EQ: How did Japan respond to Europeans? Key Terms: Tokugawa Ieyasu, closed country policy, Commodore Perry, Meiji Restoration, Russo-Japanese War

Japanese Isolation Initially continued trade with Europeans, who also brought Catholic missionaries By 1600, over 300,000 Japanese had converted to Christianity Tokugawa did not like his subjects being more loyal to the pope in Rome than their shogun & despised Christian missionaries for imposing European culture in his land and interfering in local politics

After Tokugawa died, his successors continued to limit European access in Japan 1639, the Tokugawa Shogunate developed a “closed country policy” of isolation Japanese were not allowed to leave Foreigners (Dutch & Chinese only) were allowed in one city, Nagasaki

For over 200 years, Japan was closed off from the rest of the world and the society became stagnant—no advancements were made and the country fell behind the world in technology

Japan Opens Trade 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry of the US Navy entered Japan’s port at Nagasaki and “negotiated” a trade agreement—either Japan agreed to open trade or his fleet would bomb the city

Over the next decade, the US and other western countries expanded their power and established more spheres of influence The Japanese were enraged and the Tokugawa shogun stepped down, bringing the emperor to power and establishing the Meiji dynasty Over the next four decades, the Meiji rulers began a process of rapid modernization and industrialization Japan, instead of being taken over by another country, became an imperial power

Japanese Imperialism Japan’s expansion started with taking over nearby islands, then Korea In 1894, Japan went to war against the Chinese over trade rights in Korea and defeated them in just a few months , fought the Russo-Japanese War against Russia for control of Manchuria; when Japan won, the country emerged as a major world power