Japan’s Isolation Policy of Sakoku

Rosanna Hodgson (EL Hu)

The Edo period in Japan lasted from 1603 to 1868 and was brought about by Tokugawa Ieyasu. During the period 1639–1853, Japan followed the policy of Sakoku, which literally translates as ‘a country in chains’. Japan sought almost complete isolation from the rest of the world, only maintaining extremely limited trading relationships with China and the Dutch traders living on an island in Nagasaki harbour. Japan carried out this seclusion by prohibiting its citizens from leaving the country on penalty of death and by banishing any foreigners. The main reason behind this was to stop any external colonial or religious influences gaining power in Japan.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was responsible for creating the strict social structure that existed during Sakoku. He was from a wealthy Japanese family and part of the Tokugawa clan. In 1582 he was a powerful daimyo (regional governor) of five large provinces. Leyasu defeated the other most powerful daimyo, Hideyoshi, at the battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and established his control over Japan. In 1603, he set up the Edo Bakufu (the Tokugawa Shogunate) which was the new feudal government of Japan and formed the social structure during Sakoku. Leyasu was the shogun and so was the third highest ranking on the Tokugawa hierarchy system. The shogun was a military dictator and despite only ranking third in the hierarchy, held all the political power. The emperor was at the top of the system and acted as a figurehead, followed by the court nobility who had a major influence over culture, but both held little political influence. Below the shogun were the diamyo and then society, split into four groups. The samurai were the noble warrior class at the top and the merchants were at the bottom. All Japanese people were assigned into a social class according to their profession, which their children would in turn inherit. This hierarchy system was heavily enforced by the Tokugawa clan to eliminate any opposition and to solidify their control.

The introduction of the Tokugawa Shogunate resulted in a golden age of culture in Japan. Contradicting the social structure, Merchants prospered under the sakoku regime meaning they had substantial amounts of disposable income. This led to the rise of commoner culture as the money was invested in things other than basic needs like entertainment and art. It was popular with the peasants and even the much higher-ranking samurais. Kabuki was the most striking extravaganza. It is a dance-drama renowned for its glamourous costumes, lavish make-up, elaborate and engrossing plot lines, catchy music and vibrant sets and back-drop. Many of the population were Kabuki enthusiasts, absorbed in the dramatic stories. Kabuki performers often became celebrities with a huge fandom. Another well-liked form of theatre was the jôruri (puppet theatre) which was similarly dramatic and elaborate and was performed by skilled puppeteers. Literature also flourished in Sakoku. Popular fiction was much sought after, as were the more serious literary works. Matsuo Bashô, a Japanese poet from the Edo period, is famous for perfecting the haiku poem. His work was admired for elusively expressing feelings and emotion. One of his more popular poems reads: ‘An old pond, a frog leaps in, the water resounds.’ Furthermore, the Edo period forever changed Japanese culinary history and consequently has impacted the rest of the world. An Edo street vender, Yohei, invented the concept of raw fish on small portions of vinegared rice, modernising the pre-existing sushi dish. This modification is now Japan’s most famous cuisine and is eaten all over the world. Other unique Japanese cultural icons also came from this time such as the tea ceremony and sumo wrestling. And so, banishment of outside influences and the social policies of Ieyasu resulted in the development of this unique culture.

The Edo period is now thought of as period of economic prosperity and as the foundation for Japan’s financial growth. Sakoku was a lengthy period of stability and led to peace in Japan which helped its economy as there were fewer disruptions and no need to spend money on conflicts. Peace allowed farmers to focus on producing commercial crops such as cotton and silk and handicraft goods. To distribute these products, communications and transportation also developed, giving producers much larger markets and greater financial opportunities. With its policy of isolationism, Japan did not need to produce big ships for distant trade and instead used small ships for local coastal trade, which was key in the development of their economy. Another reason the Japanese economy boomed in Sakoku was because there were few goods that Japan wanted from the rest of the world and the world needed few goods from Japan. This meant that Japan did not have to rely on trade and isolationism did not negatively affect its economy. To ensure it had food security, agricultural productivity rose dramatically in the Edo period and technological innovation improved greatly. Therefore,

Japan was self-sufficient in food and subsequently flourished under the seclusion policy. However, sakoku was not pure isolationism. Some Dutch were not banished from Japan and stayed on an artificial island in Nagasaki harbour. There, they were permitted to have a small trading harbour where the Japanese and the Dutch could exchange goods under strict regulations. Improvements in medicine, military science and politics came from rangaku (Dutch learning), a by-product of this trading relationship. Japan also exchanged goods and ideas with China and Korea during sakoku. Japan’s farming practices were revolutionised through books from China. Later, the trade with China led to the development of Japan’s industry which propelled the Japanese economy forward after the isolationism ended. Sakoku meant a development in domestic trade in Japan and extremely limited good exchanges with select other countries.

The isolationism policy of Japan during the Edo period completely altered Japanese history. New leadership meant a complete reorganisation in the social structure of Japan and a change in politics. The lower classes thrived and their desire for entertainment led to a cultural golden age which has had a lasting impact on Japan today and, subsequently, the rest of the world. To maintain control, the leaders at the top of the social structure heavily enforced this hierarchy and because of their success, the Edo period was peaceful. The Japanese economy thrived under this peace and that was fundamental for Japan’s later economic development. So, it is clear that Sakoku’s legacy is reflected in modern-day Japan, signifying the great importance and impact of its policy of isolationism.

July 2020 by Mr E.F.J. Twohig