District, Osaka . Furuichi was elevated to town status on October 1, 1916. On September 30, 1956, Furuichi merged with

2040-597: The Kantō region located in eastern Japan, its power was legally authorized by the Imperial court in Kyoto on several occasions. In 1192, the emperor declared Yoritomo seii tai-shōgun ( 征夷大将軍 ; Eastern Barbarian Subduing Great General ), abbreviated as shōgun . Yoritomo's government was called the bakufu ( 幕府 ("tent government")), referring to the tents where his soldiers encamped. The English term shogunate refers to

2125-639: The Mongol Empire . Though outnumbered by an enemy equipped with superior weaponry, the Japanese fought the Mongols to a standstill in Kyushu on both occasions until the Mongol fleet was destroyed by typhoons called kamikaze , meaning "divine wind". In spite of the Kamakura shogunate's victory, the defense so depleted its finances that it was unable to provide compensation to its vassals for their role in

2210-691: The Northern Fujiwara , controlled northern Honshu for the next century from their capital Hiraizumi . In 1156, a dispute over succession to the throne erupted and the two rival claimants ( Emperor Go-Shirakawa and Emperor Sutoku ) hired the Taira and Minamoto clans in the hopes of securing the throne by military force. During this war, the Taira clan led by Taira no Kiyomori defeated the Minamoto clan. Kiyomori used his victory to accumulate power for himself in Kyoto and even installed his own grandson Antoku as emperor. The outcome of this war led to

2295-585: The Osaka Prefectural Assembly . In terms of national politics, the city is part of Osaka 14th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan . Habikino is a regional commercial center. It was traditionally known for grapes and figs. There is some light manufacturing, but agriculture remains central to the local economy. Habikino has 13 public elementary schools, five public middle schools and one combined elementary/middle school operated by

2380-598: The Soviet invasion of Manchuria . The Allies occupied Japan until 1952, during which a new constitution was enacted in 1947 that transformed Japan into the constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy it is today. After 1955, Japan enjoyed very high economic growth under the governance of the Liberal Democratic Party , and became a world economic powerhouse . Since the Lost Decade of

2465-413: The bakufu . Japan remained largely under military rule until 1868. Legitimacy was conferred on the shogunate by the Imperial court, but the shogunate was the de facto rulers of the country. The court maintained bureaucratic and religious functions, and the shogunate welcomed participation by members of the aristocratic class. The older institutions remained intact in a weakened form, and Kyoto remained

2550-837: The 1990s, Japanese economic growth has slowed. Hunter-gatherers arrived in Japan in Paleolithic times, with the oldest evidence dating to around 38–40,000 years ago. Little evidence of their presence remains, as Japan's acidic soils tend to degrade bone remains. However, the discovery of unique edge-ground axes in Japan dated to over 30,000 years ago may be evidence of the first Homo sapiens in Japan. Early humans likely arrived in Japan by sea on watercraft. Evidence of human habitation has been dated to 32,000 years ago in Okinawa's Yamashita Cave and up to 20,000 years ago on Ishigaki Island's Shiraho Saonetabaru Cave . Evidence has been found suggesting that Japan's Paleolithic inhabitants interacted with and butchered now extinct megafauna , including

2635-543: The 5th century. The mountain and the Hozan-ji temple near the summit were traditionally celebrated as national scenery and included in well-known woodblock series such as the "Sixty-eight National Views." After the Second World War, the west foot of the mountain started to host religious institutions serving the spiritual needs of Korean immigrants and residents of Korean descent, mostly women. The city itself

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2720-644: The Ashikaga shogunate the country descended into another, more violent period of civil war. This started in 1467 when the Ōnin War broke out over who would succeed the ruling shogun. The daimyōs each took sides and burned Kyoto to the ground while battling for their preferred candidate. By the time the succession was settled in 1477, the shogun had lost all power over the daimyō , who now ruled hundreds of independent states throughout Japan. During this Warring States period , daimyōs fought among themselves for control of

2805-535: The Ashikaga shogunate. He was well on his way towards his goal of reuniting all Japan when, in 1582, one of his own officers, Akechi Mitsuhide , killed him during an abrupt attack on his encampment. Hideyoshi avenged Nobunaga by crushing Akechi's uprising and emerged as Nobunaga's successor. Hideyoshi completed the reunification of Japan by conquering Shikoku , Kyushu, and the lands of the Hōjō family in eastern Japan. He launched sweeping changes to Japanese society, including

2890-578: The Asuka period embodies the themes of Buddhist art. One of the most famous works is the Buddhist temple of Hōryū-ji , commissioned by Prince Shōtoku and completed in 607 AD. It is now the oldest wooden structure in the world. In 710, the government constructed a grandiose new capital at Heijō-kyō (modern Nara ) modeled on Chang'an , the capital of the Chinese Tang dynasty . During this period,

2975-553: The Christian religion. The civil war status in Japan greatly benefited the Portuguese, as well as several competing gentlemen who sought to attract Portuguese black boats and their trade to their domains. Initially, the Portuguese stayed on the lands belonging to Matsura Takanobu , Firando (Hirado), and in the province of Bungo, lands of Ōtomo Sōrin, but in 1562 they moved to Yokoseura when the Daimyô there, Omura Sumitada, offered to be

3060-493: The Golden Pavilion" built in Kyoto in 1397. During the second half of the 16th century, Japan gradually reunified under two powerful warlords: Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi . The period takes its name from Nobunaga's headquarters, Azuchi Castle , and Hideyoshi's headquarters, Momoyama Castle . Nobunaga was the daimyō of the small province of Owari . He burst onto the scene suddenly, in 1560, when, during

3145-508: The Japanese occurred in 1565. In the Battle of Fukuda Bay , the daimyō Matsura Takanobu attacked two Portuguese trade vessels at Hirado port. The engagement led the Portuguese traders to find a safe harbor for their ships that took them to Nagasaki . In 1571, Dom Bartolomeu, also known as Ōmura Sumitada , guaranteed a little land in the small fishing village of "Nagasáqui" to the Jesuits, who divided it into six areas. They could use

3230-531: The Jōmon. They also introduced weaving and silk production, new woodworking methods, glassmaking technology, and new architectural styles. The expansion of the Yayoi appears to have brought about a fusion with the indigenous Jōmon, resulting in a small genetic admixture. These Yayoi technologies originated on the Asian mainland. There is debate among scholars as to what degree their spread can be attributed to migration or to cultural diffusion. The migration theory

3315-412: The Kamakura period, continued well into the Muromachi period. By 1450 Japan's population stood at ten million, compared to six million at the end of the thirteenth century. Commerce flourished, including considerable trade with China and Korea. Because the daimyōs and other groups within Japan were minting their own coins, Japan began to transition from a barter-based to a currency-based economy. During

3400-407: The Kamakura shogunate. Japan nevertheless entered a period of prosperity and population growth starting around 1250. In rural areas, the greater use of iron tools and fertilizer, improved irrigation techniques, and double-cropping increased productivity and rural villages grew. Fewer famines and epidemics allowed cities to grow and commerce to boom. Buddhism, which had been largely a religion of

3485-421: The Minamoto clan was sealed in 1185, when a force commanded by Yoritomo's younger brother, Minamoto no Yoshitsune , scored a decisive victory at the naval Battle of Dan-no-ura . Yoritomo and his retainers thus became the de facto rulers of Japan. During the Heian period, the imperial court was a vibrant center of high art and culture. Its literary accomplishments include the poetry collection Kokinshū and

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3570-567: The Soga cause, who was of partial Soga descent, served as regent and de facto leader of Japan from 594 to 622. Shōtoku authored the Seventeen-article constitution , a Confucian -inspired code of conduct for officials and citizens, and attempted to introduce a merit-based civil service called the Cap and Rank System . In 607, Shōtoku offered a subtle insult to China by opening his letter with

3655-455: The Yamato extended their power across Japan through military conquest, but their preferred method of expansion was to convince local leaders to accept their authority in exchange for positions of influence in the government. Many of the powerful local clans who joined the Yamato state became known as the uji . These leaders sought and received formal diplomatic recognition from China, and Chinese accounts record five successive such leaders as

3740-499: The aid of Empress Shōtoku , but after her death in 770 he lost all his power and was exiled. The Fujiwara clan furthermore consolidated its power. The Heian period (平安時代, Heian jidai) is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu , moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). Heian (平安) means "peace" in Japanese. In 784,

3825-441: The artistic pursuits of court nobles that it neglected the administration of government outside the capital. The nationalization of land undertaken as part of the ritsuryō state decayed as various noble families and religious orders succeeded in securing tax-exempt status for their private shōen manors. By the eleventh century, more land in Japan was controlled by shōen owners than by the central government. The imperial court

3910-529: The capital moved briefly to Nagaoka-kyō , then again in 794 to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto ), which remained the capital until 1868. Political power within the court soon passed to the Fujiwara clan, a family of court nobles who grew increasingly close to the imperial family through intermarriage. Between 812 and 814 CE, a smallpox epidemic killed almost half of the Japanese population. In 858, Fujiwara no Yoshifusa had himself declared sesshō ("regent") to

3995-562: The city directly to the Jesuits in 1580. After a few years, the Jesuits came to realize that if they understood the language they would achieve more conversions to the Catholic religion. Jesuits such as João Rodrigues wrote a Japanese dictionary . Thus Portuguese became the first Western language to have such a dictionary when it was published in Nagasaki in 1603. In spite of the war, Japan's relative economic prosperity, which had begun in

4080-631: The city government and one public high school operated by the Osaka Prefectural Department of Education. [REDACTED] Kintetsu Railway - [REDACTED] Kintetsu Minami Osaka Line Mount Ikoma Mount Ikoma ( 生駒山 , Ikoma-yama ) is a mountain on the border of Nara Prefecture and Osaka Prefecture in Japan . It is the highest peak in the Ikoma Mountains with a height of 642 meters. Mount Ikoma

4165-457: The country together was Takauji's grandson Ashikaga Yoshimitsu , who came to power in 1368 and remained influential until his death in 1408. Yoshimitsu expanded the power of the shogunate and in 1392, brokered a deal to bring the Northern and Southern Courts together and end the civil war. Henceforth, the shogunate kept the emperor and his court under tight control. During the final century of

4250-492: The country. Some of the most powerful daimyōs of the era were Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen . One enduring symbol of this era was the ninja , skilled spies and assassins hired by daimyōs . Few definite historical facts are known about the secretive lifestyles of the ninja, who became the subject of many legends. In addition to the daimyōs , rebellious peasants and "warrior monks" affiliated with Buddhist temples also raised their own armies. Amid this on-going anarchy,

4335-512: The development of rice cultivation and metallurgy. Until recently, the onset of this wave of cultural and technological changes was thought to have begun around 400 BC. Radio-carbon evidence now suggests that the new phase started some 500 years earlier, between 1,000 and 800 BC. Endowed with bronze and iron weapons and tools initially imported from China and the Korean peninsula, the Yayoi radiated out from northern Kyūshū , gradually supplanting

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4420-495: The elephant Palaeoloxodon naumanni , and the giant deer Sinomegaceros yabei . The Jōmon period of prehistoric Japan spans from roughly 13,000 BC to about 1,000 BC. Japan was inhabited by a predominantly hunter-gatherer culture that reached a considerable degree of sedentism and cultural complexity. The name Jōmon, meaning "cord-marked", was first applied by American scholar Edward S. Morse , who discovered shards of pottery in 1877. The pottery style characteristic of

4505-525: The elites, was brought to the masses by prominent monks, such as Hōnen (1133–1212), who established Pure Land Buddhism in Japan, and Nichiren (1222–1282), who founded Nichiren Buddhism . Zen Buddhism spread widely among the samurai class. Takauji and many other samurai soon became dissatisfied with Emperor Go-Daigo's Kenmu Restoration , an ambitious attempt to monopolize power in the imperial court. Takauji rebelled after Go-Daigo refused to appoint him shōgun. In 1338, Takauji captured Kyoto and installed

4590-591: The first lord to convert to Christianity, adopting the name of Dom Bartolomeu. In 1564, he faced a rebellion instigated by the Buddhist clergy and Yokoseura was destroyed. In 1561 forces under Ōtomo Sōrin attacked the castle in Moji with an alliance with the Portuguese, who provided three ships, with a crew of about 900 men and more than 50 cannons. This is thought to be the first bombardment by foreign ships on Japan. The first recorded naval battle between Europeans and

4675-633: The first phases of Jōmon culture was decorated by impressing cords into the surface of wet clay. Jōmon pottery is generally accepted to be among the oldest in East Asia and the world. The advent of the Yayoi people from the Asian mainland brought fundamental transformations to the Japanese archipelago. The millennial achievements of the Neolithic Revolution took hold of the islands in a relatively short span of centuries, particularly with

4760-467: The first two books produced in Japan appeared: the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki , which contain chronicles of legendary accounts of early Japan and its creation myth , which describes the imperial line as descendants of the gods . The Man'yōshū was compiled in the latter half of the eighth century, which is widely considered the finest collection of Japanese poetry. During this period, Japan suffered

4845-410: The founder of the Fujiwara clan . Their government devised and implemented the far-reaching Taika Reforms . The Reform began with land reform, based on Confucian ideas and philosophies from China . It nationalized all land in Japan, to be distributed equally among cultivators, and ordered the compilation of a household registry as the basis for a new system of taxation. The true aim of the reforms

4930-458: The influential Buddhist monk Gyōki , and once completed it was used by the Chinese monk Ganjin as an ordination site. Japan nevertheless entered a phase of population decline that continued well into the following Heian period . There was also a serious attempt to overthrow the Imperial house during the middle Nara period. During the 760s, monk Dōkyō tried to establish his own dynasty with

5015-526: The introduction of the Buddhist religion from the Korean kingdom of Baekje . Since then, Buddhism has coexisted with Japan's native Shinto religion, in what is today known as Shinbutsu-shūgō . The period draws its name from the de facto imperial capital, Asuka , in the Kinai region. The Buddhist Soga clan took over the government in the 580s and controlled Japan from behind the scenes for nearly sixty years. Prince Shōtoku , an advocate of Buddhism and of

5100-475: The isolated feudal island country into an empire that closely followed Western models and became a great power . Although democracy developed and modern civilian culture prospered during the Taishō period (1912–1926), Japan's powerful military had great autonomy and overruled Japan's civilian leaders in the 1920s and 1930s. The Japanese military invaded Manchuria in 1931, and from 1937 the conflict escalated into

5185-455: The land to receive Christians exiled from other territories, as well as for Portuguese merchants. The Jesuits built a chapel and a school under the name of São Paulo, like those in Goa and Malacca. By 1579, Nagasáqui had four hundred houses, and some Portuguese had gotten married. Fearful that Nagasaki could fall into the hands of its rival Takanobu, Omura Sumitada (Dom Bartolomeu) decided to guarantee

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5270-550: The late Heian period after hundreds of years of decline. During the early Heian period, the imperial court successfully consolidated its control over the Emishi people of northern Honshu. Ōtomo no Otomaro was the first man the court granted the title of seii tai-shōgun ("Great Barbarian Subduing General"). In 802, seii tai-shōgun Sakanoue no Tamuramaro subjugated the Emishi people, who were led by Aterui . By 1051, members of

5355-463: The mountain temple to the town is a noted area for cherry blossoms, as is the mountain itself with its Ikoma Skyline Drive developed by Kintetsu Corporation . Mount Ikoma has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa ) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Mount Ikoma is 12.1 °C (53.8 °F). The average annual rainfall

5440-427: The official capital. This system has been contrasted with the "simple warrior rule" of the later Muromachi period. Yoritomo soon turned on Yoshitsune, who was initially harbored by Fujiwara no Hidehira , the grandson of Kiyohira and the de facto ruler of northern Honshu. In 1189, after Hidehira's death, his successor Yasuhira attempted to curry favor with Yoritomo by attacking Yoshitsune's home. Although Yoshitsune

5525-419: The period, some of Japan's most representative art forms developed, including ink wash painting , ikebana flower arrangement, the tea ceremony , Japanese gardening , bonsai , and Noh theater. Though the eighth Ashikaga shogun, Yoshimasa , was an ineffectual political and military leader, he played a critical role in promoting these cultural developments. He had the famous Kinkaku-ji or "Temple of

5610-409: The phrase, "The ruler of the land of the rising sun addresses the ruler of the land of the setting sun" as seen in the kanji characters for Japan ( Nippon ). By 670, a variant of this expression, Nihon , established itself as the official name of the nation, which has persisted to this day. In 645, the Soga clan were overthrown in a coup launched by Prince Naka no Ōe and Fujiwara no Kamatari ,

5695-467: The population of the Yayoi began to grow rapidly and ultimately overwhelmed the Jōmon people , natives of the Japanese archipelago who were hunter-gatherers. Between the fourth and ninth centuries, Japan's many kingdoms and tribes gradually came to be unified under a centralized government, nominally controlled by the Emperor of Japan . The imperial dynasty established at this time continues to this day, albeit in an almost entirely ceremonial role. In 794,

5780-467: The rivalry between the Minamoto and Taira clans. As a result, the dispute and power struggle between both clans led to the Heiji rebellion in 1160. In 1180, Taira no Kiyomori was challenged by an uprising led by Minamoto no Yoritomo , a member of the Minamoto clan whom Kiyomori had exiled to Kamakura. Though Taira no Kiyomori died in 1181, the ensuing bloody Genpei War between the Taira and Minamoto families continued for another four years. The victory of

5865-440: The southern archipelago. They had a significant impact on Japan, even in this initial limited interaction, introducing firearms to Japanese warfare . The American Perry Expedition in 1853–54 more completely ended Japan's seclusion; this contributed to the fall of the shogunate and the return of power to the emperor during the Boshin War in 1868. The new national leadership of the following Meiji era (1868–1912) transformed

5950-409: The throne to his son Emperor Horikawa but continued to exercise political power, establishing the practice of cloistered rule , by which the reigning emperor would function as a figurehead while the real authority was held by a retired predecessor behind the scenes. Throughout the Heian period, the power of the imperial court declined. The court became so self-absorbed with power struggles and with

6035-422: The titles of shugo or jitō , from among his close vassals, the gokenin . The Kamakura shogunate allowed its vassals to maintain their own armies and to administer law and order in their provinces on their own terms. In 1221, the retired Emperor Go-Toba instigated what became known as the Jōkyū War , a rebellion against the shogunate, in an attempt to restore political power to the court. The rebellion

6120-459: The town of Takawashi and the villages of Nanyu, Nishiura, Imagatani, and Tanpi to form the town of Minami-Osaka ( 南大阪町 ) . On April 1, 1957, Minami-Osaka annexed the neighboring village of Mihara. On January 15, 1959, Minami-Osaka was elevated to city status, and took the name of Habikino. Habikino has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 18 members. Habikino contributes one member to

6205-412: The twin challenges of fighting the Southern Court and of maintaining its authority over its own subordinate governors. Like the Kamakura shogunate, the Muromachi shogunate appointed its allies to rule in the provinces, but these men increasingly styled themselves as feudal lords—called daimyōs —of their domains and often refused to obey the shogun. The Ashikaga shogun who was most successful at bringing

6290-430: The underage emperor. His son Fujiwara no Mototsune created the office of kampaku , which could rule in the place of an adult reigning emperor. Fujiwara no Michinaga , an exceptional statesman who became kampaku in 996, governed during the height of the Fujiwara clan's power and married four of his daughters to emperors, current and future. The Fujiwara clan held on to power until 1086, when Emperor Shirakawa ceded

6375-446: The victory. This had permanent negative consequences for the shogunate's relations with the samurai class. Discontent among the samurai proved decisive in ending the Kamakura shogunate. In 1333, Emperor Go-Daigo launched a rebellion in the hope of restoring full power to the imperial court. The shogunate sent General Ashikaga Takauji to quell the revolt, but Takauji and his men instead joined forces with Emperor Go-Daigo and overthrew

6460-599: The year 630, ended during the ninth century, though informal missions of monks and scholars continued, and thereafter the development of native Japanese forms of art and poetry accelerated. A major architectural achievement, apart from Heian-kyō itself, was the temple of Byōdō-in built in 1053 in Uji . Upon the consolidation of power, Minamoto no Yoritomo chose to rule in concert with the Imperial Court in Kyoto . Though Yoritomo set up his own government in Kamakura in

6545-451: Was a failure and led to Go-Toba being exiled to Oki Island , along with two other emperors, the retired Emperor Tsuchimikado and Emperor Juntoku , who were exiled to Tosa Province and Sado Island respectively. The shogunate further consolidated its political power relative to the Kyoto aristocracy. The samurai armies of the whole nation were mobilized in 1274 and 1281 to confront two full-scale invasions launched by Kublai Khan of

6630-416: Was appointed regent to the shogun , Yoritomo's son Minamoto no Sanetomo . Henceforth, the Minamoto shoguns became puppets of the Hōjō regents , who wielded actual power. The regime that Yoritomo had established, and which was kept in place by his successors, was decentralized and feudalistic in structure, in contrast with the earlier ritsuryō state. Yoritomo selected the provincial governors, known under

6715-495: Was appointed shōgun by the emperor. The Tokugawa shogunate , which governed from Edo (modern Tokyo ), presided over a prosperous and peaceful era known as the Edo period (1600–1868). The Tokugawa shogunate imposed a strict class system on Japanese society and cut off almost all contact with the outside world . Portugal and Japan came into contact in 1543, when the Portuguese became the first Europeans to reach Japan by landing in

6800-519: Was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inventions were introduced from Asia. During this period, the first known written reference to Japan was recorded in the Chinese Book of Han in the first century AD. Around the 3rd century BC, the Yayoi people from the continent immigrated to the Japanese archipelago and introduced iron technology and agricultural civilization. Because they had an agricultural civilization,

6885-498: Was killed, Yoritomo still invaded and conquered the Northern Fujiwara clan's territories. In subsequent centuries, Yoshitsune would become a legendary figure, portrayed in countless works of literature as an idealized tragic hero. After Yoritomo's death in 1199, the office of shogun weakened. Behind the scenes, Yoritomo's wife Hōjō Masako became the true power behind the government. In 1203, her father, Hōjō Tokimasa ,

6970-466: Was thus deprived of the tax revenue to pay for its national army. In response, the owners of the shōen set up their own armies of samurai warriors. Two powerful noble families that had descended from branches of the imperial family, the Taira and Minamoto clans , acquired large armies and many shōen outside the capital. The central government began to use these two warrior clans to suppress rebellions and piracy. Japan's population stabilized during

7055-464: Was to bring about greater centralization and to enhance the power of the imperial court, which was also based on the governmental structure of China. Envoys and students were dispatched to China to learn about Chinese writing, politics, art, and religion. After the reforms, the Jinshin War of 672, a bloody conflict between Prince Ōama and his nephew Prince Ōtomo , two rivals to the throne, became

7140-534: Was toppled by a rival claimant to the shogunate, ushering in the Muromachi period . During this period, regional warlords called daimyō grew in power at the expense of the shōgun . Eventually, Japan descended into a period of civil war . Over the course of the late 16th century, Japan was reunified under the leadership of the prominent daimyō Oda Nobunaga and his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi . After Toyotomi's death in 1598, Tokugawa Ieyasu came to power and

7225-602: Was transformed by the Kintetsu train tunnel. Pilgrims and visitors to the temple grew, as well as tourist-related inns and eating establishments. After the Pacific War, the area below the temple developed into an active red-light and entertainment district. The local geisha prospered. Ikoma today retains a bit of the old atmosphere with its winding, narrow streets. Ikoma nurtured lively traditional Japanese arts such as dance and varieties of Japanese music. The walk down from

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