Recorded Japanese history begins in approximately A.D. 400, when the Yamato clan, based in Kyoto, managed to gain control of other family groups in central and western Japan. ----. During the eighth century Japan was much influenced by China, and the Yamato clan set up a powerful imperial court similar to that of China. However, in the ensuing centuries, the authority of the imperial court was undermined as powerful gentry families rivaled with each other for control.