JAPAN AND THE WORLD

THE PORTUGUESE

• The Portuguese first arrived in 1583AD.
• They flourished for a short while before being outlawed in 1639.
• Their greatest contribution go Japanese society were the numerous products which they traded.

Portuguese merchants introduced tobacco, cotton and refmed sugar to Japan. The Japanese dish tempura, which is a seafood or vegetable dish
fried in batter, is often incorrectly believed to have been invented by the Japanese. It was actually introduced to Japan by the Portuguese.

JAPAN AND PORTUGAL

• The Portuguese and the Japanese benefited from each other greatly in the beginning.
• The Portuguese made large profits and the Japanese gained new technology like arquebus.
• However, with the European merchants came Catholic Missionaries. The missionaries converted many Japanese to Christianity.
• The Japanese christians began to fight against their own people.

The Tokugawa shoguns viewed these converts as a threat to their authority, and in 1639, the Tokugawa bakufu passed several laws restricting all foreigners from entering Japan, except for the Dutch.

SAKOKU

• These laws were known as the ‘Sakoku’ or closed country laws.
• These stayed in place until until the American Commodore Matthew Perry and his squadron of naval ships arrived at Edo Bay in 1853.

SAKUKO

• This long period of national isolation was called sakoku. During sakoku no Japanese could leave the country on penalty of death, and very few foreign nationals were permitted to enter and trade with Japan. Sakoku literally meant “chained country.”

Japan's isolation policy was fully implemented by Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Ievasu and shogun from 1623 to 1641. He issued edicts that essentially closed Japan to all foreigners and prevented Japanese from leaving.

JAPAN OPENING UP

• The world started challenge Japan’s isolation restrictions against foreign trade. On the July 8th 1853, four black ships commanded by Matthew Perry arrived at Edo bay. It carried around 1000 men and 61 guns. The Japanese were closed off for so long that they thought the ships were “giant dragons puffing smoke”.

MATTEW PERRY

• Perry carried a letter from the American president to the emperor of Japan.
• He refused the Japanese demand to leave
• He also threatened to attack the Japanese capital if the Japanese do not open up.

Thank you for listening!