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Edo Japan: 14 a Closed Society

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Edo Japan: 14 a Closed Society ABSS8_ch14.qxd 2/8/07 3:54 PM Page 304 Edo Japan: 14 A Closed Society FIGURE 14-1 This is a monument to Ranald MacDonald in Nagasaki, Japan. What does this monument indicate about Japanese attitudes toward him? 304 Unit 3 From Isolation to Adaptation ABSS8_ch14.qxd 2/8/07 3:54 PM Page 305 WORLDVIEW INQUIRY Geography In what ways might a country’s choice to remain isolated both reflect its worldview Knowledge Time and result from its worldview? Worldview Economy Beliefs 1848. Ranald MacDonald, a twenty-four-year-old Métis, Values Society insisted that he be set adrift in a small boat off the coast of Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. he captain and crew of the Plymouth, the In This Chapter American whaling ship that Ranald T In the last chapter, your read MacDonald was leaving, tried to persuade the about the high value put on hon- young man to stay with them. Why did he want to our, duty, and harmony in Edo enter a country that was known to execute Japan. Japanese society differed strangers? When the rudder from his boat was later from the others you have studied found floating in the sea, word was sent to North in its desire and ability to cut America that the young Métis was dead. itself off from the rest of the Ranald MacDonald was the son of Princess world. In Europe from 1600 to Raven, a Chinook, and Archibald MacDonald, a the 1850s, the exchange of Scottish official of the Hudson’s Bay Company. He goods and ideas affected the way grew up in the Pacific Northwest of the early 1800s. people lived and thought. On the As a child, he had heard of three Japanese sailors other side of the world, the Japanese experienced less who were shipwrecked and landed up in Fort change and became more certain Vancouver. Ranald MacDonald was fascinated by of their identity. But no society is these men and the country they came from, a coun- free of challenges. How would try that would not let them return. Japanese leaders respond to As Ranald MacDonald grew, so did his plan to challenges from outside? How visit Japan. He felt a connection between his Chinook would their actions affect life ancestry and the Japanese. He dreamed of becoming within Japan? an interpreter and teacher, to gain fame and fortune when Japan would eventually open up to the world. Why do you think the sailors who had accidentally landed in Canada weren’t allowed to return to Japan? Chapter 14 Edo Japan: A Closed Society 305 ABSS8_ch14.qxd 2/8/07 3:54 PM Page 306 Locking Out the World How many people do you know who are immigrants to Canada? Why and how did Japan isolate itself from the rest Historically, Canada has been a country that has encouraged immigra- of the world? tion. Between July 2004 and 2005, Canada received 244 600 immigrants. During that same period Alberta received 17 400 international immi- grants. Canada has one of the highest per capita immigration rates in What’s in a WORD? the world. How do high rates of immigration fit into your worldview? “Per capita,” which means In the early 1500s, Japan had welcomed Portuguese traders and for each person, is from the their fashions and firearms. But by the time Ranald MacDonald entered Latin for by heads. Japan in 1848, the attitude toward outsiders had changed. Foreign ships were being fired on and driven away. How did this come about? Threats from the West By the late 1500s and early 1600s, the ruling shogun came to consider foreigners a threat to his military control. If the daimyo acquired FYI… European weapons, they might challenge the shogun’s authority. In 1597, acting on a rumour New Ways of Belief and Thought that missionaries were spies for Spain, the ruling shogun The shogun felt that loyalty to a Christian God and the Church were arrested six missionaries and threats to his authority. In 1614, he responded to rumours about twenty Japanese converts, and takeover plots by foreigners by ordering all Christian missionaries to put them to death by leave the country. Churches were destroyed and Japanese Christians crucifixion. Executed for their who refused to give up their new faith faced execution. This persecution religious beliefs, these were the first Christian martyrs in Japan. lasted until 1640, by which time it is estimated that many thousands of Japanese Christians and about 70 missionaries were put to death. FIGURE 14-2 This early 17th century folding screen by an unknown artist records the arrival of exotic looking Portuguese merchants. If you were the shogun, how might you react to these foreigners? 306 Unit 3 From Isolation to Adaptation ABSS8_ch14.qxd 2/8/07 3:54 PM Page 307 When the shogun ordered the Christian daimyos to give up their new religion, they usually followed his orders. However, converted ronin and peasants were more defiant. Japanese writer Masaharu Anesaki comments on the shogun’s response: It must have been quite inconceivable to him [the shogun] how Think IT THROUGH these people without power and wealth could resist the ruler’s Why do you think the lower will, unless they were mysteriously seduced and supported by a classes were more likely to foreign power. They were clearly traitors who deserved the defy the shogun’s orders and keep their new religious sternest punishment. beliefs? Why did the missionaries risk death to try to convert the Japanese? Use elements of the worldviews Cutting off Contact icon to support your ideas. Missionaries continued to come to Japan, usually disguised as traders. As a result, shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu (Ee-ay-meet-see) passed isolation, or exclusion, laws. The penalty for breaking any of these laws was death. Terms of the Exclusion Laws ◆ All Christian missionaries and foreign traders were forced to leave Japan. Newcomers were no longer allowed to enter. ◆ The Japanese were not allowed to go abroad. ◆ Ships large enough to make long voyages could no longer be built and existing ones were destroyed. ◆ Japanese who were out of the country were forbidden to return. ◆ Most foreign objects were forbidden. All foreign books containing a Christian message were banned; scientific books were forbidden. In addition, the shogunate tightened controls on movement within Japan. People needed to get special documents to travel from one domain to another, a curfew was instituted to keep people from mov- FIGURE 14-3 Apply the skill ing around at night, and wheeled transport was banned. power questions to this poster. SKILL POWER A poster may convey values and a point of view as well as information. When you look at a poster ask yourself: • What is the purpose of the poster? Who is the intended audience? • How does the text on the poster communicate the purpose? • How has the designer used the image to reinforce the text? Create a poster to present a message conveying information and a point of view about freedom of speech in Canada. Chapter 14 Edo Japan: A Closed Society 307 ABSS8_ch14.qxd 2/8/07 3:54 PM Page 308 FIGURE 14-4 This woodblock print called Sueyoshi’s Junk was created in 1633. Before Japan became a closed society, ships like this one were used to trade with Asian countries. Why were vessels like this later destroyed? Think IT THROUGH How do you think isolation from the rest of the world In 1639, the shogun banned Portuguese ships in Japan and expelled all might affect the following foreigners except for Dutch, Korean, and Chinese traders. The Dutch aspects of a society: level of were only allowed on a small island in the harbour of the city of technology, economic development, and attitudes Nagasaki. From the shogun’s point of view, the isolation policy was toward change? essential for national security. It was the only way to eliminate possible threats to his power and to protect the Japanese culture. FAST FORWARD Closing Borders In recent times, countries including the US, Great Britain, Spain, and Canada, were forced to seal their borders because of security threats. On September 11, 2001, the United States was attacked by terrorists who used hijacked airplanes as their weapons. The US responded by immediately sealing its borders. No ships were allowed to dock and unload. Planes heading to the US from all over the world were not allowed to FIGURE 14-5 When the United States sealed its borders, land. Many planes were forced to land in long line-ups of cars and trucks carrying trade goods were Canadian airports. Even when the US reopened stopped at the Canadian border. its borders, new, stricter security measures were put in place. Closing the borders was a drastic measure in difficult circumstances. In August 2006, British security uncovered a Think IT THROUGH terrorist plot to blow up 10 planes in mid-air Although the citizens of the United States did not between the United Kingdom and the United have the same tradition of loyalty and obedience as States. As a result, much tighter controls were the Japanese, they accepted the government’s placed on items that passengers could bring onto restrictions, even after the borders reopened. How planes in their hand luggage. do you explain this? 308 Unit 3 From Isolation to Adaptation ABSS8_ch14.qxd 2/8/07 3:54 PM Page 309 BUILDING YOUR SKILLS Problem Solving Using Lateral Thinking Lateral thinking is a particular way of boy, however, saw the problem as the truck approaching a problem. Follow these steps: being too high.
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