Tokugawa Shogunate: Did you mean...?

The Sengoku Period (Sengoku Jidai, 1467-1568 CE), also known as the Warring States Period, was a turbulent and violent period of Japanese history when rival warlords or daimyo fought bitterly for control of Japan. The period falls within...

The samurai (also bushi) were a class of warriors that arose in the 10th century in Japan and which performed military service until the 19th century. Elite and highly-trained soldiers adept at using both the bow and sword, the samurai were...

Oda Nobunaga was the foremost military leader of Japan from 1568 to 1582. Nobunaga, along with his two immediate successors, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) and Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), is credited with unifying medieval Japan in the second...

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) was a Japanese military leader who, along with his predecessor Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) and his successor Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), is credited with unifying Japan in the 16th century. Hideyoshi rose from...

Christianity arrived in Japan in 1549 when Jesuits first set foot in Kagoshima. Initial attempts to spread the religion were met with confusion; however, through employing various methods, they began to see success. However, by 1650, Christianity...

The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was formed in 1602 by the Staten-Generaal (States General) of the then Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. The company was granted a 21-year charter with rights to trade exclusively in Asia and to...

Macao (Macau) is located on a peninsula in the estuary of the Pearl River delta in southeast China and it was a Portuguese colonial settlement from c. 1557 until 1999. Macao was a major trade hub of the Portuguese Empire and with its unique...

The Ariake Sea and Yushima at Hara Castle, photograph by Matthew Allison, 4 October 2025. Hara Castle, Minamishimabara, sits on the coastline of the Ariake Sea, as photographed above. It was along this shoreline that the rebels of the Shimabara...

Remains of the dry moat at Hara Castle, photograph by Matthew Allison, 4 October 2025. A dry moat that protected the inner ward of Hara Castle, Minamishimabara. Although the castle itself is now gone, this dry moat, which has widened due...

The “Ancient Japan” initiative at Ancient History Encyclopedia arose as there is a dearth of open access and digitally curated information concerning early Japanese history available online and in English. East and Southeast Asia are arguably...