Introduction

The unification of Japan and the creation of a national government in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries
required more than just military exploits. Japan’s “three unifiers,” especially Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536‐ 1598) and
Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543‐1616), enacted a series of social, economic, and political reforms to pacify a population long
accustomed to war and instability. Ieyasu chose to distance Japan from European influence starting in 1609. In 1614,
Ieyasu signed an edict banning Christianity and expelling all foreign missionaries.

In the 1630s, the Tokugawa bakufu (military government) took steps to further eliminate foreign influence. The Sakoku
Edict of 1635 was issued by the shogunate to the officials administering the busy port of Nagasaki, the site of most of
Japan’s foreign contacts at the time. Excerpts from the Edict are included below:

The Edicts of the Tokugawa Shogunate:

Excerpts from The Sakoku Edict of 1635 Ordering the Closing of Japan:
Addressed to the Joint Bugyo of Nagasaki
1. Japanese ships are strictly forbidden to leave for foreign countries.

2. No Japanese is permitted to go abroad. If there is anyone who attempts to do so secretly, he

must be executed. The ship so involved must be impounded and its owner arrested, and the
matter must be reported to the higher authority.

3. If any Japanese returns from overseas after residing there, he must be put to death.

4. If there is any place where the teachings of padres (Christianity) is practiced, the two of you
must order a thorough investigation.

5. Any informer revealing the whereabouts of the followers of the priests must be rewarded
accordingly. If anyone reveals the whereabouts of a high-ranking priest, he must be given one
hundred pieces of-silver. For those of lower ranks, depending on the deed, the reward must be
set accordingly

7. If there are any Southern Barbarians (Westerners) who propagate the teachings of padres,
or otherwise commit crimes, they may be incarcerated in the prison maintained by the Ōmura
domain, as was done previously.

10. Samurai are not permitted to purchase any goods originating from foreign ships directly from
Chinese merchants in Nagasaki.

Postscript: The Shimabara Rebellion occurred in southern Japan during the Tokugawa Shogunate from 1637-1638. The
local daimyō enforced unpopular policies violently prohibiting Christianity and drastically raised taxes to construct the
new Shimabara Castle. In December 1637, an alliance of local rōnin (samurai without a lord) and mostly Catholic
peasants rebelled against the Tokugawa shogunate. The Tokugawa Shogunate sent a force of over 125,000 troops to
suppress the rebels and defeated them after a lengthy siege against their stronghold at Hara Castle. Following the
rebellion, an estimated 37,000 rebels and sympathizers were executed by beheading, and the Portuguese traders
suspected of helping them were expelled from Japan. Japan’s policies of national seclusion and persecution of
Christianity were tightened until the 1850s.
Source: Japan: A Documentary History: The Dawn of History to the Late Tokugawa Period, edited by David J. Lu (Armonk, New York: M. E.
Sharpe, 1997), 221‐222.
Name ________________________________________

Directions: After analyzing the primary source excerpt, answer the following questions in complete sentences.

1. What compelled the Tokugawa shogunate to eliminate foreign influence?

2. Why did the shogunate dictate such strict policies towards Japanese traveling abroad?

3. Why do you think the shogunate was so concerned with priests and the teaching of Christianity?

4. Why do you think the shogunate forbid samurai from trading directly with foreigners?

5. What does the edict demonstrate about the Tokugawa government’s approach to international relations?

6. How do you think this edict impacted cultural and economic life in Japan?
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1. What compelled the Tokugawa shogunate to eliminate foreign influence?

Open to various responses. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was suspicious of Europeans at first because of their
armed ships and sophisticated military power. Following the Spanish conquest of the Philippines,
Hideyoshi was convinced they were not to be trusted. The shogunate wanted to guarantee peace, but also
to maintain supremacy over the other powerful lords in Japan. A group known as the “tozama daimyōs”
used trade across East Asia to grow wealthy during the Sengoku period. This allowed them to build up
their military strength as well. By restricting the daimyōs’ ability to trade with foreign ships or pursue
trade opportunities overseas, the Tokugawa bakufu could ensure none would become powerful enough to
challenge their supremacy.

2. Why did the shogunate dictate such strict policies towards Japanese traveling abroad?

Open to various student responses. They could note that the shogunate feared that they could mot
control what went on outside Japan and were fearful that if Japanese travelled abroad, they might be
coaxed into giving up secrets about Japan’s military strength.

3. Why do you think the shogunate was so concerned with priests and the teaching of Christianity?

Religious challenges to central authority were taken seriously. The increasing number of Catholic
converts in southern Japan was seen as a threat to the new shogunate. Those who converted to
Catholicism were questioned about their loyalty to Japan. Empress Meishō heard about how the
Spanish and Portuguese were settling in the New World and thought that Japan would soon become
one of the many countries in their possession. The Dutch and English were seen by the Japanese to be
able to separate religion and trade, while Catholic Spanish and Portuguese were looked upon with
more suspicion. A strong crackdown came after the Shimabara Rebellion of Christian peasants.

4. Why do you think the shogunate forbid samurai from trading directly with foreigners?

The samurai were the Japanese warrior class. If they became close with foreigners and grew wealthy
through dealing with them, it would undercut the direct control that the Shogunate had over them.

5. What does the edict demonstrate about the Tokugawa government’s approach to international relations?

Open to various student responses. Students might note that the government was very active in its
approach. It was driven by a fear of being pushed around by more powerful outside forces. The plan
was also thought out, with a hierarchy with East Asian relations given more importance.

6. How do you think this edict impacted cultural and economic life in Japan?

Open to various student responses. They should note that foreign influence obviously declined culturally in
terms of outside ideas, goods, religion, etc. Economically, trade with outside nations declined. Chinese
merchants and those of the Dutch East India Company were restricted to enclaves in Nagasaki. Trade was
also conducted with China through the semi-independent vassal kingdom of the Ryukyus and with Korea
via the Tsushima Domain.
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