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Japan’s History & Non-history
with the Outside World:
1185 – 1868
Between 1185 and 1867 (the Shogun Dynastic Period) Japan was ruled by a
series of Shogunate warrior dynasties supported by daimyo or feudal
landowning barons who had the power to progress to the position of
Shogun and carry forward new dynastic reigns. * The most powerful and
longest ruling dynasty was that of the Tokugawa family (1603 – 1867) who
controlled the nation during the Edo Period (1600 – 1868). †
Under the instigation of the Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu (r. 1623 –
1641) Japan became isolated under a closed-country edict, which was issued
and enforced in 1635 and continued to operate primarily as an unbroken law
until 1854. This meant that for more than two-hundred years the borders of
Japan were sealed off and controlled by defenses; entry into Japanese ports
was denied to incoming visitors and trade, and inaccessible to outgoing
citizens.
* Prior to the Shogunate takeover, Japan was ruled by an Imperial government.
† This era is known as the Edo Period as, during this time, the Tokugawa were seated in Edo (since
renamed Tokyo), after moving the traditional site of the ruling classes from Kyoto.
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