Isolation In The Japan Period

One would think that a country would inevitably fall from peasant riots, wars for power, lack of resources, etc., if it was isolated from the rest of the world. However, this is not always the case, as can be seen with Japan. It thrived while being isolated from the rest of the world for over two hundred years before it opened its ports again.
It is important to understand the context behind Japan’s isolation starting in the Sengoku period. This time period was also known as the “Age of Warring States,” in which landowners or daimyos fought each other for power (Dobbs). It was chaotic, with everyone fighting to own the most land. It wasn’t until three men, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, joined forces to unify Japan.
Initially, the Japanese were interested in the Europeans and began to import goods from them including firearms, glass, tobacco. Most importantly, they brought Christianity (“Japan, 1400-1600 A.D.”). Oda Nobunaga, the first unified ruler of Japan, was supportive of this trade and even “displayed little animosity to the Christian religion and actually supported its spread” on account of the fact that his enemies were Buddhist (“Oda Nobunaga”). However, when Nobunaga was killed in battle, Toyotomi Hideyoshi emerged as shogun and dramatically changed the status
Because they did not have to worry about foreign relations, the government could focus on improving the economy and making it self-reliant (Toyoda & Masamota). In addition, Japan created a concrete feudal triangle with samurai as the ruling class (Watts). However, this differed from the system in the past where daimyos ruled separate areas and fought each other. In the Edo period the samurai were paid by the government, making them loyal and united. They were given the most power, being the only people allowed to carry weapons (Watts). This also prevented peasant uprisings and brought order to all. Overall, Japan’s peace prioritized improving the country