It is said that people began living in Japan during the Paleolithic period, 30,000 to 40,000 years ago.
At that time, people moved from place to place, following wild animals. However, around 10,000 BC, due to the warming of the climate and the resulting changes in vegetation, people began to settle down and practiced primitive agriculture in addition to hunting and gathering (Jomon period), and eventually their lifestyle changed to one centered on rice cultivation (Yayoi period).
The Jomon and Yayoi periods correspond to the period known as the Neolithic Age under international period classifications.
During the Yayoi period, people shifted from living on a family basis to living in villages, but this also led to disparities between rich and poor and conflicts between villages.
As a result, small nations called kuni were born, which eventually merged into larger countries and powerful clans were formed (though writing did not exist yet, old Chinese books contain descriptions that suggest exchanges with “Wakoku”).
Eventually, the Yamato Court (Yamato Royal Authority) was formed in the Kinki region to unite these powerful clans, and Japan embarked on the path to becoming a unified nation.
Between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD, keyhole-shaped tumuli, which combined circular and square shapes, were built in various places, and it is believed that the Yamato Court gave permission for them to be built by local powerful clans; this period is known as the Kofun period.
It is said that ideographic Chinese characters were introduced to Japan in earnest around the 5th or 6th century, in the latter half of the Kofun period.
The period that followed, centered around Asuka in Nara Prefecture, is known as the Asuka period, but around this time, a war broke out in Japan over the introduction of Buddhism from the continent, between anti-Buddhist factions who believed in the traditional Japanese gods (Shinto) and pro-Buddhist factions who supported the introduction of Buddhism (Teibi no Ran).
The pro-Buddhist faction was victorious in this battle, led by the Soga clan, but Prince Shotoku, son of the 31st Emperor Yōmei, was also one of those who fought on the pro-Buddhist side.
Despite his victory in battle, Prince Shōtoku remained tolerant toward Shinto, the faith of the anti-Buddhist faction. This tolerance later evolved into the fusion and harmonization of the two faiths known as Shinto-Buddhist syncretism, forming the foundation of the Japanese religious outlook.
Furthermore, Prince Shōtoku established a two-tiered system for appointing officials based on individual merit. He formulated Japan’s first written code of laws (the Seventeen-Article Constitution), primarily defining the ideal role of administrative officials. He also sent a state letter to the Emperor of China’s Sui Dynasty, establishing diplomatic relations. (The phrase “The Emperor of the Land Where the Sun Rises sends this letter to the Emperor of the Land Where the Sun Sets,” used in this letter, is said to be the origin of the country names “Land of the Rising Sun” and “Japan.”) is said to have become the country name “Hinomoto” or “Nihon”).
★Minato Ward in this period
⇒Isarago Shell Mound (a Jomon period shell mound (one of eight shell mounds in the ward))
⇒Shiba Maruyama Kofun (a keyhole-shaped burial mound in Shiba Park. Designated a Tokyo Metropolitan Historic Site)
⇒Shirokane Hikawa Shrine (said to have been founded during the Asuka period)