The [[Nara period]] of the [[8th century]] marked the first strong Japanese state centered around an imperial court in the city of Heijo-kyo (now [[Nara, Nara|Nara]]). The imperial court later moved to [[Nagaoka]] and later Heian-kyo (now [[Kyoto]]), starting a "golden age" of classical Japanese culture called the [[Heian period]].
===Medieval era===
Japan's [[medieval]] era was characterized by the emergence of a ruling class of [[warrior]]s called ''[[samurai]]''. In the year [[1185]], general [[Minamoto Yoritomo]] was the first to break the tradition of ruling alongside the Emperor in Kyoto, holding power in [[Kamakura, Kanagawa|Kamakura]], just south of present-day [[Yokohama, Kanagawa|Yokohama]]. After Yoritomo's death, another warrior clan, the [[Hojo_clan|Hojo]], came to rule as regents for the shoguns. The shogunate managed to repel a [[Mongol]] invasion from Mongol-occupied China in 1274 and 1281. While this [[Kamakura shogunate]] was somewhat stable, Japan soon fell into warring factions and suffered through what became known as the Warring States or [[Sengoku period]].
[[Image:NanbanGroup.JPG|thumb|160px|A group of [[Portuguese]] [[Nanban]] foreigners, [[17th century]].]]
During the [[16th century]], traders and [[missionary|missionaries]] from [[Europe]] reached Japan for the first time, initiating the "[[Nanban]]" ("Southern barbarian") period of active commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West. Around the same time, [[Oda Nobunaga]], [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], and [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], established increasingly strong control over the warring states of Japan. Nobunaga's barbaric and authoritarian handling of the country made him an unpopular warlord, though his military genius was not to be ignored. Hideyoshi's disastrous invasion of Korea in 1592 also gave him a bad name in Japanese History, especially after the Japanese were repulsed by the [[Ming Dynasty]] Chinese forces and Korean naval forces.
Tokugawa finally reunified the country by defeating his enemies at the [[Battle of Sekigahara]] in [[1600]], moving the capital to [[Edo]] (now [[Tokyo]]) and starting the [[Tokugawa shogunate]].
The Tokugawa shogunate, suspicious of the influence of [[Catholic]] missionaries, barred all relations with Europeans except for severely restricted contacts with [[the Netherlands|Dutch]] merchants at the [[artificial island]] of [[Dejima]]. They also became more conscious of trade with China, especially after the [[Manchus]] conquered China and established the Manchu [[Qing Dynasty]]. The Manchus conquered Korea in 1637, and the Japanese were scared of a Manchu invasion. Thus, the country became more isolated than ever before. This period of isolation lasted for two and a half centuries, a time of tenuous political unity known as the [[Edo period]], considered to be the height of Japan's medieval culture.
===Modern era===
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