Japan's Journey, Part 2

When last we left the Land of the Rising Sun, the nation had fallen into perennial civil war, as powerful feudal lords--the daimyo--used their "knights"--the samurai--to vie for control. But it wasn't all provincial politics and samurai swords.

Between the 14th and 17th centuries, Shinto beliefs gained prominence and helped bind the otherwise divided nation together. Meanwhile, transportation and communication improved, in part to facilitate continual military movements. Starting in the mid-16th century, a few daimyo even got rich trading with newly arrived Europeans, first the Portuguese (1543), then the Spanish (1587), then the Dutch (1609).

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