Sakoku

Sakoku was the isolationist foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate. This policy defined the Edo period, which lasted from 1603 to 1868. Under Sakoku, the shogunate government, or bakufu, placed strict regulations on commerce and foreign relations. Almost all foreign nationals were banned from entering Japan. At the same time, common Japanese people were prevented from leaving the country. This system was not meant to stop all contact, but to control it. The shogunate used specific edicts to manage how Japan interacted with the outside world.

The shogunate implemented these rules through several stages between 1633 and 1639. The government wanted to manage its domestic agenda and maintain supreme power. One goal was to ensure social peace across the Japanese archipelago. Another goal was to maintain Tokugawa supremacy over powerful local lords, known as daimyo. These lords had used foreign trade to build military strength during the previous Sengoku period. By restricting trade, the Tokugawa shogunate prevented these lords from becoming too powerful. The shogunate also directed trade through Nagasaki to bolster its own treasury through taxes.

Religion played a major role in the decision to limit foreign influence. The shogunate viewed the spread of Catholicism as a threat to its stability. Many people in southern Japan, especially in Kyūshū, had become Catholic converts. The Spanish and Portuguese were seen as potential colonial threats. The Empress Meishō expressed grave doubts about these powers after seeing their colonization of the New World. A major turning point was the Shimabara Rebellion from 1637 to 1638. This was an uprising of approximately 40,000 mostly Christian peasants. In response, the shogunate expelled missionaries and banned the religion on penalty of death.

Despite these strict bans, Japan was not totally isolated from the world. Trade was divided into different categories and managed through specific gateways. The largest amount of trade was private commerce with China through the port of Nagasaki. The Dutch were the only Europeans permitted to remain in Japan. They were restricted to a small artificial island called Dejima in Nagasaki. The Dutch were viewed more favorably because they separated trade from missionary work. This allowed scientific and medical innovations to flow into Japan through a field called "Dutch learning."

Other specific trade routes existed through different feudal domains. The Tsushima Domain handled relations and trade with Korea through the wakan in Choryang. Diplomatic exchanges also occurred through the Joseon Tongsinsa, which were Korean embassies. In the north, the Matsumae Domain in Hokkaido managed trade with the Ainu people. In the south, the Satsuma Domain controlled trade with the Ryūkyū Kingdom. These different routes allowed Japan to access essential commodities and intelligence. This system helped Japan avoid a subordinate status within the Chinese tributary system.

The term "Sakoku" was actually created later by the astronomer Shizuki Tadao in 1801. He developed the word while translating the writings of Engelbert Kaempfer. Kaempfer was a 17th-century German traveler who wrote a history of Japan. Because the policy was actually a system of regulated contact, many scholars prefer different terms. They note that the shogunate worked hard to ensure trade volume did not suffer. They engaged in discussions with Dutch and Korean representatives to keep commerce moving. The policy also helped protect Japan's mineral resources, such as silver and copper.

The era of Sakoku eventually came to an end due to external pressure. In 1853, Commodore Matthew C. Perry led a naval expedition to Japan. This expedition forced the country to open to American and Western trade. This change was finalized through a series of treaties called the Convention of Kanagawa. After the policy collapsed, Japan changed how it learned from the world. Instead of relying only on Dutch learning, many Japanese students were sent to study abroad. The country moved from a period of strict regulation to a new era of global connection.