So Tokyo’s has an interesting timeline. Tokyo started out as this island named Edo. The first major building was built in 1457 by a daimyo whose name was Ota Dokan, he built the great Edo Castle. Edo Castle also served as a home for the Tokugawa family: about 130 years after Edo Castle was built, Tokugawa Ieyasu occupied Edo Castle and in 1603 he became a shogun and Edo thrived under his rule. The Tokugawa's ran the government. He built a moat around the whole castle. Finally, in 1637, the construction of Edo Castle is complete (Craig). The Edo Castle had become the center of political power. In 1868, Edo was renamed as Tokyo. Everything went downhill after the Edo period. There was the Great Kanto Earthquake and many decades later, World War II. After 264 years of the Edo Castle, 15 Tokugawa generations have ruled. Edo was just another city in the Kanto region but became the social center of Japan.
Natural disasters slowed Tokyo down from advancing. In 1657, the Great Edo Fire killed over 100,000 citizens and destroyed most of Edo Castle. In 1707, Mount Fuji erupted over Edo. In 1923, the Kanto Earthquake hit Tokyo, causing a lot of destruction and casualties. Plans were made to rebuild many buildings but were ultimately shut down because it was too expensive. The Sakurajima volcano was recorded to erupt over 200 times in 1995 which was the highest of the four years it lived. The Tohoku earthquake was probably the most devastating disaster to happen. Measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale, this earthquake killed thousands of people across Japan. It gets better: this massive quake triggered a tsunami that reached heights of 40.5 meters! Tokyo also bombed the U.S. in 1941, however they paid the price. In 1941, Japanese aircrafts flew over Pearl Harbor and destroyed most if not all of the US's war ships. About 2,000 people were killed and 1,000 people were injured. After people had “settled down”, war was declared on Tokyo. The following year in 1942, 16 B-25B Mitchell flew over to Japan. A watch guard on a ship saw them and sent a message to headquarters before being annihilated by one of the aircrafts. When the message was received, it was overlooked in disbelief. Soon, the U.S. bombers dropped an atomic bomb and killed 80,000 Japanese people on the spot (History). The Japanese culture is one of the richest cultures in the world. It consists of many different types of art, sports, music, drawings, calligraphy, literature, and origami. One main part of this is drawings which Japan is known for, called anime. These are some the things that Japan is known for. The Japanese also have a rich history that indulges in their culture and mixes in with it. This culture consist of many ceremonies, fashion senses or trends, behavior, sports, and language. All these tied together make Japanese culture. The way the ceremonies in Japan work is that once a year or even once a month a special date is celebrated with an occasion. For example, the Japanese New Year is celebrated with gift giving. Fashion and trend can be seen everywhere in japan. You can see people wearing traditional kimonos and new dresses. Behavior in Japan falls under the category of proper etiquette, it is polite to be kind to your elders and never turn your back on anyone because that would be a rude gesture. Sports in Japan are a very important part of culture. One of these sports is sumo wrestling, this sport is a full contact sport and was based on the rituals of the Shinto religion. Language is also another important part of Japan. There are many different types of languages in Japan the main one, Japanese (日本語 Nihongo), is the most common. This sets Japan apart from its bordering countries-China and Korea-because their language is totally different while their culture is similar. Japan also holds the title of the longest continuous monarchy. Monarchy is a form of government where there are a few individuals that are in power. Japan's monarchy has dated back to 660 B.C. (History). It has 125 monarchs which are placed what is known as the Chrysanthemum Throne. In the earlier years, the Throne was only ran by men. In 2005, there was an act saying that only men should control the Throne but so far there are no official changes (History). Senso-ji is the oldest Buddhist Temple in Japan. Surprisingly, it dates back 645 years before Tokyo was even a city. It is that old. It was built as a shrine built to the goddess of mercy Kannon. Now, there are dozens of shops that sell fans, yukatas that are all located near the temple. There was also the Battle of Myeongnyang. This battle is extremely important to both Japanese and Korean history more towards Korean history. However this battle was so amazing. It was an oversea fight meaning just boats vs boats. Japan had about 300 battle ships and Korea had just 13 small ships. Even before the battle, Japan had already scared the heck out of Korea by beheading people, etc. You would think that Japan won since it had the "advantage" and power over Korea. If you think that Japan won, you are absolutely incorrect. Korea had Turtle Ships-ships that had spiked roofs-which somehow overthrew Japan. Tokyo :1457-2003
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