Japanese history (Part 1)
Ancient Japan (10500-538AD) 
Jomon Period (10500-300BC)
According to the creation myth, the brother and sister Kami Izanagi and Izanami, gave birth to the Japanese islands. 
By scratching his eyes, the brother created Amaterasu, Kami of the Sun, whom all emperors are said to descent from, and Tsukiyomi (Moon), and by scratching his nose created Susanoo (Storm). 
Perhaps the first to arrive in the islands, modern Japanese descend from them and from the Yayoi.
A non-agricultural society, they developed hunting and pottery.
Yayoi Period (300BC-250AD)
Around 600BC, Jimmu is said to have united the tribes and established his capital in Yamato, thus becoming the First Emperor of Japan.
The most powerful clan was the Yamatai and, ruled by Shaman Queen Himiko(175-248).
The Yayoi developed agriculture, iron and bronze tools, a strict class system and quickly became the dominant culture.
Legend says that the Yayoi were the fleet of Xu Fu, a courtier who was sent by Qin Shi Huang to search for the elixir of immortality. 
The Yayoi traded with China, but did not have a written language and were considered barbarians by the Han.
The leader of each clan was said to communicate with Kami, and conquer the Kami of the defeated, creating a Kami hierarchy.
Kofun Period (250-538)
Kofun, a burying technique, was spread by the Yamato clan (which might have been a continuation of the Yamatai), which formed a confederation of clans, creating a feudal society.
In the 5th century, they developed the Kabane system, giving them sole authority to provide hereditary titles, creating a type of aristocracy.
The power of the Emperor was not absolute: clans controled their own land and there would often be more powerful clans than the ruling one.
In this Era, society was surprisingly progressive: it was common for women to hold positions of power, especially religious ones (like Himiko) and polygamy was common, but society became more conservative as Confucian ideas spread.
During the Chinese Period of Disunion (220-589), Japan made Goguryeo its most important partner, and immigrants from Korea and China brought ideas such as Buddhism and a written language to the country.
Classical Period (538-1185)
Asuka Period (538-710)
The Soga clan, which favored the spreading of Buddhist ideas, became the most powerful clan in Japan, although the Yamato still “ruled”.
The name Asuka comes from the name of the capital at the time.
Prince Shotoku (574-622), nephew of Empress Suiko, was a legendary regent who brought great order to Japan by replacing the Kabane system with the Capital Rank (which was more meritocratic), writing the 17 Articles telling how government officials should act according to Confucianism, and copying Tang China by adopting Buddhism, Chinese bureocracy, the Chinese calendar, etc. 
When Empress Suiko died in 628, there was a succession crisis and the chosen emperor was only a puppet, who died in 641, starting another succession crisis.
When Hiroka, a powerful member of the Soga, had the beloved Prince Yamashiro, son of Shotoku, and his entire family commit suicide, he was assassinated in the Isshi Incident (645), the Soga empress stepped down and the Soga reign ended.
The Taika Reforms (645) were a series of major reforms by the organizers of the Isshi Incident, that sought to take away the power of the clans and unify Japan under the emperor, and although there were many exceptions to the powerful, the reforms helped creating a more centralized government.
During the Three Kingdoms of Korea Era, Japan allied with Baekje in order to prevent Silla from uniting Korea and becoming a vassal of Tang China
It was around this time that Shintoism was founded so that the native beliefs wouldn't be overshadowed by Buddhism.
Nara Period (710-794)
With a new capital in Nara, and more power at the hands of the emperor, writing developed a lot and empresses became less common.
In 672, a succession dispute between the emperor's son and brother led to the Jinshin war, resulting in the brother's (Emperor Tenmu) victory, who took massive steps for centralization, like claiming emperors descended from Amaterasu.
Thus, this period solidified a lot of things in Japanese society, but also allowed some social mobility based on merit.
An official currency was introduced, however, false coins and a massive smallpox epidemic that killed 1/4 of the population led to inflation and failure.
In the old age, the emperor was free to choose his successor, who wasn't always his son, so they avoided conflict by intermarriage and incest.
Under emperor Shomu (701-756), Buddhism spread, with the creation of the kokubunji temples, such as the Todai temple.
Though Buddhism was initially very influential, eventually it fell out of favor and the capital was moved.
Heian period (794-1185)
As the power of clans grew and they started forming an oligarchy, the influence of Chinese culture peaked and then declined.
Feudal Japan (1185-1600)
Kamakura period (1185-1333)
By the 9th century, Japan had conquered most of the Tōhoku region in the North, which belonged to the Emishi people.
The Japanese did this by adopting the Emishi horseback tactics, which eventually led to a permanent warrior class, the Samurai.
The Kamakura stablished themselves as the most powerful clan and created a feudal system, where the Shogun gave more authority to local rulers, with the emperor being only a figurehead.
Between 1274 and 1281 the Mongols landed in Japan after the latter refused to become a tributary, but both invasions failed and proved too costly for any further attempt.
Taking advantage from the chaos created by the Mongols, the emperor briefly regained power during the Kenmu restoration (1333-1336), before being betrayed by his Shogun ally.
Eventually the Shikken class beat the Shogun, also making him a figurehead.
In 1221 the retired emperor tried to overthrow the Shogun in the Jokyu war, resulting in his banishment.
Sengoku Jidai (1467-1600)
Muromachi period (1336-1568)
Espionage was an essential part of the Sengoku period, and thus ninjas were created.
Azuchi–Momoyama period (1568-1600)
Nobunaga was eventually betrayed and committed Seppuku (Honnō-ji Incident), which didn’t stop his steward, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598), from continuing his conquests.
Edo period (1603-1868)
At this point, local governors became so powerful that they became Daimyo, and the Onin war (1467-1477) resulted in infighting among all Japanese daimyo, known as the Sengoku Jidai (1467-1600).
Hideyoshi led a failed invasion of Korea (1592-1598), which exhausted his army and prevented him from unifying Japan. Thus, his ally, Tokugawa Ieyasu, continued fighting after his death and finally succeeded in uniting Japan and starting the Edo period.
In 1568, Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) took Kyoto and installed a puppet ruler, and in 1573 dissolved the Ashikaga Shogunate, launching a campaign to unify Japan.
Between 1633 and 1639, Tokugawa enacted a series of isolationist policies (Sakoku), which closed Japan to relations with foreigners.
During Sakoku, there was still some limited trade with China, Korea and the Dutch. Learning western innovations through the Dutch was called Rangaku.
The Edo period was relatively peaceful, with only the Samurai being allowed to carry weapons.
In 1853, the US navy forced Japan to end Sakoku, and alongside the Opium wars (1839-1860) in China, this showed that Japan had to modernize.
Wide dissatisfaction with the Shogun led to the Boshin war (1868-1869) or Japanese revolution, which restored the emperor to power.
It was during the Heian period that the first great novel of Japan, The Tale of Genji, was written by lady Murasaki, as women enjoyed a fair amount of freedom at the time.
During this period, the Tensho embassy (1582-1590) was sent by a Christian Japanese lord to the Pope and kings of Europe. It was led by Mancio Itō, a Japanese nobleman, who was the first official Japanese emissary to Europe.