Tokugawa Ieyasu is appointed shōgun and establishes his government at Edo, opening more than 250 years of Edo-period peace.
Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci is permitted to reside in Beijing, becoming a bridge of science and culture between Europe and China.
Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats his rivals, paving the way for the Tokugawa shogunate's 250-year rule over Japan.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi twice invades Korea; Joseon and Ming forces, with Admiral Yi Sun-sin's navy, eventually repel the Japanese.
Oda Nobunaga, who was unifying Japan, is betrayed by his general Akechi Mitsuhide and dies at Honnō-ji temple in Kyoto.
The shogunate expels the Portuguese and severely restricts foreign contact, allowing only Dutch and Chinese trade at Nagasaki.
Li Zicheng's rebels take Beijing and the Chongzhen Emperor dies by suicide; weeks later Qing forces enter the city and begin their rule of China.