Western Influence In Japan

From the Warring States Period and throughout the Edo Period, Japan has remained an isolationist country that wouldn’t tolerate any and all outside influence on their society if they deemed it as “morally corruptible”. To that extent, Japan went to great lengths to preserve their culture and expel Chinese influence on their faiths for almost two centuries; as well as being able to thrive even while being aware of the West. But it wouldn’t be long until the arrival of shipwrecked Portuguese sailors in 1543 that Westerners begin to play a huge role in opening Japan to establishing trade and diplomacy relations and also military conflict.

Because of the conflict with China, Japan closed off foreign trade with them until the Portuguese brought