1B: Closed country

Benefits of Closed Country

There were benefits of a closed country policy, such as security and economic self-sufficiency. Many rapid changes in the Meiji period were enabled by progress during this time, such as road construction; establishment of a bureaucracy from members of the samurai warrior class; and flourishing commerce with its center Edo with a population of a million before Commodore Perry arrived.

While it may have been an effective strategy in the short-term, it faced a crisis when faced with a serious threat from the outside.

Contact with Foreigners

You encounter a map of the fourth largest island Kyushu, on the southern end of the Japanese archipelago, far from the emperor’s court in Kyoto and the seat of the shogun in Edo (Tokyo) on the central island. You also note four events occurred that shaped the closed country policy.

Samurai as Bureaucrats, Businessmen

Samurai were a warrior class, but their fealty to their lords and their role must have undergone a colossal shift when the territories of their lords were consolidated. Where and where would they follow their code, the bushido? It appears that samurai worked as a part of the state apparatus.

You check your laptop and see if there is an errant wireless signal. While you probably should secure some currency, you search for “sakoku, closed country” and take notes:

John Dower notes there were benefits of this policy, such as security and economic self-sufficiency. Many rapid changes in the Meiji Period were enabled by progress during this time, such as road construction; establishment of a bureaucracy from members of the samurai warrior class; and flourishing commerce with its center Edo with a population of a million before Commodore Perry arrived. While it may have been an effective strategy in the short-term, it faced a crisis when faced with the outside world, Western technology, and the onset of modernity.
ZOOM OUT: Map of Contact with Foreigners

You encounter a map of Kyushu, the fourth largest island on the southern end of the Japanese archipelago, far from the emperor’s court in Kyoto and the seat of the shogun in Edo (Tokyo) on the central island. You also note four events occurred that shaped the closed country policy.
2007 Map of Kyushu with annotations
Events that shaped the closed country policyLocation of event near the island of Kyushu
1543: Storm-blown Portuguese sailors on the island of Tanegashima; Introduction of firearms to Japan.Tanegashima is a small, long island south of the bigger southern island of Kyushu.
1549: St. Francis Xavier arrives in Satsuma.Satsuma was a domain on the western cusp of the Satsuma Peninsula on the southern most end of Kyushu, near Tanegashima.
1634: Dutch trading outpost established as Dejima off the coast of Nagasaki.Nagasaki was a harbor city on a peninsula on the western end of the Kyushu island.
1637: Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu puts down the Shimabara Rebellion. The rebellion occurred in the Shimabara Peninsula along the same inlet as Nagasaki and the nearby Amakusa islands in the same bay.
Contact with Europeans