Wa is the oldest attested name of Japan. From c. the 2nd century AD Chinese and Korean scribes regularly used the Chinese character 倭; 'submissive'', 'distant'', 'dwarf' to refer to the inhabitants of the Wa kingdoms on Kyushu and those of the ancient Yamato kingdom. In the 8th century, the Japanese replaced the character with 和, wa, 'harmony', 'peace', 'balance'.

The Yamato period is the period of Japanese history when the Imperial court ruled from modern-day Nara Prefecture, then known as Yamato Province.