The Success of Japan in Keeping Europeans at Bay until the 19th Century - Essay Example

The success of Japan in keeping Europeans at bay until the 19th century The history of Japan was written in documents, which present its mythological past from the 8th century (Seagrave & Seagrave, 2001). These records show that the first emperor was a descendant of Shinto, the supreme deity, and the Sun Goddess; an Ameterasu’s direct descendant. This history is before the Christian era (Huffman, 2010). The history of Japan came from sources in China and Korea. Buddhism introduced from Korea and China in the 6th century made Japan be acquainted with aspect of Chinese civilization, art, writing system, philosophy and ideas (Saito, 2001). These ideas and philosophies were employed in the making economic and political reforms and in reorganizing the country. The government that was highly centralized modeled the administrative structure on the Chinese model. The system of tax and land ownership was adopted from the Chinese. It is at this period that the capital was moved to Kyoto (Itoh, 2003). In the 12th century, warrior knights known as the samurai came into existence. This made the power of the central government decline. A series of wars led to the rise of the most powerful samurai to take control of the country (Seagrave & Seagrave, 2001). The emperor had a title but no power. Japan then became a country where power was based on loyalty, which was rewarded for land and other privileges. In the 14th and 17th centuries, as the central government was weak a form of Buddhism called Zen flourished as it was dominant among the samurai's, the knight warriors. The tea ceremony that was their expression was nationalized (Saito, 2001). This form of Buddhism shaped the art, literature, and Japanese philosophy. The philosophy and art in Japan was influenced mainly by those in power. During the samurai period, Zen Buddhism was dominant. This influence cemented Japanese culture and the way of life for a long time (Dean, 2002). Portuguese merchants were the first contact of Europe with Japan, which was in 1542 (Brownlee, 1991). Portuguese missionaries were then followed by the Spanish who converted many people. English and Dutch traders started to arrive in the 17th century. The Portuguese opened missions and were extremely active in the country. The first mission was opened in southern Japan. With the failure of the English trading venture, Japan expelled the Spanish and the Portuguese. The foreigners that remained were confined in Nagasaki (Chaurasia, 2003). The converts that the Spanish and Portuguese had converted faced persecution and eventually were wiped out. Japan remained closed to the West from this period until 1854 when a treaty was made between U.S Navy and Japan to open a port to trade. The ports were two and were for trade with the United States (Huffman, 2010). The 19th century for Japan began as it had for centuries. It was in the era of Tokugawa Shogun where feudal alliances to samurai's and local Daimyos were important to his leadership style. In this period, the philosophy of Neo-Confucianism was dominant because it emphasized on the importance of hierarchical order in government and society, education and morals (Chaurasia, 2003). Class system existed, and members were not allowed to change their social status with Samaria being on top followed by peasants, artisan’s merchants. The ban, which was on western literature, was cancelled with Dutch and Chinese teachings now being accepted (Itoh, 2003). Japan maintained a policy of separation and therefore, kept distance with the rest of the world. Their strong culture and homogeneity further kept them together. The practice of the same religion and the fact that they did not have many ethnic communities worked in their favor (Meyer, 2009). Conversely, this period ended when American navy commander forced Japan to sign a treaty allowing them to use Japanese ports for trade. This opened up Japan to other countries. The house of Tokugawa caused Japan to be isolated because it banned almost all foreign trade. However, the Dutch and Chinese merchants it still engaged in foreign commerce (Brownlee, 1991). Europe embraced innovation while Japan maintained the static posture of the Shogunate. Since Japan was cut off from other countries, peace was experienced in this island country. In the 18th century, Japan had started to embrace Confucian values in their society. From the early stages of the Tokugawa period, the intellectual and social contents were regarded as the pursuit of the true mind as a distinct discipline, which leads to human perfection (Totman, 2000). By embracing these teachings and values, they rejected Christianity, which was seen to be a Western ideology. These teachings became popular with the less educated members of society than the educated members did. The deep-rooted belief in this faith made it hard for Christianity to penetrate (Dean, 2002). The presence of an already existent leadership provided guidance and this fortified them. Japan was founded by an emperor, emperor Jimmu. He started a lineage of emperors who ruled Japan. Shoguns usually held actual power. This ensured that structure already existed because of the existing hierarchy (Meyer, 2009). A form of government was already in existence and a military and therefore, was well able to defend them in case of an invasion. The classical Japanese culture established the imperial courts, which marked the beginning of strong Japanese state in the city of Heijokyo (Seagrave & Seagrave, 2001). Japanese are people who are deeply rooted in their culture and tradition. Many had affiliations to Buddhism and their ancient religion Shinto. This fact made them resistant to other influences. These aspects of their religion were incorporated into the education curriculum (Itoh, 2003). Some of the practices of these ancient beliefs made them resistant to western influences. The Japanese culture Jomon had influences from Korea and China. Greek and Indian traditions influenced the religion and darts from Japan since the 6th century (Totman, 2000). However, Japan has a unique, original culture in traditions, performance, cuisine, and the arts. Her strong belief in ghost and many other things formed the basis of their culture. Legends were embraced as part of the culture. When Japan was cut off from the rest of the world for two centuries by Tokugawa shoguns policy of national seclusion, no foreigner could enter nor could no Japanese leave Japan because a death penalty was attached to it. This policy was enacted by Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Lemitsu, and it remained in effect until 1853 (Stockwin, 1999). This policy completely isolated Japan because it applied to commerce and foreign relations. Japanese subjects made contact with foreigners on extra territorial land. Foreigners could not enter Japan without specific authority or permission. The shogunate imposed the policy of sakoku in order to remove religious and colonial influences from Portugal and Spain. The shogunate felt threatened and saw them as a threat to peace. The main threat was because of the increasing number of Catholic converts (Totman, 2000). The Empress at the time thought that Japan would become a possession of Portugal and Spain when she heard how they were settling in the new world. This perception was reinforced by protestant English and Dutch who accused the Spanish and Portuguese of spreading religion systematically. The sakoku policy controlled trade with Japan and other nations and asserted its new place in East Asian hierarchy (Kaempfer, 1995). This helped push Japan from relations branch with china for many years. The sakoku policy safeguarded against the depletion of mineral resources from Japan to the outside world. Japan was only able to get western technology by studying texts in the Dutch language. Many attempts to end Japanese seclusion were not successful. French, American and Russian bids to engage in trade were all rejected. The progress of Christian missions astonished the Tokugawas. This gave them reason to suspect Christianity and Western powers; activities of Western powers in Asia alarmed the Japanese. The Dutch was active in the East Indies while the Spanish in the Philippines (Totman, 2000). Japan wondered whether they were next target because they saw them as trying to increase their territory in the pacific. The shoguns then viewed Christianity as an instrument of divided loyalties and foreign ambition. Some Christian daimyo fought against the Tokugawas, and some opposed their rule (Dent, 2008). Japan feared the influence of foreigner on the domestic politics (Stockwin, 1999). This is because the Tokugawas had just unified Japan. So they feared that the cooperation of converted daimyos and the Europeans. Foreigners would help the daimyos in securing artillery for warfare. The shogunate would have none of that hence the seclusion policy. They demolished churches and forced Christians to renounce their faith. Political stability was achieved with the seclusion policy by avoiding foreign intrusion and political stagnation lead to the enforcing of authoritarian rule (Stockwin, 1999). For two hundred years, Japan remained peaceful and prosperous. Confucianism replaced Christianity. Though this policy worked in Japan, it indirectly led to the westernization of her neighbors. Christianity was considered a significant problem in Japan particularly catholic Christians. They viewed them as a destabilizing factor and so they persecuted them immensely. When the discontented catholic samurai and peasants rebelled, the shogunate called in the Dutch to attack their stronghold (Beasley, 2000). This event marked the end of the Christian movement though some survived by going underground. Christianity almost became extinct. Religious influence in Japan became quite restricted; together with external economic and political influence. In this period, only the English and Chinese enjoyed the right to visit Japan without being put to death. Reference Beasley, W. 2000. The Japanese experience: a short history of Japan. California: University of California Press. Brownlee, J. 1991. Political thought in Japanese historical writing: from Kojiki (712) to Tokushi Yoron (1712). Wilfrid: Wilfrid Laurier University Chaurasia, R. 2003. History of Japan. London: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. Dean, M. 2002. Japanese legal system 2nd Ed. London: Routledge Publishers. Dent, C. 2008. China, Japan and regional leadership in East Asia. New York: Edward Elgar Publishing. Huffman, J. 2010. Japan in World History. Oxford: Oxford University Press US Itoh, M. 2003. The Hatoyama dynasty: Japanese political leadership through the generations. Palgrave: Palgrave Macmillan. Kaempfer, E. 1995. The History of Japan: Together with a Description of the Kingdom of Siam. London: Routledge Publishers. Meyer, M. 2009. Japan: a concise history, 4th Ed. London: Rowman & Littlefield. Saito, H. 2001. A History of Japan. London: Forgotten Books. Seagrave, S. & Seagrave, P. 2001. The Yamato Dynasty: The Secret History of Japan's Imperial Family. London: Broadway Books. Stockwin, J. 1999. Governing Japan: divided politics in a major economy, 3rd Ed. New York: Wiley-Blackwell Publishers. Totman, C. 2000. A history of Japan. New York: Wiley-Blackwell. Read More