Let’s take on the challenge! A multiple-choice history quiz for elementary school students. Review your history lessons.

Ōnin War

The Ōnin War was a civil conflict that lasted for about eleven years from 1467 during the Muromachi period. It began due to a succession dispute over the shogunate and a rivalry between two powerful daimyō families, the Hosokawa and the Yamana. Kyoto, the main battlefield, was reduced to ashes by fierce fighting, the power of the Muromachi shogunate waned, and society shifted toward gekokujō—where the capable overthrew their social superiors—serving as a crucial turning point that led into the Sengoku period.

Tosa Domain

Sakamoto Ryoma was from Tosa Domain, present-day Kochi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. Born into a low-ranking samurai family, he left his home domain to work for Japan’s future, aiming to make the country strong enough not to be defeated by foreign powers. He played a crucial role in laying the foundations of modern Japan by helping rival major domains join hands and by formulating plans for a new government.

Sakuradamon Incident

This is the incident in which rōnin from the Mito and Satsuma domains lay in wait and attacked Ii Naosuke, who was the shogunate’s Tairō, outside Sakuradamon at Edo Castle. It is said that the incident arose because Ii had aroused strong resentment by opening the country—concluding the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the United States without the imperial court’s approval—and by carrying out the Ansei Purge, in which he severely punished those who opposed him. As a result of this incident, the shogunate’s authority was greatly shaken, and the flow of the times toward the Meiji Restoration became decisive.

Sword Hunt

While pursuing the unification of the realm, Toyotomi Hideyoshi issued an order to confiscate weapons such as swords and bows from peasants. A major objective of this policy was to prevent peasant uprisings and to promote the separation of soldiers and farmers by having peasants devote themselves to agriculture. It was explained that the confiscated weapons would be repurposed as nails and clamps for constructing the Great Buddha Hall in Kyoto, and people were told that this was to create a more peaceful society from then on.

Italy

Japan, Germany, and Italy made an agreement called the Tripartite Pact in 1940. This was an alliance stating that if any of them were attacked by another country, the three would help each other and fight together. These three countries were called the Axis Powers and fought cooperatively in World War II.