Aim: Explain how Japan’s Policies Towards Europeans Changed

Contact Between Europe and Japan 16th Century: Europeans began coming to Japan Japanese welcomed traders and missionaries from Portugal Other Europeans soon came to Japan Daimyo welcomed the strangers Interested in the Portuguese muskets & canons Japanese purchased weapons from the Portuguese and soon began their own production Led to huge impact on warfare Daimyo built fortified castles to withstand the destructive force of cannonballs 2

Christian Missionaries in Japan 1549: Christian missionaries began arriving in Japan Japanese initially accepted them Associated Jesuits with muskets & European goods Jesuits came to convert the Japanese 1600: European missionaries had converted 300,000 Japanese Success of missionaries upset Tokugawa Ieyasu Missionaries scorned traditional Japanese beliefs 1612: Shogun had come to fear religious uprising Result: Banned Christianity and focused on ridding country of Christians After Ieyasu Death, Shogun ruthlessly persecuted Christians Missionaries were killed or driven out of Japan 3

The Closed Country Policy The persecution of Christians was part of an attempt to control foreign ideas in Japan 1639: Sealed Japan’s borders and instituted a Closed Country Policy: Most commercial contacts with Europe ended Port of Nagasaki remained opened Only Dutch & Chinese were allowed into port Spanish and Portuguese were expelled For 200 years, Japan remained closed to Europeans Japanese forbidden to leave Japan Not to bring back foreign ideas 4