Readings from first two chapters of Mikiso Hane's book

The Writings of Mikiso Hane inform us a great deal about the area we know call Japan. We are shown the history of this group of Islands before they held any kind of identity. Japan, like many parts of the World, has a long history of human occupation. Artifacts have been found estimated to be around 200,000 years old, so we can see that Nihon has been inhabited for quite some time. We can fallow the development of the people on the islands by their objects they left behind. The Jomon Period (4500-250 B.C ) was a time of elaborately decorated pottery. After this period Japan received its most precious gift from the Asian continent, Rice. Rice agriculture came around the 3rd century B.C., this period was known as the Yayoi culture. The people of this time period probably migrated from the Korean peninsula. Japan lay at the end of the invention curve of Asia. Being an isolated island most of its culture and inventions would come from Asia(mainly china). This would for a time leave Japan as a backward and uneducated land, but with the arrival of many immigrants from the mainland Japan would rise quickly in Asian prominence. It would be in the fifth and sixth centuries that Japan would be influenced by Chinese civilization on a massive scale. Writing was one of the most important cultural aspects that the Japanese received from China. With this the Japanese would go on to write such important works as the Kojiki and the Nihongi. Buddhism also came to Japan around this time, and with it came new art and architecture. Slowly but surely Japan started to adopt a more centralized seat of power similar to China, and with it came an aristocracy by the government officials. Women held a equal status with men during this time and often owned land and property. Slaves also existed in pre-modern Japan, but appear to have been treated fairly well. At one point a large war was raging on the Korean Peninsula, with Silla and T’ang Chinese controlling the area. The Silla pushed out the foreign Chinese and made encroachments on Japanese Islands. This struck fear into the Japanese Emperor and soon a large military with many forts was set up in northern Kyushu.