By: Anthony Chan, Chad Brathwaite, Grace Kim, Mark Chen

Culture of the Japanese developed through interactions in commercial cities: Edo and Osaka.

Samurai class adapted to the government needs, but they also became leading customers for luxury goods (silk, sake, fans, porcelain, books…)

Porcelain dominated in Japan with the knowledge of the Korean experts from the war.

Made for European markets.

The Dutch East India company transported Japanese porcelain to European states. These popular designs were imitated by Europeans as they tried to make their own ceramic ware.

Although the trading with Europe resulted in many benefits from cultural sharing, the Japanese elite were not open to foreign influence.▪ Japanese adopted the closed country policy due to the

rising numbers of Christian converts in their country.▪ Christian communities were forced into hiding or out

of the country, and the Japanese became more hostile.▪ As a result, the population stayed culturally

homogenous.

The Tokugawa government was based on the Confucian philosophies, but the decentralized government did not contribute to the Confucian ideas.▪ Economy grew faster than population, so many

luxury goods and rare cultural resources were common in many Japanese households.▪ Population enjoyed the freedom and developed

a colorful culture with the creation of the kabuki theater.

This performance in the Kabuki Theater shows the colorful props and costumes used in the performances. The new theater represented the freedom that emerged from the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Japan was originally behind in technology- Had porcelain making- But, only had wooden-block printing, unlike the European printing press- Did not have gunpowder- For example, when Japan attempted to control the mainland Asia, Japan was beaten by the Korean “turtle boats”

- Europeans were advanced in technology- Had gunpowder- Had scientific revolution: - Discovered new aspects of astronomy - Discovered the laws of physics (gravity)

- The Russians have similar technology to the Europeans- However, the Russian firearms were not as high-quality- So, the Russian Empire relied on brute force of its forces rather than sophisticated weapons.- However, the Russian Empire did have a modern imperial navy

- Though Japanese seemed behind, actually surpassed European counterparts- After contact with European, Japanese started the “gunpowder revolution”- Japanese copied and improved the European firearms- But, after Japan fell into isolation, the lack of motivation caused the Japanese to fall behind

“Dutch Studies”

learned astronomy, weapons, shipbuilding, mathematics, anatomy, medicine, and geography.

Dutch Ship : De Zeven Provincien

Gunpowder Revolution:

Japan started producing its own gunpowder

Overseas trade of Northern and Southern

Extreme.

Religious diffusion of Christianity

Porcelain constituted Japan’s exports to

Europe

Creation of Language influenced by the Chinese

and Koreans The woodblock printing of China and Korea has been

transferred into Japanese way of life.

Welcomed trade from Spain, Portugal,

Netherlands, and England, but regulated it. Being a powerful warlord and a military state,

Hideyoshi went to attack China and Korea, in

hoping to capture both, but failed after he died

The Japanese didn’t really interact with the Russians until 1792, when the Russians were exploring the sea.

The Russians didn’t try to establish trade with the Japanese until 1804

Political Change

Before 1603, Japan was Feudal society with the various islands ruled by individual Daimyo (warlords)In 1603, a centralized government was established known as the Tokugawa Shogunate.During the 1700s, population growth put a strain on the lands of centralized government, leading to an increase in popularity and economic growth in the rural areas where lords promoted new settlements.

Tokugawa Leyasu, founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Japanese interaction with Europeans: Led to a change in military technology:▪ The Japanese daimyo were utilizing western-

style firearms. Japan’s interaction with Europe led

to cultural diversity, for it led to an influx of Christianity.

CHRISTIANITY VS. BUDDHISM

• European Missionaries converted approximately 300,000 Japanese to Christianity by the Early 17th century.

• Out of fear , The Buddhist leaders of Japan cut off European trade and between 1633 to 1639, passed multiple reforms in order to weed Christianity out of Japan.