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45-642: Sagami was one of the original provinces of Japan established in the Nara period under the Taihō Code . The area has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Although remnants from the Japanese Paleolithic and Yayoi periods are scarce, remains from the Jōmon period are relatively plentiful. Kofun period remains are generally from the 1st to the 4th century AD. Whether or not Sagami was originally part of Musashi prior to

90-588: A Chinese version of Buddhism . Concentrated efforts by the imperial court to record its history produced the first works of Japanese literature during the Nara period. Works such as the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki were political, used to record and therefore justify and establish the supremacy of the rule of the emperors within Japan . With the spread of written language,

135-636: A limited-scale trade and diplomatic relations with China , Korea , the Ryukyu Islands , and the Dutch was maintained. The Sakoku policy remained in effect until 1853 with the arrival of Commodore Perry and the "opening" of Japan. Commodore Perry's show of military force was the principal factor in negotiating a treaty allowing American trade with Japan, thus effectively ending the Sakoku period of more than 200 years in which trading with Japan had been permitted to

180-570: A member of the Fujiwara clan, Hirotsugu, launched a rebellion from his base in Fukuoka, Kyushu. Although the rebellion was defeated, there is no doubt that the emperor was shocked and frightened by these events, and he moved the palace three times in only five years from 740, until he eventually returned to Nara. In the late Nara period, financial burdens on the state increased, and the court began dismissing nonessential officials. In 792 universal conscription

225-607: A treaty. In the interim, after a debate by officials the Japanese government had decided to avoid war and agree to a treaty with the United States. After roughly a month of negotiations, the shōgun ' s officials presented Perry with the Treaty of Peace and Amity . Perry refused certain conditions of the treaty but agreed to defer their resolution to a later time, and finally establishing formal diplomatic relations between Japan and

270-551: A unique culture that was different from the Japanese people. They were eventually subjugated by the Ritsuryō . Relations with the Korean kingdom of Silla were initially peaceful, with regular diplomatic exchanges. The rise of Balhae north of Silla destabilized Japan-Silla relations. Balhae sent its first mission in 728 to Nara, which welcomed them as the successor state to Goguryeo , with which Japan had been allied until Silla unified

315-577: The Hyakumantō Darani — many examples of which survive. The small scrolls, dating from 770, are among the earliest printed works in the world. Shōtoku had the charms printed to placate the Buddhist clergy. She may even have wanted to make Dōkyō emperor, but she died before she could act. Her actions shocked Nara society and led to the exclusion of women from imperial succession and the removal of Buddhist priests from positions of political authority. Many of

360-549: The Shimabara Rebellion blamed on the Christian influence was suppressed. Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries faced progressively tighter restrictions, and were confined to the island of Dejima before being expelled in 1639. The Tokugawa shogunate retreated back into a policy of isolationism identified as Sakoku ( 鎖国 , lit.   ' locked country ' ) , forbidding contact with most outside countries. Only

405-819: The Tang court every twenty years. Many Japanese students, both lay and Buddhist priests, studied in Chang'an and Luoyang . One student named Abe no Nakamaro passed the Chinese civil examination to be appointed to governmental posts in China. He served as governor-general in Annam (Chinese Vietnam ) from 761 through 767. Many students who returned from China, such as Kibi no Makibi , were promoted to high government posts. Tang China never sent official envoys to Japan, for Japanese kings, or "emperors" as they styled themselves, did not seek investiture from

450-601: The Three Kingdoms of Korea . Black ship The Black Ships (in Japanese : 黒船 , romanized :  kurofune , Edo period term) were the names given to both Portuguese merchant ships and American warships arriving in Japan in the 16th and 19th centuries respectively. In 1543, Portuguese initiated the first contacts, establishing a trade route linking Goa to Nagasaki . The large carracks engaged in this trade had

495-603: The Treaty of Kanagawa , which opened Sagami to foreign visitation and led to the rapid development of Yokohama as a treaty port . After the Meiji Restoration , Sagami Province was reorganized in 1871 into Odarawa, Ongino-Yamanaka, Karasuyama, Mito, Sakura, Oyumi, Mutsuura and Nishi-Ohira Prefectures. All for former Sagami Province became part of the new Kanagawa Prefecture in 1876. [REDACTED] Media related to Sagami Province at Wikimedia Commons Nara period The Nara period ( 奈良時代 , Nara jidai ) of

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540-742: The Tōdai-ji (literally Eastern Great Temple) was built. Within it was placed the Great Buddha Daibutsu : a 16-metre-high, gilt-bronze statue. This Buddha was identified with the Sun Goddess, and a gradual syncretism of Buddhism and Shinto ensued. Shōmu declared himself the "Servant of the Three Treasures " of Buddhism: the Buddha, the law or teachings of Buddhism, and the Buddhist community. The central government established temples called kokubunji in

585-446: The history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara ). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kanmu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō , in 784, before moving to Heian-kyō , modern Kyoto , a decade later in 794. Japanese society during this period

630-423: The provinces . The Tōdai-ji was the kokubunji of Yamato Province (present-day Nara Prefecture ). Although these efforts stopped short of making Buddhism the state religion, Nara Buddhism heightened the status of the imperial family. Buddhist influence at court increased under the two reigns of Shōmu's daughter. As Empress Kōken (r. 749–758) she brought many Buddhist priests into court. Kōken abdicated in 758 on

675-472: The Black Ships are described in this famous kyōka (a humorous poem in 31-syllable waka form): This poem is a complex set of puns (in Japanese, kakekotoba or "pivot words"). Taihei ( 泰平 ) means 'tranquil'; Jōkisen ( 上喜撰 ) is the name of a costly brand of green tea containing large amounts of caffeine ; and shihai ( 四杯 ) means 'four cups', so a literal translation of

720-618: The Chinese emperor. A local Chinese government in the Lower Yangzi Valley sent a mission to Japan to return Japanese envoys who entered China through Balhae . The Chinese local mission could not return home due to the An Lushan Rebellion and remained in Japan. The Hayato people (隼人) in southern Kyushu frequently resisted rule by the imperial dynasty during the Nara period. They are believed to be of Austronesian origin and had

765-456: The Dutch, Koreans, Chinese, and Ainu exclusively. The sight of the four ships entering Edo Bay , roaring black smoke into the air and capable of moving under their own power, deeply frightened the Japanese. Perry ignored the requests arriving from the shore that he should move to Nagasaki—the official port for trade with the outside—and threatened in turn to take his ships directly to Edo , and burn

810-534: The Japanese artworks and imported treasures from other countries during the era of Emperors Shōmu and Shōtoku are archived in Shōsō-in of Tōdai-ji temple. They are called "Shōsōin treasures" and illustrate the cosmopolitan culture known as Tempyō culture . Imported treasures show the cultural influences of Silk Road areas, including China, Korea, India, and the Islamic empire. Shosoin stores more than 10,000 paper documents,

855-472: The Nara period is still a topic of controversy. The original capital of the province may have been located in what is now Hiratsuka , although other contenders include Ōiso and Ebina . Of all the former provinces of Japan, Sagami is the only in which the ruins of the Nara period capital have yet to be found. The Kokubun-ji is located in what is now Ebina. Under the Engishiki classification system, Sagami

900-847: The Netherlands urged Japan to also open the mainland to trade, but was rejected. On July 8, 1853, the U.S. Navy sent four warships into the bay at Edo and threatened to attack if Japan did not begin trade with the West. The ships were Mississippi , Plymouth , Saratoga , and Susquehanna of the Expedition for the opening of Japan , under the command of Commodore Matthew Perry . The expedition arrived on July 14, 1853 at Uraga Harbor (present-day Yokosuka ) in Kanagawa Prefecture , Japan . Though their hulls were not black, their coal -fired steam engines belched black smoke. Their arrival marked

945-548: The Portuguese, engaged in this trade had the hull painted black with pitch , and the term came to apply for all western vessels. The name was inscribed in the Nippo Jisho , the first western Japanese dictionary compiled in 1603. In 1549 Spanish missionary Francis Xavier started a Jesuit mission in Japan. Christianity spread, mingled with the new trade, making 300,000 converts among peasants and some daimyō (warlords). In 1637

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990-764: The Shogunate capital. However, the 1703 Genroku earthquake caused severe damage to Odawara , destroying much of Odawara-juku . This was followed by further natural disasters, including the October 4, 1707 Hōei earthquake and the Hōei eruption of Mount Fuji in December of the same year. During the Bakumatsu period , Kurihama in southern Miura Peninsula was the location of the first landing of American Commodore Matthew C. Perry and his fleet of black ships in 1853, which led eventually to

1035-596: The Tokugawa shogunate, ruled though a number of hatamoto administrators. A number of feudal domains from outside Sagami Province also had small scattered holdings within the province. During the Edo period , Sagami prospered due to its location on the Tōkaidō road connecting Edo with Kyoto , and numerous post towns developed. Uraga , at the entrance to Edo Bay was a major maritime security checkpoint for ships entering or leaving

1080-449: The United States. The fleet departed, leaving behind a consul , Townsend Harris , at Shimoda to negotiate a more permanent agreement. The Harris Treaty was signed with the United States on July 29, 1858, and within five years of the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Amity, Japan had moved to sign treaties with other Western countries. The surprise and fear inspired by the first visit of

1125-399: The advice of her cousin, Fujiwara no Nakamaro . When the retired empress came to favor a Buddhist faith healer named Dōkyō , Nakamaro rose up in arms in 764 but was quickly crushed. Kōken charged the ruling emperor with colluding with Nakamaro and had him deposed. Kōken reascended the throne as Empress Shōtoku (r. 764–770). The empress commissioned the printing of 1 million prayer charms —

1170-444: The city of Nara at the end of the eighth century. Shorelines and stone settings were naturalistic, different from the heavier, earlier continental mode of constructing pond edges. Two such gardens have been found at excavations; both were used for poetry-writing festivities. The Nara court aggressively imported knowledge about the Chinese civilization of its day (the Tang dynasty ) by sending diplomatic envoys known as kentōshi to

1215-478: The city to the ground if he was not allowed to land. It was eventually agreed upon that he should land nearby at Kurihama , whereupon he delivered his letter and left. The following year, at the Convention of Kanagawa , Perry returned with a fleet of eight of the fearsome Black Ships, to demonstrate the power of the United States navy, and to lend weight to his announcement that he would not leave again, until he had

1260-422: The court after the death of Fujiwara no Fuhito . Fuhito was succeeded by four sons, Muchimaro , Umakai , Fusasaki , and Maro. They put Emperor Shōmu, the prince by Fuhito's daughter, on the throne. In 729, they arrested Nagaya and regained control. As a major outbreak of smallpox spread from Kyūshū in 735, all four brothers died two years later, resulting in temporary reduction in the Fujiwara dominance. In 740,

1305-545: The death of an emperor because of the ancient belief that a place of death was polluted. Reforms and bureaucratization of government led to the establishment of a permanent imperial capital at Heijō-kyō , or Nara , in AD 710. The capital was moved shortly (for reasons described later in this section) to Kuni-kyō (present-day Kizugawa ) in 740–744, to Naniwa-kyō (present-day Osaka ) in 744–745, to Shigarakinomiya (紫香楽宮, present-day Shigaraki ) in 745, and moved back to Nara in 745. Nara

1350-422: The era was the permanent establishment of Buddhism . Buddhism was introduced by Baekje in the sixth century but had a mixed reception until the Nara period, when it was heartily embraced by Emperor Shōmu . Shōmu and his Fujiwara consort were fervent Buddhists and actively promoted the spread of Buddhism, making it the "guardian of the state" and a way of strengthening Japanese institutions. During Shōmu's reign,

1395-600: The flourishing " Nanban trade ", introducing modern inventions from the European traders, such as refined sugar, optics, and firearms; it was the firearms, arquebuses , which became a major innovation of the Sengoku period —a time of intense internal warfare—when the matchlocks were replicated. Later, they engaged in triangular trade , exchanging silver from Japan with silk from China via Macau . Carracks of 1200 to 1600 tons, named nau do trato ('treaty ship') or nau da China by

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1440-413: The hull painted black with pitch , and the term came to represent all Western vessels. In 1639, after suppressing a rebellion blamed on the influence of Christian thought , the ruling Tokugawa shogunate retreated into an isolationist policy, the Sakoku . During this "locked state", contact with Japan by Westerners was restricted to Dutch traders on Dejima island at Nagasaki. In 1844, William II of

1485-569: The late eleventh century, the city was popularly called Kyoto (capital city), the name it has had ever since. Some of Japan's literary monuments were written during the Nara period, including the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki , the first national histories, compiled in 712 and 720 respectively; the Man'yōshū , an anthology of poems; and the Kaifūsō , an anthology written in kanji by Japanese emperors and princes. Another major cultural development of

1530-409: The poem is: Awoken from sleep of a peaceful quiet world by Jokisen tea; with only four cups of it one can't sleep even at night. There is an alternative translation, based on the pivot words. Taihei can refer to the " Pacific Ocean " ( 太平 ) ; jōkisen also means ' steam-powered ships ' ( 蒸気船 ) ; and shihai also means 'four vessels'. The poem, therefore, has a hidden meaning: Breaking

1575-539: The reopening of the country to political dialogue after more than two hundred years of self-imposed isolation. Trade with Western nations followed five years later with the Treaty of Amity and Commerce . After this, the kurofune became a symbol of the end of isolation. In 1543 Portuguese traders arrived in Japan initiating the first contacts with the West. Soon they established a trade route linking their headquarters in Goa , via Malacca to Nagasaki . Large carracks engaged in

1620-571: The rise of taxes led to the loss or abandonment of land by many people who became the "wave people" ( furōsha ). Some of these formerly "public people" were privately employed by large landholders, and "public lands" increasingly reverted to the shōen . Factional fighting at the imperial court continued throughout the Nara period. Imperial family members, leading court families, such as the Fujiwara , and Buddhist priests all contended for influence. Earlier during this period, Prince Nagaya seized power at

1665-654: The rule of the Later Hōjō clan based at Odawara . After the defeat of the Later Hōjō clan at the hands of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590, Sagami was part of the territory in the Kantō region which came under the rule of Tokugawa Ieyasu . With the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate , the western portion of the province formed Odawara Domain , and the remainder of the province was tenryō territory under direct administrative control of

1710-493: The so-called Shōsōin documents ( 正倉院文書 ) . These are records written in the reverse side of the sutra or in the wrapping of imported items that survived as a result of reusing wasted official documents. Shōsōin documents contribute greatly to the historical research of Japanese political and social systems of the Nara period, and they even can be used to trace the development of the Japanese writing systems (such as katakana ). The first authentically Japanese gardens were built in

1755-421: The writing of Japanese poetry , known in Japanese as waka , began. The largest and longest-surviving collection of Japanese poetry, the Man'yōshū , was compiled from poems mostly composed between 600 and 759 CE. This, and other Nara texts, used Chinese characters to express the sounds of Japanese , known as man'yōgana . Before the Taihō Code was established, the capital was customarily moved after

1800-416: Was Japan's first truly urban center. It soon had a population of 200,000 (representing nearly 7% of the country's population) and some 10,000 people worked in government jobs. Economic and administrative activity increased during the Nara period. Roads linked Nara to provincial capitals, and taxes were collected more efficiently and routinely. Coins were minted, if not widely used. Outside the Nara area, there

1845-404: Was abandoned, and district heads were allowed to establish private militia forces for local police work. Decentralization of authority became the rule despite the reforms of the Nara period. Eventually, to return control to imperial hands, the capital was moved in 784 to Nagaoka-kyō and in 794 to Heian-kyō (literally Capital of Peace and Tranquility), about twenty-six kilometers north of Nara. By

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1890-428: Was little commercial activity, and in the provinces the old Shōtoku land reform systems declined. By the mid-eighth century, shōen (landed estates), one of the most important economic institutions in prehistoric Japan, began to rise as a result of the search for a more manageable form of landholding. Local administration gradually became more self-sufficient, while the breakdown of the old land distribution system and

1935-554: Was one of the most powerful of these clans. During the Kamakura period , Sagami was the center of the Kamakura shogunate , based in Kamakura , founded by Minamoto no Yoritomo and subsequently controlled by his former stewards, the Hōjō clan . The province came under the control of the Uesugi clan for much of the Sengoku period , and was a highly contested territory, before the consolidation under

1980-432: Was predominantly agricultural and centered on village life. Most of the villagers followed Shintō , a religion based on the worship of natural and ancestral spirits named kami . The capital at Nara was modeled after Chang'an , the capital city of the Tang dynasty . In many other ways, the Japanese upper classes patterned themselves after the Chinese, including adopting the Chinese writing system, Chinese fashion, and

2025-606: Was ranked as a "major country" (上国, jōkoku ) in terms of importance and a "faraway country" (遠国, ongoku ), in terms of distance from the capital. It was also included as one of the Tōkaidō provinces and was governed by a Kuni no miyatsuko . Samukawa jinja was designated as the chief Shinto shrine ( ichinomiya ) for the province. Records of Sagami during the Heian period are sparse, but during this period large shōen controlled by various warrior-class clans developed. The Miura clan

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