Japanese Empire

To be correct, the Japanese imperial reign begins from somewhere around 600 BC when the first mythological emperor, Jimmu Tenno, ruled Japan. Emperors count themselves from him I believe.

Now, I don't think that there have been periods without Emperors in the Japanese history. The Shogunates were indeed the ruling force but there always was the Emperor (perhaps the only time where there wasn't an Emperor is the end of the 16th century and the civil wars?) who was in theory higher than the Shogun but not so in reality. Just a title without power in those times.


So, if we count mythologically then we have 2600 years of Japanese Empire against the 1500 of Romans... Indeed, a thousand good years more.

I don't think that the Japanese empire was the longest empire in world history, it must be the Chinese empire according to many books I read.They all state the Chinese empire lasted for 5000 years, I think the Japanese people were originally came from China, because they have many characters which are the same. 

Originally posted by Mughal e Azam I was told that Japan has always been unified under one Emperor going back to the times of semi-historical emperors in the BC era. Supposedly, the current Emperor of Japan is the 120th or around that number. Has Japan always been unified since the beginning of its historiography? What about the Shogunates I have heard of? Were there Emperors during that time too?   If true, wouldnt the "Japanese Empire" replace the Roman Empire as the longest lasting in world history?

What we know about the so-called early emperors is based on mythological literature, written down many centuries later. Arguing that Japan was a unified state at this point lacks credibility, as there isn't a single reference to the Japanese in any written source until 57 AD, when they are mentioned in the Chinese Book of the Later Han as a people consisting of a hundred tribes. The Japanese themselves didn't acquire a writing system until the 4th century AD at the earliest, imported from China along with many other cultural influences.

The emergence of a strong Japanese state organisation under an emperor is usually dated to the Nara period, beginning in the 8th century AD (this is also when the legend of Jimmu was written), although these developments originated in the Asuka period, 6th century AD. In other words the imperial institution in Japan cannot be said to be any older than 1300-1400 years. This too is a long period of imperial rule, although not as long as the Roman. What must be remembered however is that for the most part the emperor did not hold actual power; from the end of the Nara period (794 AD) and onwards his position was reduced to that of a puppet of the court nobility and military commanders (shoguns). The imperial authority disintegrated further in the Kamakura period where Japan entered its feudal age. From this point on to the Meiji restoration in the 19th century all power rested in the hands of the daimyos (regional lords) and shoguns, the imperial court being practically irrelevant as anything but a symbolical institution. The only exception to the rule being the shortlived ressurection of imperial authority under Emperor Go-Daigo from 1333 to 1336.

Originally posted by chauduyphanvu I don't think that the Japanese empire was the longest empire in world history, it must be the Chinese empire according to many books I read.They all state the Chinese empire lasted for 5000 years, I think the Japanese people were originally came from China, because they have many characters which are the same.

The Chinese empire can indeed be said to have lasted longer than the Roman, although not for 5000 years. China is considered to have been an empire from the Qin dynasty to the Qing dynasty, a period of roughly 2100 years.

The Japanese writing system resembles the Chinese because it was imported from China, the Japanese and Chinese peoples however are not closely related.

Originally posted by Coppernickers China certainly has a long history as an entity, but it was ruled by the mongols and other Nomadic tribes (there was a manchu dynasty IIRC?) for about 400 years as well. Of course, the Japs were originally Chinese because the first Japanese were people who migrated over the sea from China, a very very long time ago. However it is worth remembering a lot of chinese culture  (especially in the form of religions such as Buddhism) spread to Japan a long time after people.

The Manchu dynasty you are referring to are the Qing, who ruled China from 1644 to 1912, and they are counted as a legitimate dynasty, so too are the Yuan, hence there is no need to exclude them from the timeline of imperial rule.

Again, Japan was not populated by immigrants from China. It has been established with a great degree of certainty that the Japanese are not closely related to the Chinese or any other peoples of the Sino-Tibetan group. They are however closely related to the Koreans and the Altaic peoples of the Siberian plateau, though the scholars are divided as to whether the Japanese language has primarily a Korean or Altaic origin.

Originally posted by Copperknickers They are still immigrants, or did they just jump straight from India to Korea on their way over from Africa?

The original inhabitants of Japan would have come up along the Chinese coast and through Korea, or possibly up from Okinawa. The Ainu may have come down from Siberia. But all this happened before the Chinese were recognizably Chinese and the Japanese didn't exist yet.

The Japanese nation as we know it was established by a group of people who immigrated from Korea a little over 2,000 years ago. The consensus is that they were of Central Asian origin, from Manchuria or Mongolia - not China.

Originally posted by Copperknickers Originally posted by chauduyphanvu I don't think that the Japanese empire was the longest empire in world history, it must be the Chinese empire according to many books I read.They all state the Chinese empire lasted for 5000 years, I think the Japanese people were originally came from China, because they have many characters which are the same.    China certainly has a long history as an entity, but it was ruled by the mongols and other Nomadic tribes (there was a manchu dynasty IIRC?) for about 400 years as well. Of course, the Japs were originally Chinese because the first Japanese were people who migrated over the sea from China, a very very long time ago. However it is worth remembering a lot of chinese culture  (especially in the form of religions such as Buddhism) spread to Japan a long time after people.   Other than that, though, Japan has always been very isolated from the rest of the world, owing to its political foreign policy and geography. That is the main reason it is considered to have lasted for so long, there was little outside corruption to alter it in the eyes of history.

Originally posted by Reginmund They are however closely related to the Koreans and the Altaic peoples of the Siberian plateau.

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9C%A8%E6%97%A5%E8%AA%8D%E5%AE%9A