1. Chapter 14 In what ways might a country’s choice to remain isolated reflect its worldview?

2. Edo Period of Great Peace 1500 - Japan consisted of 250 small regions all ruled by an emperor. Each region was ruled by a commander called a daimyo. –The daimyo were at war with each other to increase their holdings and power. Real power and authority was held by the shogun (the leader of the military government).

3. Three Shoguns Unified Japan (late 1500s) Oda Nobunaga: –Reduced Buddhist control over Japanese politics – Built castles to defend his lands –Paved the way for unification with new administrative practices.

4. Toyotomi Hideyoshi: Continued centralized govt. power Changed tax on the land from money to quantities of rice (koku) Society based on formal class structure Created a standing army Farmers and warriors had to choose one or the other and not both Supported painters and new types of drama.

5. Tokugawa Ieyasu: Established his government base in Edo. Finalized unification of Japan

6. Changing Attitudes In the early 1500’s, Japan had welcomed Portuguese traders and their fashions and firearms. But by 1848, the attitude toward outsiders had changed. Foreign ships were being fired on and driven away. How do you think this change in attitude came about?

7. Threats from the West By the late 1500s and early 1600s, Tokugawa Ieyasu came to consider foreigners a threat to his military control. If the daimyo acquired European weapons, they might challenge the shogun’s authority.

8. Spread of Christianity Roman Catholic missionaries came on ships wanting to convert the Japanese to Christianity. Between 1549-87 150,000 Japanese converted in the Nagasaki Area. Bakufu (military govt.) were concerned that new Christians wouldn’t view the shoguns as their ultimate authority. Shoguns decided to isolate Japan, primarily from the Western world.

9. Threats from the West Tokugawa felt the Christian Church was a threat to his authority. In 1614, he ordered all Christian missionaries to leave the country. Churches were destroyed and Japanese Christians who refused faced execution.

10. Why did Japan Isolate itself? At the beginning of the Edo period, Japan was trading with many countries. Tokugawa Ieyasu didn’t want Japanese exposed to Western ideas. –He saw Europeans establishing colonies in many areas they explored. –He decided that foreign ships could only land at one port (the island of Deshima).

11. Isolation Policy The Bakufu passed edicts to control the influence of foreigners: –Japanese ships were forbidden to travel to foreign countries. –Japanese who attempt to go abroad would be executed. –Japanese returning from overseas would be put to death. –Westerners teaching Christianity will be put in prison. –No single trading city is permitted to purchase merchandise brought by foreign ships. –Portuguese ships are banned from Japanese ports. All foreign ships will be destroyed and passengers executed.

12. Isolation Policy Ships large enough to make long voyages could no longer be built and existing ones were destroyed. Most foreign objects were forbidden. All foreign books containing a Christian message were banned; scientific books were forbidden. Newcomers were no longer allowed to enter Japan. People needed to get special documents to travel from one domain to another, and a curfew was instituted to keep people from moving around at night.

13. All foreigners except… In 1639, the shogun banned Portuguese ships in Japan and expelled all foreigners except for Dutch, Korean, and Chinese traders. The Dutch were only allowed on a small “Floating” island in the harbor of the city of Nagasaki. From the shogun’s point of view, the isolation policy was essential for national security. It was the only way to eliminate possible threats to his power and to protect the Japanese culture.

14. Exceptions to the Isolation Laws A small number of Dutch traders were allowed to remain. The shogun considered them less threatening because they were interested in trade, not religion. Once a year the Dutch were required to make an expensive trip to Edo to pay their respects to the shogun and stay there for three months. There, officials asked them many questions about the West, especially about current events and developments in medicine.

15. How does this compare with the way the shogun controlled the daimyo through alternate attendance?

16. Exceptions to the Isolation Laws The shogun also had a small number of Japanese scholars learn about Dutch medicine and the Dutch language. They were called the Dutch scholars and were directed to educate themselves about Western ways. The sons of samurai were also sent by their daimyo to study the Dutch language.

17. Exceptions to the Isolation Laws There were some positive responses to Western ideas. For example, the shogun encouraged the study of astronomy and had an observatory built in Edo in 1744. Most Japanese, however, were not exposed to the new ideas of the West. The shogun feared that these ideas might “confuse” them and make them forget that they owed absolute obedience to him.

18. Maintaining Rule in Japan While all of this was happening, Japan maintained its feudal system. The economy was tied to agriculture, and social classes were rigid and unchanging. The shogun was determined to prove that Japan was strong, that his rule was strong.

19. Think…pair…share The Tokugawa shogun put in place the “closed country period.” How does this illustrate the effect of leadership on worldview? Explain.

20. Change Within Isolation Edo Japan had had a long time to establish its own particular kind of society—the result of interaction within the country.

21. Change Within Isolation The Japanese wanted to live in a society that embodied the things that were important to them: ◆ Peace, safety, and security ◆ Harmony, respect, and a sense that everyone has his or her place ◆ Leisure time and opportunities for personal expression and enjoyment of the arts, sports, entertainment, and crafts.

22. A Golden Age of Culture As a direct result of the peace and prosperity of Edo Japan, the arts and culture were able to flourish. –Japanese tea ceremony –Sumo wrestling –Kabuki theatre –Poetry –Puppet theatre –woodblock printing –Martial arts, such as kendo –Musical dance drama –Music and art

23. Positive Economic Effects of Isolation In some ways, Edo Japan had a booming, or expanding, economy. ◆ Farmers increased production by irrigating and growing two crops on the same piece of land during one growing season. ◆ Road improvements financed by the daimyo helped increase trade. ◆ The population increased in urban centers.

24. What do you think the negative effects were on the economy of Japan during the Edo period?

25. That’s all cool but what is the downside? The peace and security in Edo society came at a cost.  Life was controlled by rigid rules.  People could not move from the social class of their birth and they were not encouraged to think for themselves.  There was little personal freedom, such as the freedom of expression.

26. Negative Economic Effects of Isolation The following held the economy back from growth: –Little foreign trade –The overtaxing of the lower classes –The continued use of rice for payment How do each of these effect the economy of Japan?

27. Changes Within Japan Toward the end of the Edo period, merchants gained wealth and power because more people needed their services. The lower classes needed money to pay their high taxes. Because of the high cost of alternate attendance and road construction, many daimyo were nearing bankruptcy.

28. Changes Within Japan There was little “real” work for the samurai, and many were too proud to take other jobs. Some samurai even survived by marrying the daughters of merchants, going against strict social rules.

29. Changes Within Japan Everyone looked for someone to blame. Often, that was the shogun and his extravagant officials. Some people claimed that the Tokugawa clan held power illegally, and that their power rightfully belonged to the emperor. In fact, the emperor had not actually ruled for many centuries.

30. Disasters and Hard Times At the end of the Edo period, Japan was stuck by many natural disasters that brought about famines and took many lives. 30% of the population died of starvation. Land was deserted as lower classes fled into the cities. Rice was so scarce that its price rose steeply.

31. Disasters and Hard Times City dwellers rioted over price increases and attacked the homes of the wealthy. Many people felt that the shogunate’s responses to these problems were ineffective. What do you think is going to happen next in Japanese Society?

32. Key Question: In what ways might a country’s choice to remain isolated reflect its worldview?