Yamato (Japan)

Ancient name of Japan and particularly the province of western Honshu where Japanese civilization began and where the early capitals were located; also the clan from which all emperors of Japan are descended, claiming the sun-goddess as ancestor. The Yamato period is often taken as AD 539–710 (followed by the Nara period).

According to legend, the Japanese empire dates from the conquest of the Yamato region by Emperor Jimmu 660 BC. Two chronicles, the Kojiki/Record of Ancient Matters 7th century and the Nihon shoki/Chronicles of Japan 720, give creation myths and annals of legendary and early historical reigns. The 29th emperor, Kimmei (reigned 539–71), is regarded as the first fully historical emperor. In the era of Prince Shotoku Taishi (574–622) and the Taika reform period 645–50, the Yamato rulers became greatly influenced by the culture of Tang dynasty China, notably Buddhism, Confucianism, and China's bureaucratic system. In the mid-9th century the emperors ceded effective control of government to the Fujiwara clan and hardly ever ruled in their own right until the Meiji restoration 1868.