The Yokohama F. Marinos, a professional soccer team based in Yokohama, is one of the most successful teams in the J.League, having won several championships.

The Meiji Restoration in the late 19th century saw the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate and the modernization of Japan.

The first novel ever written, The Tale of Genji, was written in Japan in the 11th century by a noblewoman named Murasaki Shikibu.