During the Edo period, which lasted from the 17th to the mid-19th century, Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate and experienced a period of peace and stability.

The emoji, invented by Shigetaka Kurita in 1999, has become a popular form of communication and a ubiquitous feature of modern digital communication.

The earliest known Japanese animation was produced in 1907, and the first feature-length anime film was released in 1945.